OTTAWA – In Canada’s broadcast and communications industry, knowledge is power. The CWC 2013 Jeanne Sauvé Career Development program is designed to give women both. Whether you work in the private or public sector, the programs give you a "backstage pass" to learn how the other half lives.
The intensive learning experience is designed to give five participants (one each from Industry Canada, Canadian Heritage and the CRTC, and two from private-sector organizations) new perspectives, insights and direct access to some of the industry’s most influential policy and regulatory decision makers, as well as new…
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MONTREAL – Carolle Brabant's mandate as executive director of Telefilm Canada has been renewed for another three years.
"Under Carolle Brabant's leadership, the past three years have been very productive," said Michel Roy, Chair of the Board of Telefilm. "In the spirit of our 2011-2015 corporate plan, Fostering Cultural Success, to which she largely contributed, Carolle has managed to implement the Board's strategic direction while fostering a culture of success at Telefilm and in the industry.
"Under her management, over the next few years we'll be able to further integrate these recent changes and…
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TORONTO – Roam free? Well, not quite, but Rogers Communications promises it will soon launch new, more affordable, roaming rate for customers travelling to the United States. Rogers says it will lead the market with a new easy and worry-free roaming solution designed for Canadians travelling to the U.S.
Coming this spring, the company is introducing a new $7.99 pay-per-use roaming rate that gives customers access to 50 megabytes of data over a 24 hour period while travelling in the U.S. This new rate, available to consumers and businesses, gives customers nearly twice the data…
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INDUSTRIES CONSOLIDATE. All industries. That’s the natural growth path. The big get bigger. If you doubt that, check the retail, mining, automotive, heck, any sector. Shareholders decide to divest, or need to divest and sell to the highest bidder. Sometimes they go bust. That’s our global economy.
So at this point, we have to accept the fact that unless we are going to slap some mighty regulations on wireless, all but nationalize the networks and force-feed Canadians many carriers (all of whom would then be undercapitalized weaklings), our market is not going to develop any more telecom companies. It’s too…
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MONTREAL – While Q4 revenue at BCE remained virtually stagnant over the past year at nearly $5.161 billion, missing analyst estimates, it reported net earnings spiked by 45.7% from a year earlier in the quarter ended Dec. 31, rising to $708 million from $486 million. BCE also provided an update that it was still pursuing its purchase of Astral Media and expects that its new $3.38-billion proposal will address the CRTC’s concern that the original bid was “not a good deal for Canadians.”
Adjusted net earnings attributable to common shareholders were $506 million, an increase of…
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OTTAWA – In tersely worded letters, the CRTC has made it loud and clear it’s losing patience with Telus and three local TV providers for failing to comply with new rules that limit the loudness of TV commercials they broadcast. The companies have all failed to meet new distribution regulations that ensure commercial messages and regular programming are broadcast at an even volume. The amendments came into force September 1, 2012 and the Commission has now set new deadlines for the companies to prove they are in fact moving towards compliance.
The letters, from Andrea Rosen, Chief Compliance…
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WHITEHORSE – The north needs to take a holistic approach to the modernization of its satellite and broadband infrastructure that empowers the consumer and not the “band-aid solution” that Northwestel is proposing. In its submission to the CRTC, ahead of a June 19, 2013 hearing in Whitehorse to review Northwestel’s $273 million modernization plan, SSi Micro, northern Canada's largest ISP, says Canada still lacks a coherent policy plan for broadband.
Rather than address key investments that would help modernize northern telecommunications, the main focus of the Northwestel plan is on items such as “advancements…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has appointed Christianne Laizner as the CRTC’s senior general counsel. The Commission will benefit from her extensive experience in providing legal, strategic and policy advice, as well as in leading legal teams, says CRTC chair Jean-Pierre Blais.
After five years in private practice, Christianne joined the Department of Justice and provided legal services for various departments. Notably, she provided advice leading to the ratification of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the implementation of regulations to resolve disputes. Laizner also provided counsel during the negotiations that led to a Softwood Lumber…
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IT SEEMS OBVIOUS NOW that the federal government’s attempt at building more competition into the Canadian wireless market has been a failure.
With the benefit of hindsight, looking back at how the Canadian wireless market has evolved since the 2008 advanced wireless spectrum auction, I keep wondering: “what did the federal government think was going to happen?” Back then, in an ill-advised attempt to foster more competition to the burgeoning wireless market in Canada, the federal government offered any Canadian-led wireless newcomer a leg-up in that auction, setting aside spectrum that was just for newbies willing to gamble on becoming…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has agreed to extend the submission deadline for the hearing into the must-carry of cable and satellite channels as outlined in section 9(1)(h) of the Broadcasting Act after receiving requests for an extension from Shaw, Rogers, Cogeco and the Canadian Cable Systems Alliance (jointly), Telus and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre.
The deadline for the submission of interventions, comments and answers has been extended to February 27, 2013 and the deadline for the submission of replies has been extended to March 11 2013.
In addition, the preamble and the following item…
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