Search Results for: crtc

Radio / Television News

Chairman Blais to talk TV in both official languages

MONTREAL – CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais will begin his TV conversation en francais, first. Blais will deliver a speech at Université Laval on Thursday morning to explain why the CRTC is launching a national conversation about TV, what it entails, and how Canadians can participate in this conversation.  He’ll have the same conversation, in English, later that afternoon at Ryerson University in Toronto. For more information about ‘Let's Talk TV: A Conversation with Canadians’ check out the explanatory video here. The event will be webcast at: https://new.livestream.com/ulaval/crtc.  Follow the events on Twitter… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Bell defends targeted advertising program amidst privacy concerns as others weigh in

MONTREAL – Bell Canada confirmed Wednesday that it is tracking its mobile customers’ web habits, but that data will only be used to deliver customized ads, and customers may opt out of the program at any time. Bell said that it is collecting data such as web sites visited, apps downloaded and search terms from its mobile customers now, and that starting November 16, will use this data to deliver advertising that is “most relevant” to them.  Customers were informed of the program through invoice messages, texts and emails over the last few months. It's worth noting here that Google, Twitter, Yahoo!,… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Canadians add even more numbers to the do not call list

OTTAWA – The number of new telephone and fax numbers added to the country's national do not call list (DNCL) shot up in September, though telemarketing complaints increased only slightly over those in August, 2013. According to the Commission's most recent status report just over 50,000 new phone or fax numbers were added in September, a marked increase from the 30,000 new numbers added during August.  A total of 11,890,788 numbers were registered with the DNCL as of September 30. The total of telemarketing complaints filed in September was just under 8,000,… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Bandwidth throttling complaints to CRTC remain steady

OTTAWA – Consumer complaints received by the CRTC regarding bandwidth throttling by their Internet service providers (ISPs) for the last quarter are on par with those reported in the first quarter of this year. The Commission reports it received a total of 17 complaints regarding Internet Traffic Management Practices (ITMPs) from July 1 to September 30, 2013, the same number of complaints that were filed from January 1 to March 31.  Six were filed from April 1 – June 30, 2013. The complaints are grouped into two categories: – ITMP disclosure complaints are those related to whether the ISP has disclosed… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

Tangible benefits policy goes under review

OTTAWA – The CRTC is rethinking the way it approaches tangible benefits and how it determines the value of a transaction in the broadcast world. On Monday, the Commission called for comments on various aspects of its approach to tangible benefits.  Among other things, it is asking for feedback on its preliminary view that at least 80% of tangible benefits for television services should be allocated to specific third-party funds and that the allocation of no more than 20% of tangible benefits should be left to the discretion of the purchaser. It also seeks comment on… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Video relay service hearing includes signed comments through YouTube, for first time

GATINEAU – More than 3,000 comments were filed with the CRTC in connection with its hearing into a potential Canadian video relay service (VRS), including, for the first time, submissions made using sign language through the Commission’s YouTube channel, said vice chair Peter Menzies. Opening the week long hearing on Monday morning, Menzies instructed appearing parties that their presentations should include views and evidence to address the following: – What are the benefits of video relay service? To what extent, if any, does it meet the needs of people who are deaf, hard of hearing… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

CRTC, Competition Bureau join international taskforce on number ‘spoofing’

OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The CRTC and the Competition Bureau are joining forces with regulators from United Kingdom and the United States to tackle the problem of phone number ‘spoofing’, according to a statement issued Monday. Spoofing involves callers hiding their identity by causing a false or invalid phone number to display when making calls. It is a tactic often used by organizations carrying out unsolicited, misleading or even fraudulent telemarketing activities and can increase the harm caused to consumers from nuisance calls. A ‘spoofed’ number on a call display might be a random series of digits,… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

Blais starts the TV conversation Thursday

TORONTO – CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais will kick off ‘Let's Talk TV: A Conversation with Canadians’ this Thursday at RTA School of Media at Ryerson University in Toronto. Blais is scheduled to deliver a speech explaining why the CRTC is launching a national conversation about TV, what it entails and how Canadians can participate in this conversation. For more information about ‘Let's Talk TV: A Conversation with Canadians’ check out the explanatory video here. Follow the event on Twitter: @CRTCeng Hashtags: #CRTC #TalkTV www.crtc.gc.ca Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

CRTC ponders Canadian video relay service

GATINEAU – The CRTC will kick off its hearing into the feasibility of establishing a Canadian video relay service (VRS) on Monday morning. The hearing follows the Commission’s public consultation into the matter announced last March.  Currently, two text-based relay services, Internet Protocol relay and teletypewriter relay, are available to Canadians who are deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired. Video relay service would enable people who use sign language to communicate with voice telephone users via an operator who relays the conversation from sign language to spoken language, and vice versa. Simultaneous translation of the… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

COMMENTARY: Feds telling CRTC what to do with a-la-carte push; two possible unintended consequences

WHO’D A THUNK THE first submission to the CRTC’s television policy review would come straight from the federal government. Today’s Speech from the Throne, delivered by Governor-General David Johnston, followed up what Industry Minister James Moore told the media over Thanksgiving weekend – that the federal government wants to dismantle the bundling of specialty channels so that Canadians have the choice to purchase them one at a time. The speech, which traditionally sets out government priorities for the next session of Parliament, did not spell out how the federal government will make that happen,… Continue Reading