OTTAWA – The CRTC awarded broadcasting licences for three new Hindi movie services and a Teletoon-affiliated service on Friday.
Asian Television Network International Limited (ATN) received approval to operate ATN Hindi Movie Channel 3, ATN Hindi Movie Channel 4, and ATN Hindi Movie Channel 5, three national, niche third-language ethnic Category 2 specialty services that will show movies in the Hindi language and additional programming linked to the movies.
The Commission also approved a channel known as Teletoon Kapow! a national, English-language Category 2 specialty channel devoted to programming from international markets, featuring the latest trends in non-violent action, adventure, superheroes, comedy…
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GATINEAU – The chairmanship of the CRTC is often said to be a thankless job, so, many of the leading regulatory folks in Canadian telecom set about to change that this week, getting together to thank outgoing CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein for his yeoman’s work these past five years.
When he came on board as chair in 2007, von Finckenstein promised an open, accountable and transparent Commission. With dozens of public proceedings and many new ways to include the public in the debate launched under his watch, we got that in spades under von Finckenstein, who oversaw his final…
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OTTAWA – CBC/Radio-Canada president and CEO Hubert T. Lacroix used the public broadcaster’s third annual public meeting and 75th anniversary to hammer home its commitment to accountability and transparency.
Speaking Wednesday afternoon at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, Lacroix highlighted the Corp’s newly created website that details its executive expenses, information about audits and Board meetings, and includes a monthly bulletin reporting on its “progress” on Access to Information requests. He also stressed its accountability to Canadians through Parliament, the CRTC, the Auditor General and its government-appointed Board of Directors.
“We take accountability and transparency very seriously”, he said…
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TORONTO – Rogers Communications said Tuesday that it will try out a leaner basic programming package that it claims will provide its cable customers with the choice and flexibility that they have been asking for.
Available November 8 as a trial in London, ON, the Rogers Digital Starter Pack will offer a standard set of 86 core TV channels, including government mandated channels, for a base price of $20.29/month excluding taxes. Customers can order the Digital Starter Pack and may then choose any additional 15, 20 or 30 channels from more than 100 options, starting at $26.38/month, plus taxes. The Digital Starter…
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GATINEAU – Some consensus around a Rogers Communications proposal for IP to IP connection emerged during the first day of rebuttals Monday at the CRTC’s interconnection hearing.
Rogers decided that it would be easier to live with the status quo in IP interconnection and pay for the costs of converting IP traffic to TDM (time-division multiplexing) to terminate voice calls on ILECs network as long as ILECs would negotiate IP interconnection where they offer it to either a subsidiary, a division or an unaffiliated carrier. Last week, Rogers requested the commission require the ILECs to pay…
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OTTAWA – Heritage Minister James Moore, CBC/Radio-Canada president and CEO Hubert Lacroix, and CRTC chairman Konrad von Finckenstein are among the big name speakers confirmed for the 2011 International Institute of Communications (IIC) Canada conference.
Scheduled for November 28 – 29 at the Ottawa Convention Centre in Ottawa, the event is themed ‘Competition, Innovation and Applications: Towards a Digital Economy for Canada’. Cartt.ca is a media partner.
This year's conference will also feature a pre-conference on public broadcasting, presented in conjunction with CBC/Radio-Canada, on the morning of November 28. Plenary panels will include ‘Copyright and the digital economy’; ‘Over-the-top services: reframing the content…
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OTTAWA – Namir Anani, the CRTC’s executive director, policy, development and research, is leaving the Commission, it was announced today.
He has accepted the position of CEO of the Information and Communications Technology Council in Ottawa. A not-for-profit sector council, the ICTC is geared towards the creation of a prepared, diverse and highly educated Canadian ICT industry and workforce. “ICTC is a catalyst for change, pushing for innovations that will provide standards, labour market intelligence, career pathways and immigration for the Canadian ICT industry, educators and governments,” reads its web site. “We forge partnerships that will help develop the quantity…
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MONTREAL – Cogeco Cable CEO Louis Audet said yesterday that the existing subscription TV model of providing large multi-channel programming packages to customers will soon be a thing of the past as companies evolve towards a model of more choice and flexibility.
Speaking to financial analysts after the company’s release of its strong fourth quarter results, Audet said irrespective of the CRTC’s demand for a report on providing more choice to the consumer (as the Commission has demanded as part of its Vertical Integration Policy), the overall video market will push cable in that direction.
“It’s…
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GATINEAU – The CRTC and the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) announced this morning that they have brought together 12 enforcement agencies to launch an International Do Not Call Network.
The CRTC and ACMA will serve as the network's inaugural co-chairs, and the United States Federal Trade Commission will host the secretariat.
"Enforcement agencies face a common challenge in tracking down individuals and companies who violate telemarketing rules, but operate outside national borders," said Konrad von Finckenstein, chairman of the CRTC. "A global problem calls for global solutions. Having a network that fosters collaboration will contribute to more effective cross-border…
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GATINEAU – The CRTC has told online gamers that its complaints over Rogers network management policies have been heard and that the big ISP may face some sort of penalty or public hearing.
According to a news release Thursday evening from Openmedia.ca, the Canadian Gamers Organization was told by the Commission in a letter on Thursday from chief compliance and enforcement officer Andrea Rosen that its ongoing complaints against Rogers will be referred to the Commission’s Compliance and Enforcement Sector for further action.
The gamers say that Rogers’ throttling…
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