OTTAWA – The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) and the Consumers’ Association of Canada (CAC) are challenging Bell Canada’s practice of using customer information for behavioural and other marketing.
In an application filed Monday with the CRTC, the consumer organizations argue that Bell’s practice of collecting, using and disclosing customer information for marketing runs contrary to Canadian telecommunications policy, rules they say are intended to protect Canadians’ privacy.
“PIAC/CAC contend that aside from being contrary to the policy objectives, and to specific Commission rules about privacy, an overarching concern is that Bell’s Relevant Ads program does not provide sufficient detail to customers…
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OTTAWA – Canada’s wireless industry is one step closer to implementing the Text with 9-1-1 (T9-1-1) service for the deaf, deafened, hard of hearing or speech impaired (DHHSI) community in Canada.
The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) said Friday that its members across the country have completed all of the required network upgrades to implement T9-1-1, as per the CRTC’s directive last year. The T9-1-1 service, however, is not yet available in any region of the country until 9-1-1 call centres also complete technology upgrades.
T9-1-1 provides 9-1-1 call centres with the ability to converse with a deaf, deafened,…
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OTTAWA – Corus Entertainment’s purchase of Ottawa-based radio stations CKQB-FM (The Bear 106.9) and CJOT-FM (Boom 99.7) from Bell Media will close on January 31st , Corus confirmed Tuesday.
Formerly owned by Astral, Corus agreed to buy the stations last March as part of the divestitures required as conditions of Bell Media’s purchase of Astral Media. The deal received CRTC approval late last week.
Corus has established a Montreal-based management team led by Mario Cecchini, president of Corus Média and head of Eastern Ontario tadio and television. In addition to overseeing Corus' Quebec-based specialty services, Cecchini will now be responsible for Corus' eastern Ontario radio and local television…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The CRTC will be at the Sheraton Vancouver Guildford Hotel in Surrey on Monday morning to consider more than a dozen new radio applications vying to serve the Vancouver market.
Among the new radio proposals for consideration include applications from the likes of Newcap, Sky Radio and Channel Zero.
A live audio feed available on the Commission’s website.
www.crtc.gc.ca
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TORONTO – Verizon Wireless' strong wireless growth in fiscal year 2013 may bode well for Canadian incumbent wireless carriers, says an industry analyst.
In a note to clients on Tuesday, Dvai Ghose, Managing Director/Head of Research for Canaccord Genuity, said that incumbent wireless subscriber growth in North America still looks to be “robust despite maturation”, and predicted postpaid subscriber base increases at all three Canadian incumbents when they post their financial results for 2013 within the next few weeks. He estimates a 5.7% year-over-year increase at Bell Mobility, a 4.7% uptick at Telus Mobility and a 3.2% rise at Rogers Wireless.
Despite maturation, slowing…
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TORONTO – Canadian Multicultural Radio (CMR) has launched the country’s first programming using hybrid digital (HD) radio technology.
CMR, which operates as CJSA 101.3 FM in Toronto, broadcasts in 25 languages to over 20 ethnic communities. It debuted HD additional programming in Tamil on January 14 and the experimental service continues live on 101.3 FM HD2.
CRTC Commissioner Raj Shoan, pictured officially launching the programming on-air, said that HD Radio offers “interesting possibilities” for the entire Canadian radio industry and that the CRTC will consider whether the technology requires regulation as it is adopted by other broadcasters.
"On the one hand, it…
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GATINEAU – In contrast to high-profile hearings to discuss the proposed acquisition of Astral Media by BCE, or the shorter hearing for Corus's acquisition of assets BCE was required to divest in the deal, the CRTC has approved the acquisition of three radio stations in Calgary and Winnipeg by Jim Pattison Ltd. without a full public hearing.
As a condition of its approval of the BCE/Astral deal, the CRTC required Bell to divest 10 radio stations in markets where the merger of the two companies put it over the limits set by the Commission's common radio station ownership policy (in…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Turf Operations Group has paid $200,000 in penalties as part of a settlement over violations to the country’s telemarketing rules.
Turf Operations Group operates a number of lawn care franchises across Canada. The fine was made on behalf of itself and certain subsidiaries operating as Weed Man Ottawa, Weed Man Montreal, Weed Man Hamilton, Weed Man Scarborough and Weed Man Surrey, the CRTC said Friday.
After conducting an investigation between October 3, 2011 and June 25, 2013, the Commission determined that the company violated the unsolicited telecommunications rules by making telemarketing calls to Canadians who were registered on the National Do Not…
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SEVERAL SOURCES have told Cartt.ca over the past number of weeks that Rogers Communications has grabbed the over-the-top bull by the horns and has been signing a massive number of content deals and at least one significant partnership agreement (if not more) in an effort to battle back against Netflix in Canada by launching a new, national, OTT video portal.
Our multiple sources (all of whom requested anonymity for business reasons) have told Cartt.ca that Rogers is spending over $100 million buying all the video content windows available from as many rights holders (such as Disney/ABC, Warner Bros., 20th Century…
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TORONTO – Corus Entertainment said Monday that it officially closed its acquisition of Historia, Séries+ and the remaining 50% of Teletoon Canada Inc. on January 1, 2014.
After receiving the CRTC’s blessing on the deal late last month, Corus now owns 100% of Historia, Séries+ and Teletoon Canada (which includes Teletoon, Télétoon, Teletoon Retro, Télétoon Rétro and Cartoon Network). Last April, Corus also consolidated its ownership of ABC Spark and divested its 20% interest in Food Network Canada to corporate cousin Shaw Communications.
Corus said that the net cash consideration for these assets is $481 million Cdn. and was paid…
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