TORONTO – The first annual Canadian ISP Summit is coming to Toronto from November 14 – 16, presented by the Canadian Network Operator’s Consortium (CNOC) and the Canadian Association of Internet Providers (CAIP).
Designed for ISPs large and small across the country – and open to participants in the Canadian ISP industry – this conference will allow attendees to address the challenges and opportunities of the current business environment. The event will also be co-located with the Internet Society’s (ISOC) ION Conference, which will take place on Monday afternoon.
Keynote speeches will be made by representatives from the CRTC, Industry Canada, Telus…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has caught another telemarketer for violating the National Do Not Call List (DNCL) rules.
London, ON based Green Shield Windows and Doors Ltd. has been fined $12,000 for initiating ten telemarketing calls to consumers whose telephone numbers were registered on the DNCL, and for initiating two of those without having paid all applicable fees to the national DNCL operator, in violation of the Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules.
The Commission said in its decision that it received numerous complaints about calls from the company between January 10 and November 20, 2010, prompting it to issue a notice…
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OTTAWA – The Supreme Court of Canada said today it will decide whether or not the CRTC has the jurisdiction to institute the fee-for-carriage (or value for signal) regime it okayed in 2010.
When the CRTC made its policy announcement in March of that year, it referred the jurisdictional question to the Federal Court (pre-empting the carriers, who would have done the same thing). Then in March 2011, the Federal Court issued a 2-1 decision saying the CRTC did, in fact, have the right to okay a new value-for-signal policy where off-air TV broadcasters would have the right…
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OTTAWA – Toronto’s crowded FM dial may be the home to another new station after the CRTC issued a call for new applications to serve the Toronto market.
The Commission said Wednesday it issued the call after receiving an application by Dufferin Communications to change the frequency of its station CIRR-FM Toronto (also known as Proud 103.9) from 103.9 MHz to 88.1 MHz, as well as to increase its transmitter power. Dufferin is owned by independent radio broadcaster Evanov Radio Group.
Applications are due by December 19 and must include evidence giving clear indication that there is demand and a market…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has taken the rare step of halting the sale of Vancouver radio station Shore 104 FM to Astral Media Radio, citing a violation of its licence trafficking policy.
Shore 104 FM is is the licensee of CHHR-FM, an English-language commercial radio programming undertaking in Vancouver. According to documents, the private company is owned by a group of broadcast and business veterans that include president Roy Hennessy, David Aisenstat, Sam Feldman, Bob Mackowycz and son Bob Mackowycz Jr., Sean Morrison and TSN’s Michael Landsberg. The station was also being represented in the field by Astral Media Radio Sales, Continue Reading
TORONTO – Bell Media president Kevin Crull laid a verbal smackdown on the CRTC Monday in Toronto.
Speaking to a Broadcast Executives Society luncheon, Crull railed against last week’s CRTC vertical integration policy decision, which Bell is among just a few companies who came out against the Commission’s determination, saying the new policy will cause significant harm to the Canadian industry.
After pointing out the TV business suffers with “a failed financial model for delivering conventional television,” Crull also pointed out how his company (owners of conventional broadcast brands CTV and CTV Two along with specialty channels like TSN, Discovery,…
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CHANGE AT THE VERY top of the CRTC may be only the tip of the iceberg.
It’s been an open secret-slash-assumption for a while that the Conservative government was not keen on extending Konrad von Finckenstein’s stay as CRTC chairman. While the chair had made it known in the summer he would like to stay on for a few more years at least (a shorter, three year term was discussed, according to people with knowledge of the situation), Federal Cabinet has decided a new person will take the reins come January 25, when von Finckenstein’s mandate ends.
On Tuesday, he sent…
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OTTAWA – The Canadian Media Production Association (CMPA) is calling on the CRTC to hold a public proceeding to examine the role of television broadcasters in supporting Canadian English-language theatrical films.
The CMPA released two studies on Tuesday relating to Canadian theatrical films – one on the financing provided by broadcasters to English-language films supported under the Canada Feature Film Fund, and one related to the broadcast of films in the television system.
Canadian Television Broadcasters’ Financial Participation in the Production of English-language Theatrical Films Supported by Telefilm Canada Under the Main Program of the Canada Feature Film Fund found…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC is calling for comments as it contemplates creating a model municipal access agreement (MAA).
MAAs are negotiated between municipalities and telecommunication providers for access to municipal rights-of-way, such as street crossings and other municipal property, for the purposes of installing, operating, and maintaining transmission facilities.
The Commission said Friday that a model MAA would provide predictability, lower personnel costs in terms of time and money, and entry into new small markets on a more efficient basis, while allowing for a degree of customization to incorporate unique circumstances.
The CRTC has proposed developing a model MAA…
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CONSUMER GROUP AND self-described “pro-Internet group” OpenMedia.ca expressed cautious optimism towards the CRTC’s new plan on how it will handle complaints about Internet service providers’ (ISPs) traffic management practices.
While saying that it is “pleased with the CRTC’s move toward transparency and the establishment of clearer guidelines”, OpenMedia.ca executive director Steve Anderson also said that the process for enforcing Internet openness rules still relies far too heavily on customer complaints.
"The onus to identify and report unfair traffic management practices still rests on Canadians, many of whom will be unable to identify a violation and properly navigate the complaints process”, Anderson…
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