OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Canadian television subscribers will soon receive clear notice on the channels they pay for and be better informed of service package and pricing changes under the CRTC’s new Television Service Provider Code released Thursday.
The new mandatory code, which will come in to effect September 1, 2017, will help Canadians make more informed choices about their television service providers plus resolve disputes in a fair and effective manner, the Commission said.
It will apply to all companies that provide subscription television services to more than 20,000 subscribers, including cable, satellite and IPTV providers, and will be implemented by…
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OTTAWA – Independent ISPs and consumer groups are telling the federal government not to buy Bell Canada’s assertions that investments in next-generation fibre networks will come to a standstill if the CRTC’s wholesale fibre access decision is allowed to stand.
A day after the Justin Trudeau Liberals swept into power in Ottawa on October 19, Bell filed appeal with the Governor-in-Council seeking a Cabinet order overturning Telecom Regulatory Policy 2015-326. The company claims the decision favours “resale over investment” which will lead to less capital for fibre to the home…
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OTTAWA – Changes to the Canadian broadcast industry stemming from the CRTC’s Let’s Talk TV decisions could lead to sweeping job losses and funding cuts to Canadian programming, according to a new study commissioned by advocacy groups and unions representing Canadian producers and creators.
Co-authored by Nordicity and communications lawyer Peter Miller, Canadian Television 2020: Technological and Regulatory Impacts was commissioned by the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA), the Canadian Media Guild, Directors Guild of Canada, Friends of Canadian Broadcasting and Unifor.
Using three scenarios, the study examines the potential impact of policy decisions such as…
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GATINEAU – The new TV providers Code of Conduct, an idea which came out of the CRTC's Let's Talk TV Policy Review will be announced this week, the Regulator has announced.
The Code of Conduct is expected to set out new rules which protect consumers by giving TV carriers (cable, satellite and IPTV companies) new regulations to govern their relationships with their customers. The code proposes that TV service providers would be required to provide easy-to-understand agreements to their customers, notify them of changes to their services, and clarify the terms surrounding issues such as the addition or…
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OTTAWA – Add the Consumer Choice Coalition to the list of stakeholders firmly opposed to Bell Canada’s appeal of the CRTC’s fibre decision that grants third party broadband resellers access to newly built fibre to the home or premises (FTTH/FTTP) infrastructure.
The Coalition’s submission to Cabinet was filed Monday by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), as part of the Consumer Choice Coalition, in response to Bell’s petition seeking to overturn the decision. Other organizations in the Coalition include the British Columbia Old Age Pensioners’ Organization; the British Columbia Public Interest Advocacy Centre; the Consumers’ Association of Canada; the Council…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has issued a call for radio applications to serve the Edmonton market after determining that the area can sustain an additional commercial station.
The Commission said Friday in the first of two related decisions that its preliminary view is that the market would be best served by proposals targeting ethnic communities. The Edmonton Numeris central market includes the cities of Edmonton, Fort Saskatchewan, Leduc and St. Albert, a region currently served by 19 commercial radio stations, of which only one is an ethnic service.
The call for applications comes in response to an application last April by VMS…
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GATINEAU – Without provisions explicitly requiring investment in transport facilities, independent ISPs simply won’t spend the money, contends Bell Canada in reply comments to its appeal of Telecom Regulatory Policy 2015-326.
The company’s December 14 intervention maintains its original position that ISPs must bring their own transport facilities to central offices (COs) and cable head-ends and provide service to retail customers before being allowed to use disaggregated wholesale high speed access (HSA).
The vertically integrated communications and broadcasting company argues that because transport is already highly competitive – 84 of the 100 Bell major COs in Ontario in Quebec…
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TORONTO – The CRTC has rebuffed an attempt by TekSavvy Solutions to stop Rogers Communications from removing a coax cable network in a Toronto townhouse complex. The independent ISP serves customers in the 347-home development using Third Party Internet Access (TPIA) from Rogers.
TekSavvy also argued that because Rogers, which is replacing the legacy facilities with a fibre to the premise (FTTP) installation, didn’t provide the requisite six months notice, it should get wholesale access to the fibre under the same terms and conditions as TPIA over coax. As well, this access should be available for the duration of the…
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HAMILTON – The good news is that after more than 60 years on the air, CHCH-TV Hamilton is not closing down.
The bad news is that many people lost their jobs on Friday. All 129 full time and 38 part time employees of Channel 11 LP were officially let go at 4 p.m. on Friday. However, a new company will take its place Monday and of those let go, 58 full time employees and 23 part timers were offered jobs with the new company, according to Channel Zero VP sales and marketing Chris Fuoco. They have until Sunday evening to make a…
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HAMILTON – After more than 60 years on the air, the future of CHCH-TV is uncertain today.
Cartt.ca has heard reports from several sources within the station speculating that something disastrous has happened to the station’s financing, which will at the very least cause the 6 and 11 pm news programs to be cancelled immediately. The 6 p.m. newscast today has already been shelved. Staff is speculating on everything from the station being shuttered entirely to mass layoffs, keeping the doors open to satisfy basic CRTC licensing requirements. The station employs approximately 130 people.
The station may be in…
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