CALGARY – Shaw Communications said today that thanks to the national backlash over the concept of usage-based billing, it is asking customers to participate in consultation sessions to share their thoughts on how the big ISP should handle Internet usage allowances and billing.
That’s despite the fact the whole UBB furor has little to do with Shaw as it has just a single third party ISPs riding on its network and hadn’t yet begun charging retail customers for exceeding the gigabit download thresholds the company had set (“High Speed” has a 60 GB file transfer limit, “Extreme” has a 100…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has a new vice-chairman of broadcasting at last.
Montreal lawyer Athanasios (Tom) Pentefountas was named to the post by Heritage Minister James Moore on Friday. The position has been filled on an interim basis by Ontario commissioner Rita Cugini since Michel Arpin completed his five-year term last August.
"I am delighted that Mr. Pentefountas has agreed to join the CRTC," said Minister Moore, in the announcement. "I am certain that his leadership, extensive knowledge, and strong legal background will be great assets to the CRTC."
Pentefountas is a partner in the law firm Silver Sandiford. He has also worked…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has turned down Corus’ request for a regional, English-language category 2 specialty television network in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
Known as Local1, the network had planned to offer a local news, weather, traffic and community information service customized for each community in which it was distributed. Pelmorex, for one, opposed the application.
In its decision, the Commission said it was not convinced that the proposed service would be anything more than a weather-related service, and therefore competitive with The Weather Network, a must-carry, category A service. Corus also failed to demonstrated that Local1 would be…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has updated its action plan for reviewing certain telecom regulatory measures.
Before the end of its fiscal year on March 31, 2011, the Commission pledged to initiate its reviews of the following:
Regulatory measures relating to interconnection issues– Wireless Interconnection: Bill & Keep– Review interexchange carrier interconnection– Review and streamline competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) interconnection obligations as they apply to small CLECs– Creation of CLEC-voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) category– Administration of CLEC interconnection by incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC).
Other regulatory measures– ILECs’ provision of digital maps of exchanges for…
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OTTAWA – While CRTC chairman Konrad von Finckenstein said Thursday he’d have the Commission take another look at the wholesale usage-based billing decision, he did not back down at all from the concept itself as an acceptable way for ISPs to do business.
The chair was called in Thursday to appear before the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology to explain the Regulator’s rationale behind its decision that caused so much ill-informed uproar. The January 25 decision confirmed that major ISPs could apply the same UBB parameters to wholesalers using its networks, and that it had to be offered…
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HOW DID A CRTC DECISION on usage-based billing that affects so few total Canadians become a national story and potentially an election issue?
It’s your fault, big ISPs.
According to recent research, most customers of the large Canadian ISPs were not even aware their Internet packages were subject to bandwidth caps and extra billing if they went over those limits. They didn’t know they were capped and sure didn’t know how much extra it could cost.
In short, the big ISPs were and are doing a poor job letting their customers know their limits and what they mean. People aren’t…
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GATINEAU – The way the dance works in these CRTC proceedings is the applicant draws a few lines in the sand in its application and presentation, a few in granite, listens to a few days of appearances by intervenors, gauges the reaction of the commissioners to various ideas presented – and then re-draws those sandy lines for their final public follow up appearances.
BCE was no different Friday morning during its appearance on the closing day of the CRTC hearing into its acquisition of CTV.
Right off the bat, its executives told the CRTC it is ready to endorse the Commission’s…
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OTTAWA and TORONTO – The Federal Court has quashed the government’s decision that found Globalive Canadian enough to operate its Wind Mobile wireless service.
According to a Globe and Mail report, Mr. Justice Roger Hughes of Federal Court said Friday that the Cabinet’s decision “was based on errors of law and must be quashed”. The decision does not go into effect for 45 days which allows Globalive to keep operating for now, and allows it the chance to go back to the CRTC.
Globalive chair Anthony Lacavera said that he is “very disappointed” with the decision but vowed not throw in…
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GATINEAU – If BCE is going to own CTV (and with it, French sports channel RDS) plus the piece of the Montreal Canadiens it currently holds, then there must be special rules put in place governing sports programming exclusives in Quebec, according to Quebecor Media CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau.
Péladeau was speaking in front of the CRTC this morning as the Commission’s hearing into the acquisition of CTV by BCE continued.
While first stating that the valuation BCE put on CTV is too low (the CRTC says it is worth $2.67 billion, BCE says $2.2 bil) and must be re-evaluated by…
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TORONTO – The Federal Government can add Globalive to the list of companies supporting a review of the CRTC’s usage-based billing (UBB) decision.
Gloablive, which offers Internet services under its Yak brand, said Thursday that the CRTC ruling would have stifled competition in the Internet market, and called the government’s stand against UBB “a big victory for Canadian consumers".
"Globalive has always been an advocate for the consumer and for fair competition so we’re very pleased that the Government is stepping in to ensure that competition survives in the Internet market," said chairman Anthony Lacavera, in a statement. "Canadians have told us they…
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