I DON’T RECALL THIS question being clearly asked last week of the company executives who would block Bell Canada’s purchase of Astral Media: Why do you fear Bell would act the way you say it will?
The subject was broached a few times last week during the CRTC hearing and was sort-of asked, just not in as direct a way as we’ve put it above. The answer was given a number of times. Put simply, the executives of Quebecor, Cogeco, Rogers, EastLink and others say Bell is behaving poorly already and they fear an even bigger Bell would act as…
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MONTRÉAL – Rogers Communications in its $10.3 million proposal for Montréal’s CJNT-TV (Metro 14) says it has found the “optimal solution” that provides the city with a new English-language commercial TV station while also supporting a local plan for a new multilingual station. And even if the CRTC says no, it’s got a back-up plan to loosen CJNT’s current ethnic programming requirements.
Under Rogers’ optimal scenario the new station would be branded Citytv Montreal with programming and conditions of licence similar to the company's other Citytv…
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TORONTO – Tom Pentefountas, CRTC Vice Chair will provide an update on the commission's activities at his first appearance at the Ontario Association of Broadcasters Fall Conference.
Pentefountas has been with the CRTC since April 2011, and most recently was in Montreal to attend the CRTC’s hearings into Bell’s purchase of Astral Media. With his legal background combined with on-air experience, Pentefountas has a fresh perspective on the ever changing broadcasting industry.
Connection 2012, a one-day conference, will be held on Tuesday, November 6th…
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TORONTO – North American wireless carriers reported strong Q2 margins, with combined wireless EBITDA service margins for Rogers, Telus, Bell, AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, LEAP and MetroPCS up 342 basis points and EBITDA growth up 14.5% over the previous year. This according to figures reported in Dvai Ghose’s Canaccord Genuity Daily Letter for September 17.
He says the improved margins were driven by reduced device subsidy pressure. Wireless equipment subsidies dropped an estimated 12% in Q2 due to a “dearth of iconic device launches.” He noted that with the Samsung Galaxy S III and the iPhone 5 recently launched “we…
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IQALUIT- Northwestel will begin cellular broadband 3G technical trials at the Nunavut Trade Show on September 25. The trials will help determine what technology Northwestel will use to carry out part of its modernization plan.
Northwestel submitted a modernization plan to the CRTC this past July in which it proposed to invest $273 million across the North. If the plan is approved, Northwestel will bring 3G wireless and high speed Internet services into every northern community. The CRTC is expected to deliver its decision later this fall.
“In the meantime, Northwestel is conducting cellular broadband 3G technical trials to…
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WITH THE CLOSING CEREMONIES of the Paralympic Games September 9th, the Olympic flame was officially doused until Sochi, Russia in 2014.
When that happened, a group of hardworking, unknown, largely underappreciated broadcasters were able to put out the flames in their backs, wrists, eyes and shoulders after working long, demanding hours spread through this summer.
We’re talking about the closed captioners, the people (mostly women) who type all those words you see when your TV is muted, or when you’re at the gym on a treadmill. It’s a vital service for the hundreds of thousands of Canadians who are deaf or…
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SHANGHAI, CHINA – Ice Wireless and Iristel are partnering with Huawei Canada to enter into a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract to provide 3G cellular services to rural and remote communities in the Northwest Territories (NWT), Yukon Territories and Nunavut.
"Providing all people of the Northwest Territories with better telecommunications infrastructure is a priority for this government," said NWT Premier Bob McLeod in a news release. “Better access to advanced cellular services and broadband Internet will enhance our competitiveness, create higher value-added jobs and make new business models possible."
Presently, residents of the three territories of Northern Canada have the lowest availability…
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GATINEAU – Beginning today, the new area code “873” is officially available for new telephone numbers in the area currently served by the 819 code in Québec. Increasing demand for telephone numbers, particularly for wireless devices, has created a need for additional numbers to serve customers in the 819 region.
In February 2010, the CRTC announced the 819 region of Québec would be getting a new area code overlay on June 1, 2013. The new area code was in response to a report that warned the region would run out of telephone numbers by February…
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OTTAWA – The CBC says it's “fiercely opposed” to BCE’s proposal to double the amount of its tangible benefits package to create a new Category C French language national news service, calling it an “abuse of process” and an “extraordinary attempt to undermine competition.”
The CBC contends that BCE's proposed change to its tangible benefits package from its proposed purchase of Astral Media was made without notice to the commission or interveners, or to other interested parties such as the CBC, which might have intervened if the proposal had been…
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MONTREAL – It was almost a game of regulatory Call Of Duty for Bell Canada on Friday as company executives brandished figurative pistols to whack as many of its enemies claims as it could while defending its position on its deal to buy Astral Media for $3.38 billion.
While the company recommitted itself to providing everything it promised earlier in the week, and reiterated how the combined company’s level of ownership and audience share would not “come anywhere close to any reasonable or customary assessment of dominance in any developed country,” said…
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