YELLOWKNIFE – For the first time ever, consumers and businesses in Yellowknife, Whitehorse and Inuvik are being given a choice for local phone service. Iristel says they can now keep their existing phone numbers and move to its competing phone network for significantly less than they are paying currently for local phone service by using VoIP technology. It is also planning to offer advanced Internet-based services for smaller communities in 2013
"Our network is fired up, connected to the south and ready to go for people in Canada's North who are tired of high monopoly…
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OTTAWA and GATINEAU – In preparation for a formal review in 2014-15 that will examine the future of 911 services in Canada, the CRTC has appointed National Commissioner Tim Denton as an Inquiry Officer to conduct research on 911 services. He is inviting Canadians to share their views on how 911 services could be improved. Denton will report his findings to the CRTC by the end of May 2013.
"Each year, the 911 system is relied upon by thousands of Canadians during emergency situations," said Denton. "As telecommunications networks evolve and adopt new technologies, we…
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OTTAWA – The promise of more regional and children’s programming as well as more programs of national interest (PNI) were not enough for some of CBC/Radio-Canada’s detractors. In final comments to its licence renewal filed this week, many suggested that the public broadcaster needs to still do even more Canadian programming than it committed during replies stage.
ACTRA said the CRTC shouldn’t been fooled by CBC’s request for flexibility, which has usually been synonymous with airing less Canadian content. Nor should the CBC shouldn’t be able to use its fiscal challenges as an excuse to its lessen its obligations. “Without…
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DARTMOUTH, N.S – Newfoundland Capital Corporation announced today its wholly-owned subsidiary, Newcap Inc, has received approval from the CRTC for the purchase of 70.1% of the shares of Nova Scotia Limited which holds the CKCH-FM radio broadcast licence in Sydney, Nova Scotia. This transaction increases Newcap's ownership interest to 100% and is expected to be completed within the next 60 days.
"The acquisition of The Eagle in Sydney provides a great complement to our existing station, The Giant, and we look forward to expanding our presence in the community," commented Rob Steele, President and Chief Executive Officer of NCC.
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MARKHAM, ON – “Re-commercialization of CBC Radio is a terrible idea” and would be “extremely detrimental to smaller market operations” says Douglas E. Kirk, President, Ontario Association of Broadcasters (OAB).
In a letter to the CRTC dated Dec. 11, Kirk responds to the CBC’s proposal made at its recent license renewal hearing that it be allowed to run commercial ads on its radio properties and responded to the CBC’s claims regarding revenue growth.
In the letter Kirk questions whether CBC Radio is actually facing a “financial crisis” given the $327.3 million in parliamentary appropriation it…
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TORONTO – With the Supreme Court ruling the CRTC does not have the authority to require cable and satellite companies to negotiate with local broadcasters it now needs to focus attention on local stations says the Canadian Media Guild.
“The CRTC must now focus its attention on helping the local stations that really need it: those run by public and community broadcasters,” says Marc-Philippe Laurin, president of the CBC branch of the Canadian Media Guild.
The so-called value-for-signal scheme, proposed by the CRTC in 2010, would not have included CBC/Radio-Canada, the largest national network…
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OTTAWA – In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court of Canada said Thursday that the CRTC does not have the jurisdiction to allow conventional over-the-air broadcasters pursue a wholesale fee from BDUs for the carriage of their signals. The court’s decision should just about bring to a close the so-called fee-for-carriage (FFC) or value-for-signal (VFS) debate.
The court heard the case back in April which was essentially between the big BDUs, which had always stood against VFS, and Bell Canada. Canwest Television was listed as a respondent, but that was a leftover artefact of the earlier case as Canwest’s new…
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GATINEAU – Friends of Alain Gourd say the Canadian media industry has lost a humanist and optimist, a fierce defender of Canadian talent, as well as a persuasive debater who often earned the respect of his opponents – and a dedicated family man who made time to comfort those with cancer even as he fought the same disease.
Gourd passed away at the age of 66 this past Saturday. After battling cancer for nearly a decade, which was in remission, he died last weekend of complications due to pneumonia.
Andrée Noël, national chair of the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council calls Gourd…
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OTTAWA – Canada's Telecommunications Hall of Fame has announced that Omer Girard, a founding father of Canadian cable television, is the 2012 recipient of the coveted Neotelis Canadian Telecom Career Service Award for material contributions to the promotion of telecommunications in Canada. Girard, soon to celebrate his 92nd birthday, was selected to receive the Canadian Telecom Career Service Award for industry leadership and vision, innovation in service and dedication and sacrifice in advancing the interests of the Canadian cable television industry.
Omer Girard's outstanding career in the Canadian telecom industry began 55 years ago…
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GATINEAU – Corus Entertainment executives strongly defended the choices it has made in in bringing Oprah Winfrey’s cable channel to Canada in front of the CRTC Tuesday.
The company brought all of its big guns to the Commission hearing earlier today after being called on the carpet for being in non-compliance with the license that applies to the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) Canada – a channel which was Canadian Learning Television a decade ago.
John Cassaday, president and CEO of Corus, was accompanied by Doug Murphy, executive VP of Corus Entertainment and president of Corus Television, regulatory chief Gary Mavaara, John…
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