OTTAWA – New funding criteria could mean greater flexibility for Canadian new media projects and program development.
In a decision on Tuesday, the CRTC said that it would amend the criteria for determining which independent production funds are eligible for contributions from Canada’s big BDUs.
Class 1 and Class 2 cable BDUs and satellite operators may direct up to 20% of their required contributions to Canadian programming to one or more independent production funds that meet the eligibility criteria.
www.crtc.gc.ca
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OTTAWA – Television distributors have received official CRTC approval to offer a package of local programming to viewers in smaller markets where local stations decide not to convert to digital.
The Commission announced Wednesday that, subject to certain conditions, BDUs have been granted a general authorization to distribute a local package both in and outside mandatory markets for digital transition, without having to provide users of the local package with the full basic service.
www.crtc.gc.ca
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – As the global village continues its digital evolution, it is critical that all of its citizens be able to use its products and services, and that includes the disabled and the elderly.
That was the key message in a speech that CRTC secretary general Robert Morin made Tuesday to the Global Forum conference in Washington.
“We live in a world where technology is evolving at such a fast rate that it’s sometimes hard to keep up”, Morin said. “Who would have thought 10 years ago that we would be able to access the Internet from almost anywhere on our cellphones, laptops, netbooks and…
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TORONTO – Glassbox Television has completed its acquisition of the Category 1 specialty channel Travel + Escape from CTV.
Under a transitional services agreement, the physical broadcast operations of the service will continue at CTV through Fall 2011. The CRTC approved the $10 million transaction late last month, as Cartt.ca reported.
www.glassbox.tv
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A GRASSROOTS INITIATIVE designed to stop incumbent ISPs like Bell, Rogers and Shaw from implementing usage-based billing seems to be quietly gaining momentum.
Led by the consumer group OpenMedia.ca, the campaign launched a petition late last week which calls usage-based billing “a blow to consumer choice, to access, and to free expression” and “devastating not only for the user experience, but for all innovation and entrepreneurship online”.
Using an image of a parking meter whose red ‘expired’ tag reads “Too Much Internet”, the petition had over a thousand names in less than 24 hours. This prompted the OpenMedia.ca network to kick off an…
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OTTAWA – Shaw has received another short term renewal of its Class 1 cable licenses in Western Canada to help the CRTC keep tabs on its compliance.
In its decision on Friday, the CRTC said that short-term renewals allow it “to review at an earlier date the licensees’ compliance with the Commission’s regulatory requirements and policy provisions”.
Shaw systems serving various locations in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba are set to expire on November 30, 2010. They have been renewed from December 1, 2010 through August 31, 2015.
www.crtc.gc.cawww.shaw.ca
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REGINA – SaskTel is voicing its firm objection to a proposed 50% increase in local telephone rates in rural Canada, at least without an opportunity for residents in those areas to weigh in.
The Regina-based telco said in a statement that rate proposals made last week by Shaw, Rogers, Telus and Bell during the CRTC’s local telephone service hearing failed to address “the sharp inequalities in employment and incomes across the country”. SaskTel also suggested that the majority of “rural and northern residents do not understand the magnitude of the impact this public hearing could have on them”.
“We believe that these…
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BRACEBRIDGE, Ont. – It’s taken a while to dole out the millions of dollars the federal government set aside to fund broadband expansion to rural areas in Canada.
That has led some telecom industry insiders to tell Cartt.ca Industry Canada, which is in charge of the Broadband Canada fund, is having difficulty finding enough places which remain unserved by Canadian broadband providers upon which to spend the money.
However, after Saturday’s announcement of the third wave of funding, $152 million of the $225 million available has been spoken for and Minister Tony Clement told Cartt.ca in an interview Saturday the…
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BRACEBRIDGE, Ont. – One day after the CRTC wrapped up its hearing into the potential for more obligations, money and higher speeds for rural broadband (among other items), Industry Canada announced 21 new projects to be funded through the Broadband Canada: Connecting Rural Canadians program.
These 21 latest projects will cost $29.1 million and soon connect 30,184 households in four provinces and one territory to broadband Internet networks, announced Industry Minister Tony Clement, who spoke at the Muskoka Bean Cafe in Bracebridge on Saturday morning.
This announcement brings total spending so far from the $225 million Broadband Canada fund to $152…
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TORONTO – If Canada is going to deliver broadband nationwide – connecting a growing plethora of products – we need to move forward immediately on the next wireless spectrum auction, Rogers Communications CEO Nadir Mohamed said on Wednesday.
In a speech at the Economic Club of Toronto and later speaking to reporters, Mohamed implored the federal government to move the auction of the 700 MHz block of spectrum especially with greater alacrity. He also asked Industry Canada to make sure the auction is without the set-aside rules favouring newcomers which was used in the last spectrum sell-off in 2008 that…
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