CRTC called out for “vague”, “unenforceable” safeguards
OTTAWA – Telus, Bell, Independent Broadcast Group (IBG), and the Canadian Communication Systems Alliance Inc. (CCSA) have each filed separate comments in support of the National Pensioners Federation and Public Interest Advocacy Centre’s (NPF-PIAC) petition to the Governor-In-Council, asking for the CRTC’s recent decision to approve Rogers Communications’ acquisition of Shaw Communications’ broadcasting assets to be set aside or referred back to the Commission.
(Cartt.ca obtained copies of the submissions from PIAC and Bell.)
Whittled down to its core, the argument put forth in NPF-PIAC’s petition and the submissions made in support of…
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By Monica Auer
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT is asking Canadians to trust the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to implement new legislation about electronic communications.
The CRTC is now responsible for implementing Canada’s Broadcasting and Telecommunications Acts, Canada’s ‘Anti-Spam’ law as well as parts of the Canada Elections Act and the 2019 Accessible Canada Act: the government is proposing through Bills C-11 and C-18 to give the Commission more powers over Canadian and foreign Internet broadcasters as well as Canada’s news media, along with new authority to levy administrative monetary penalties for non-compliance with the CRTC’s requirements.
In February the government assured…
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GATINEAU – TekSavvy is asking the CRTC to update the approval processes for competitor tariff filings, which it says are causing a widening gap between when new service speeds are offered at retail by incumbent carriers and when wholesale competitors gain access to those same speeds.
“Because of the tariff application process currently in place, competitors are left to wait for Commission approval for access to new service speeds,” a Part 1 application from TekSavvy posted to the CRTC’s website last week says.
“Meanwhile, incumbent carriers immediately begin offering the new speeds to their retail customers, insulated from any wholesale competition,…
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CHATHAM – A TekSavvy request to have CRTC chair Ian Scott investigated for alleged wrongdoing has been referred to the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner (CIEC) by the Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner of Canada.
TekSavvy originally asked the federal Integrity Commissioner to investigate Scott in March. The disclosure filed by the independent Internet service provider at the time contained evidence, “which shows Mr. Scott held numerous ex parte meetings with telecom lobbyists during open regulatory proceedings concerning pricing of internet and mobile services,” a TekSavvy press release says.
The Integrity Commissioner has since notified TekSavvy…
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By Konrad von Finckenstein
IN AN OPINION PIECE regarding C-11, the Online Streaming Act, Douglas Barrett on April 8 pointed out that the bill allows the CRTC to determine what constitutes a Canadian program for the purpose of act. He asked the logical question:
“How are they to do this? The first and most obvious approach would be to require the streamers contribute to a fund in the same manner as the BDUs currently contribute to the CMF. This could be a completely new fund established just for online undertakings.
The big question is – OK. But who would have access…
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OTTAWA – Telus has not successfully addressed concerns expressed by the CRTC in its 2018 renewal of the company’s regional licences for its terrestrial broadcasting distribution undertakings (BDUs) serving locations in Alberta and British Columbia, a letter from the Commission to Telus’ director of regulatory affairs, Lecia Simpson, says.
In its 2018 decision, the CRTC expressed concern the company’s “community television model did not allow for a significant amount or a wide variety of locally produced and reflective programming to be produced by a range of individuals within a community,” the letter, published earlier this week on the CRTC’s website, says.
“As…
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OTTAWA – Consumer advocacy groups the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) and the National Pensioners Federation (NPF) today filed a petition to the federal cabinet, asking for the CRTC’s recent decision to approve Rogers Communications’ acquisition of Shaw Communications’ broadcasting assets to be set aside.
If cabinet decides not to set aside the decision, the organizations have asked for the decision to be referred back to the Commission.
“Consumers shouldn’t pay for these mergers,” said John Lawford, executive director and general counsel of PIAC, in a press release announcing the petition was filed. “This Petition is a result of…
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By Ahmad Hathout
LARGE TELCOS ARE recommending the CRTC avoid subsidizing next-generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1) networks through a large fund subsidized by the carriers and dedicated to basic telecommunications services, with one large telco fearing such a move would increase the cost of operation with less oversight.
The Commission is currently putting in place the funding mechanism to allow for the installation and upkeep of networks that will drive NG9-1-1 service, which will allow distressed callers to submit texts, photos and videos to first responders. The Commission expects the cost of funding the networks will be $55 million annually over five years.
But in a proceeding…
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By Denis Carmel
GATINEAU – Following three complaints made by Teksavvy, a competitive telecommunications provider, the Information Commissioner ruled the CRTC did not respect the timelines of the service provider’s requests for information as required by the Access to Information Act.
The rulings – one of which was issued in March and two in April 2022 – were posted on Teksavvy’s blog.
“The time extension was claimed within the initial thirty-day deadline, however, while CRTC successfully demonstrated that an extension under 9(1)(c) could be justified, CRTC failed to respond to the request not only by the statutory due date, but…
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Updated with comment from petitioner, dotmobile.
OTTAWA — The federal cabinet has denied a petition today to overturn a decision by the CRTC that only allowed a limited group of wireless service providers to force negotiations to use national telecom facilities, saying it believes the decision will provide consumers with greater choice and bring down prices.
Mobile virtual network operator Data on Tap (dotmobile) filed the petition in May 2021 to reverse the part of the CRTC’s decision that excludes full MVNOs like itself from participating in those mandatory negotiations. The decision by the regulator…
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