CHICAGO – Although there is a lot of buzz about skinnier programming packages here at this U.S. show, the Federal Communications Commission has not mandated this change yet, like the CRTC has for the Canadian BDUs.
From an outsider looking in, it appears they are just going to keep talking about what works best for everyone, so the consumer gets what they want – eventually. We have to wonder when they will walk the walk. No one stated they had any clear plans on what they may do and with the American cable channels are not budging yet (that we…
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OTTAWA – Linda Vennard has been appointed as the CRTC’s Regional Commissioner for Alberta and the Northwest Territories, and Christopher MacDonald as Regional Commissioner for the Atlantic Region and Nunavut.
They have been appointed for five-year terms, according to an announcement by CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais on Tuesday.
Vennard, who will begin in her new role on May 11, joins the CRTC from the University of Calgary and has 15 years of experience in research focused mainly on broadband and community engagement, science, technology and society, as well as national security and advanced technologies. She holds PhD from the University of Calgary.
MacDonald…
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GATINEAU – New wireless entrants got their wish. The CRTC has concluded that Bell Mobility, Rogers Communications and Telus Corp. “have the ability and incentive” to impose wholesale roaming terms, conditions and rates that wouldn’t “prevail in a competitive market” and therefore will regulate their wholesale roaming rates.
Telecom Regulatory Policy 2015-177, released on Tuesday, only covers GSM-based networks (which is the tech most run on now).
Even though wholesale roaming caps as established by the federal government in Section 27.1 of the Telecommunications Act last June offered some relief to the new entrants, “the interests of users are not…
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OTTAWA–GATINEAU – Canadian local television stations saw profits plunge in 2014, according to the CRTC’s latest statistical and financial report for this sector released Monday.
According to the report Conventional Television – Statistical and Financial Summaries 2010-2014, profits before interest and taxes (PBIT) for private local TV stations dropped from -$2.3 million to -$138.7 million, and the PBIT margin decreased from -0.1% to -7.7%.
Revenues fell by 7.2% from $1.94 billion in 2013 to $1.8 billion for the broadcast year ended August 31, 2014. While revenues from the sale of local advertising declined 5% from $351.2 million in 2013 to $333.6…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC should keep a close watch on how much television service providers pay broadcasters to distribute their programming to ensure greater competition and increased choice and flexibility for Canadian viewers, the Competition Bureau said Monday.
Responding to the Commission’s consultation on a new wholesale code to govern the commercial arrangements between television service providers and television channel owners, the Bureau’s submission took aim at the use of a sliding-scale of prices that a television service provider pays to a channel owner in order to carry a particular channel. These penetration-based rate cards (PBRCs), as they are…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The CRTC will release its hotly anticipated decision on wholesale mobile wireless services late Tuesday.
The Commission will stage a media “lock-up” from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM ET on May 5 to provide a technical briefing to explain the different elements of the decision. The decision itself will be released at 4:00 PM, followed by a short statement by chairman Jean-Pierre Blais.
With the CRTC's sharp consumer focus, most are expecting the decision will see the allowable rates come down, which will bode well for Wind Mobile (and less so for the big three of Telus, Rogers and…
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MONTREAL – Employees at BCE will soon adhere to a new code of conduct designed to “enhance protection of journalistic independence” as the company continues to grapple with fallout from last month’s allegations that former Bell Media president Kevin Crull interfered with CTV’s news coverage of a CRTC decision.
In announcing Crull’s subsequent departure from Bell Media on April 9, president and CEO George Cope said that the independence of the company’s news operations “is of paramount importance to our company”, and that “there can be no doubt that Bell will always uphold the journalistic standards that have made…
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OTTAWA – CRTC commissioner Raj Shoan this week filed a Federal Court Application seeking a judicial review of CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais over an internal investigation of allegations of harassment made against Shoan.
The investigation, done by an outside third party, found that Ontario regional commissioner Shoan did commit harassment and so chairman Blais imposed five corrective measures which placed limits on how Shoan can communicate with staff. According to the court application, Shoan wants the decision Blais made on the harassment complaints to be cancelled, or that it be remitted to the Governor-in-Council (which appoints CRTC commissioners)…
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OTTAWA–GATINEAU – The CRTC has released its new three-year plan that lists its priorities as introducing the revised framework established with the Let's Talk TV initiative, including a draft code of conduct to help viewers resolve disputes with their television service providers; a review of Canada’s basic telecommunications services; and a review of the country’s 9-1-1network and the next generation of 9-1-1 services.
Other planned activities include an assessment of the accessibility of mobile wireless handsets for Canadians with disabilities; continued joint efforts with domestic and international partners to shield Canadians from unsolicited communications by telephone and email; and the…
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OTTAWA – The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) is once again asking the CRTC to prevent streaming service shomi from being offered only to Rogers or Shaw internet customers.
The consumer group filed a new application with the Commission on Monday, after having its previous complaint returned by the Regulator last month in the wake of BRP 2015-86 that proposed establishing a new service category for hybrid VoD services. While PIAC said that it will file comments on that matter, it added that it “had to address lingering problems with the shomi service that likely would not be addressed in the…
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