GATINEAU – The third day of the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunication Services (CCTS) mandate review saw telecom providers in the West and East agree on a few changes to the complaints body. Quebecor Media and Shaw Communications noted in their respective testimony to the CRTC on Thursday they believe it’s natural for the CCTS to conduct some code interpretation.
They also believe that participation in the complaints body should be mandatory.
Peggy Tabet, senior director of regulatory affairs for telecommunications at Quebecor, noted under questioning that it’s about treating all players equally. In a world where the company is subjected…
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GATINEAU – Rogers Communications told the CRTC on Wednesday that the Commissions for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS) should become “a destination of last resort” for consumer complaints.
The country’s largest wireless provider argued during day 2 on the hearing into the CCTS (click here for day one's coverage) the industry should take a page out of the banking sector’s playbook and adopt a model similar to that of the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI). Kim Walker, Rogers’ Ombudsperson, said during her opening remarks that the OBSI is the final recourse for customers after…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC will not issue a call for radio applications for the areas of Bracebridge and Gravenhurst in Ontario, after no company other than Bayshore Broadcasting Corporation expressed interest in serving that market.
On Wednesday, the Commission said that the area can sustain an additional station, noting that it is currently served only by CFBG-FM Bracebridge, an English-language commercial radio station operated by Vista Radio Ltd. It added that it would publish Bayshore’s application for consideration as part of the non-appearing phase of the next feasible public hearing.
As Cartt.ca reported, the CRTC received an application from Owen Sound-based Continue Reading
MONTREAL – People who say TV and radio are dead because new digital media have taken their place are lying to you.
That was the rather blunt message delivered at the CBC Media Forum, a gathering of advertising and marketing professionals that took place Wednesday in Montreal and repeats Thursday in Toronto.
Invited speakers used statistics and plenty of swear words to make the point that despite all the buzzwords and hype surrounding digital media and online advertising, traditional mass marketing is still the most effective way of reaching an audience.
“We marketers are taught not to think simply… thinking…
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GATINEAU – The mandate review for the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunication Services (CCTS) kicked off on Tuesday with the body arguing that voluntary participation would make it much more difficult to resolve complaints – and that some consumers could find themselves on the short end of the complaints process.
In addition, the trigger-based system of participation is unruly and hasn’t proven effective in forcing telecom service providers (TSPs) to join the CCTS.
Josée Thibault, assistant CCTS commissioner, noted “there is a real risk that many providers would withdraw from CCTS, creating a situation in which some customers are entitled to…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has announced plans to hold two events leading up to its Discoverability Summit next May.
In collaboration with the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), the Commission will host the first event in Vancouver on December 1st at The Chan Centre for Performing Arts from 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM. As Cartt.ca reported, 'En route to the Discoverability Summit: Content in the Age of Abundance’ will be moderated by CBC Radio Spark host and creator Nora Young, and feature Tony Chapman, founder and CEO of Tony Chapman Reactions, as the keynote speaker.
Discussions will focus on English-language…
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CALGARY and TORONTO – JR Shaw and members of his family and corporations and trusts which they collectively own or control have completed an internal reorganization of their holdings in Shaw Communications and Corus Entertainment as part of ongoing estate planning for JR Shaw and his family.
The Shaw Family Group beneficially owned, and continues to own, 17,782,600 Class A Voting Participating Shares and 36,416,426 Class B Non-Voting Participating Shares of Shaw, and 2,906,496 Class A Voting Participating Shares and 5,651,417 Class B Non-Voting Participating Shares of Corus. Accordingly, the reorganization does not affect either company, reads the news release.
The reorganization…
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WITH THE ELECTION OVER WITH, there will be debate and discussion around the priorities of the new Liberal government with regard to shaping communications and digital policy.
I suspect that, perhaps with the exception of more funding for the CBC, and a few other election promises, communications will not be an immediate priority for the transition team or for Cabinet. It’s not that communications/digital policy isn’t relevant, whether in respect of competition and choice, price, culture, accessibility, economic growth, innovation in IT or jobs. It’s just these things are not seen, politically, to be broken enough, particularly on the carriage…
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SALMON ARM, B.C. – Independent cableco Mascon has launched a new skinny basic package, called the Digital Starter, for just $20-a-month.
Based on the CRTC’s new rules mandating a new small basic TV package (which came out of its Let’s Talk TV policy hearing), Mascon is one of the first to launch such a package, months ahead of the March 2016 deadline where all carriers must offer a so-called skinny package of Canadian channels and the 9(1)(h) Commission-mandated must-carries. The CRTC’s mandated price, however, is $25/month.
Mascon’s Digital Starter package offers 25 different video channels,…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The CRTC will stage a four day public hearing beginning Tuesday to review the structure and mandate of the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS).
Established in 2007, the CCTS is Canada’s telecommunications ombudsman, helping consumers with complaints about their phone, wireless, and Internet services. The independent organization handles over 10,000 complaints each year and can require telecommunications service providers to provide up to $5,000 in compensation per customer in addition to any amount to be refunded in correction of a billing error.
Last June, the CRTC called for input on whether the CCTS should expand its…
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