OTTAWA – The CRTC has directed Cogeco to implement a mechanized customer transfer process for television and Internet services customers as soon as possible, and no later than January 1, 2015.
In its decision issued Thursday, the Commission responded to an application by Bell Canada submitted in June claiming that Cogeco’s “large number of manual customer transfer requests were inefficiently diverting Bell Canada’s resources and harming consumers”.
As part of the implementation of local competition in the telecommunications industry, a process was developed by the industry for the efficient transfer of a customer’s service, commonly referred to as the customer…
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MONTREAL – Coming just three days after a protest just outside the building, the Annual Public Meeting of CBC/Radio-Canada held Wednesday at its Montreal HQ was expected to be difficult.
Though there were hecklers and tough questions for president and CEO Hubert Lacroix — one member of the crowd even handed him a pre-written resignation letter and asked him to sign it — the event did not degenerate into complete chaos.
In his speech, Lacroix took pains to explain that he wasn’t a secret agent of the Conservative Party put in place to dismantle the public broadcaster,…
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GATINEAU – Here we go again.
Several years after the CRTC set the rules for mandated access to essential broadband facilities, the big telecommunications service providers (TSPs) and their smaller competitors who rent space on those TSP networks, will once again take their turns before the Commission beginning Monday to argue about mandated access to incumbent networks, specifically the deep fibre networks built by the large cable and telco incumbents.
As can be expected, the incumbents are going to argue that the retail broadband market is already highly competitive, the result of vigorous battles among facilities-based competitors. Any unwarranted…
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MONTREAL – A decade ago, Evanov Radio Group had three radio stations in the Greater Toronto Area. Now, it has 17 in four provinces, and is about to expand to 18.
On Tuesday, Evanov announced the latest addition to its radio family would be multilingual ethnic station CFMB 1280 AM in Montreal, Canada’s oldest multilingual radio station. The sale, for $1.125 million through a purchase of all the company’s shares, requires CRTC approval, for which an application was filed on Friday.
The acquisition fits with Evanov’s business plan of developing synergies by sharing resources, explained vice-president and radio group manager Carmela…
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OTTAWA–GATINEAU – With the next federal election on the horizon, the CRTC is asking Canadians to weigh in on the factors that should be considered when setting the penalty amounts for violations of the Voter Contact Registry.
As part of recent amendments to the Canada Elections Act and the Telecommunications Act, the CRTC is responsible for establishing and maintaining a Voter Contact Registry during federal elections. Persons, corporations, or groups that engage in voter contact calls in relation to an election will be required to file registration notices and identifying information with the Commission for inclusion in the Voter…
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OTTAWA and GATINEAU – The CRTC has ordered B.C.-based Radio India Ltd. to stop broadcasting programing into Canada via an over-the-air transmitter located in the United States.
At a show cause hearing last month, the Commission determined that Radio India produces programming for broadcast on the radio at its studios in Surrey, BC, despite not holding a Canadian broadcasting licence. That programming reaches into Canada through an agreement with Way Broadcasting Operating LLC, the licensee of KVRI 1600 AM in Blaine, Washington. In addition, the majority of Radio India’s revenue comes from Canadian advertisers.
Under the terms of the CRTC’s Continue Reading
FENELON FALLS, ON – Independent cable company Cable Cable says it's business as usual for its customers after the CRTC’s announcement last week that communication companies can no longer require their customers to give 30 days’ advance notice of cancellation.
“The effects these changes will have on Cable Cable is quite minimal, as we do not impose contracts on our subscribers”, the company said Wednesday in a statement. “As a smaller, local telecommunications provider, we have always strived for our customers to have a comfortable experience, with the freedom of choice when it comes to our services. This has…
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TORONTO – Quebecor Media chief financial officer Jean-Francois Pruneau said Wednesday morning his company would love to be part of a national wireless play, has talked to investors and others about it, but is still awaiting the right conditions.
The big attraction at this point, he told Scotiabank’s telecom and cable investors conference in Toronto, is that the initial network builds have been done. “We don’t have to invest from the ground up, like the new entrants had to do,” he said, meaning any new national wireless company Videotron may be part of, would be “buying this at…
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THERE ARE A WHOLE lot of misinformed Canadians when it comes to opinions on the function, and overall role, of the CRTC – something of which those working in the telecom and broadcasting business in Canada are too well aware.
That obliviousness was excruciatingly apparent during September’s Let’s Talk TV policy review hearing, when Canadians (especially the ones on Twitter) displayed a severe lack of knowledge about what the Commission does, does not, or even can do.
Montreal writer and Cartt.ca contributor Steve Faguy published a very interesting and entertaining take on all of this on his blog with a post…
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WINNIPEG – MTS Allstream saw third quarter profits climb 44.9% year-over-year on the strength of broadband growth at MTS and double-digit IP growth at Allstream.
For the period ended September 30, 2014, consolidated revenues of $402.4 million were down 1.5% from $403.3 million in Q3 2013. The company said that this was mostly due to Allstream legacy revenue declines, along with wireless wholesale declines and lower wireless voice revenues, partly offset by strong revenue growth from converged IP, broadband, wireless data and EPIC Information Solutions
Consolidated EBITDA of $140.1 million decreased 1.8% from $142.5 million year-over-year. Declines in Allstream legacy services,…
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