OTTAWA – Talk of the contribution regime and the appropriate level for a high-cost serving area (HCSA) subsidy became heated at times during the fifth day of testimony at the CRTC’s obligation to serve hearing.
Len Katz, vice-chair of telecommunications and national commissioner, took the l’Association des companies de téléphone du Québec to task over the importance of the subsidy to their businesses. He suggested that based on the ACTQ’s subsidy proposal, it would actually be more beneficial for its members to lose customers because they could then become takeover targets.
“The perversion as I see it is, at…
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TORONTO – While subscriber numbers are being held back for now and legal challenges from its competition are in progress, wireless brand chatr has gained a strong foothold in the Canadian market as it heads into a crucial two-month sales stretch, according to Garrick Tiplady, chatr’s senior vice-president.
“We’re not releasing (subscriber numbers) now but what I can say is we’re quite pleased with the results – and when you step back… we’re seeing strong results across the country in all the markets we’ve launched in,” Tiplady said in an interview Tuesday afternoon with Cartt.ca.
Chatr is so far…
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TIMMINS – It became clear through the first day of the CRTC’s obligation to serve hearing that commissioners would like to set some sort of speed target for service providers to hit when it comes to providing broadband for rural Canadians.
Both chairman Konrad von Finckenstein and vice-chair telecom Len Katz repeatedly asked executives with Bell Aliant, Barrett Xplore and Northwestel if they would accept some sort of megabits per second speed target to come out of this proceeding.
All were reluctant.
While government and the industry has tended to define a base of 1.5 Mbps as “broadband”, most recognize that just…
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TIMMINS – It’s hard to disagree with Northwestel’s assertion that when it comes to telecom operations, it is like no other.
The Bell Canada-owned company’s networks cover about 115,000 people spread across 40% of Canada’s total land mass – or four million square kilometres.
To say “there are important differences between the environment and the provision of telecommunications services in the far north as compared to the rest of Canada,” as the company’s president and CEO, Paul Flaherty told the CRTC Tuesday morning in Timmins, is quite an understatement.
Flaherty appeared in front of commissioners during day one of the Regulator’s obligation…
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TIMMINS – On Wednesday everyone, save one company, told the CRTC that adding broadband delivery to the telecom industry’s basic service objective is something that the Commission must do.
And a few even said nevermind those paltry 3-4 Mbps goals, we need to aim at 10, at least (but we’ll get to that in a bit).
MTS Allstream, as we detailed here, not only said the CRTC should make broadband a BSO, but even tied a number, $7 billion over 10 years, which would pay for broadband to every single Canadian household – because letting market forces take care of…
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OTTAWA – Mario Mota, vice-president of broadcasting policy and regulatory affairs at the Canadian Media Production Association has decided to leave the organization, members were informed this week.
After nearly five years with CMPA (formerly the CFTPA) Mota tells Cartt.ca that he intends to work on his private consulting practice he runs with his wife, Boon Dog Professional Services – and may even do some work for the association.
“Over the past four and a half years Mario has been a key asset to the Association,” said CMPA president and CEO Norm Bolen in a note to the membership. “His passion,…
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TORONTO and CALGARY – After decades as one of the leading Canadian media companies, the name Canwest will fade into the history books, replaced by Shaw Media.
After Shaw Communications assumed full ownership of Canwest Global’s TV assets on Wednesday, the company unveiled its new broadcasting group – to be known as Shaw Media – plus its new branding and management team.
"The Asper family built a broadcasting organization which served our country well. We look forward, under our stewardship, to strengthening these important assets for the benefit of all Canadians", said JR Shaw, executive chair and founder of Shaw Communications.
"Today…
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TIMMINS – MTS Allstream dropped a number, a big one, onto the CRTC’s lap this morning as to what it would cost to serve the remaining 5% of Canadians who can’t get access to broadband because of their remote locations.
Seven billion dollars. More specifically, $700 million spent per year over 10 years.
MTS executives faced the Commission Wednesday morning in Timmins at the CRTC hearing into the telecom industry’s “obligation to serve” and offered a much different opinion than some of its incumbent telco counterparts who said yesterday that the market can take care of getting broadband to the…
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GATINEAU – The CRTC has changed next month’s hearing into Quebecor’s Sun TV News application to a non-appearing hearing.
Tuesday’s notice cites Quebecor’s decision to drop the “must carry” status for the category 2 English language all news specialty channel as the reason for the change.
The hearing is scheduled to begin November 19 in Gatineau.
www.crtc.gc.ca
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OTTAWA and TORONTO – Glassbox Television has received CRTC approval to buy digital specialty channel travel + escape from CTV for $10 million.
As part of the deal, the Commission accepted Glassbox’s proposed tangible benefits package totalling $1 million over seven years to be allocated as follows:
– $850,000 to a self-directed fund to be known as the Glassbox Travel Multiscreen Fund. This fund will finance travel-related audiovisual content development, from concept to screen, by travel writers and emerging producers;
– $150,000 for social benefit initiatives, allocated in the following manner:
• $50,000 to the National Screen Institute;• $65,000…
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