TORONTO – Telus said Monday that it is on track to implement all necessary requirements of the CRTC’s new Wireless Code of Conduct by the end of the month.
The code, which comes into effect on December 2nd, establishes a common set of rights for all wireless consumers in Canada.
Telus said that it adopted many of these customer-friendly provisions long before the Code was drafted. It is currently modifying policies and procedures to add domestic and international data caps and notifications at $50 and $100 respectively; and, customers who purchase a device outright…
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OTTAWA – Industry analysts and a journalist duked it out over wireless pricing and government policy in Canada during a session at the annual International Institute of Canada conference on Monday.
Jeff Fan, research analyst at Scotia Capital, presented some figures that countered many of the arguments which have been made by the federal government and others who say that competition in Canada’s wireless market is lacking. Fan noted that the elimination of three-year contracts as mandated by the CRTC earlier this year in its Wireless Code of Conduct has actually made things worse for consumers by leading…
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OTTAWA – Forcing broadcast distributors to offer specialty services on a pick and pay basis may not result in big savings for consumers, Kevin Crull, president of Bell Media, said during a luncheon keynote speech at the International Institute of Communications Canada’s annual conference in Ottawa on Monday.
Crull’s comments come as the CRTC has undertaken a broad conversation with Canadians about the future of TV and as the federal government has all but told the industry it will force pick-and-pay upon it. After talking directly to consumers for a while, the Commission will…
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OTTAWA – Just over 50,000 new telephone and fax numbers were added to the country's national do not call list (DNCL) in October, while telemarketing complaints dropped considerably from those registered in the previous month.
According to the Commission's most recent status report, a total of 12,009,325 numbers were registered with the DNCL as of October 31, up 118,537 over September’s figures.
The total of telemarketing complaints filed in October was about 7,300, down from approximately 7,600 in September. Since the DNCL's launch in 2008, 755,582 complaints have been logged.
Ten new investigations were opened…
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GATINEAU – The CRTC said today that it doesn’t think the Saskatoon market can support any more commercial radio stations and so it won’t be issuing a call for applications for new stations there.
“Based on its analysis of the comments received and its review of the financial performance of the market and its stations, the Commission remains concerned about the effects of licensing further commercial radio stations in the Saskatoon market at this time,” said a decision released Wednesday.
In May, an application was filed for a license to serve the largest city in the province and…
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QUEBECERS ENJOY HOMEGROWN television fare, programs that tell their stories and reflect who they are. But are we taking our television programming for granted?
One might think so in view of the weak Francophone response to the CRTC’s invitation to participate in a conversation about the future of television (see Stéphane Baillargeon, “L’écran rêvé: Le CRTC s’interroge sur ce à quoi devrait ressembler la télé de l’avenir,” Le Devoir, November 11). This is one of the reasons why Quebecor Media is encouraging the public to participate in the discussion and submit comments to the CRTC by…
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VANCOUVER – The Federal Government told the CRTC Thursday that it wants to be kept in the loop on how Canadians feel about unbundling their television channels.
“As stated in the most recent Speech from the Throne, our Government believes Canadian families should be able to choose the combination of television channels they want,” said Shelly Glover, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, in a statement. “This decision is an important step in defending Canadian consumers, who want choice and flexibility in their television services. Our request will ensure that the CRTC develops a more complete…
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WOULD CANADIANS really want to limit the number of TV channels coming into their homes if given the opportunity to choose them one at a time? You bet they would.
As part of its ongoing, annual, Digital Life Canada survey, Toronto’s Solutions Research Group asked respondents earlier this year what they would do if presented with more choice in their cable, satellite or telcoTV bundles.
If given a choice, 64% of Canadians would drop one or more channels from their subscription, says the independent, syndicated research. The question asked was: “Some people say that if they had a choice, they would…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC denied a request from Telus to amend the rates, terms, and conditions applicable to all wholesale high-speed access services, however, it did agree to change Telus’ rates.
The Commission said Tuesday that while it would not review and vary Telecom Decision 2013-73, it would, upon further review, adjust the rate associated with Telus’ 6 megabit-per-second wholesale high-speed access service “on its own motion”.
Its decision, retroactive to November 15, 2011, is based upon further review of the costs associated with that service, continued the decision.
www.crtc.gc.ca
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DARTMOUTH, NS – Newcap has received CRC approval to sell CHFT-FM in Fort McMurray, AB to Harvard Broadcasting Inc.
This transaction, reported by Cartt.ca last July, is expected to be completed within the next 30 days. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Fort McMurray’s radio market includes competitor Rogers, which owns Country 93.3 FM and Rock 97.9 FM. CHFT-FM, which operates as K-Rock 100.5 in Fort McMurray, will join Harvard’s Mix 103.7 FM station in that market.
"This was a unique situation in a market where two stand-alone stations, Newcap's…
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