OTTAWA – More than 2,560 Canadians have weighed in on the role of community television in Canada, according the Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Status (CACTUS).
The comments now form part of the CRTC’s online and written public record for its 2010 review of community television scheduled for April 26, 2010. The deadline for responses to the Commission’s questions on community TV was February 1st.
CACTUS, who will be front and centre at the review, says that it has developed a model that will allow most communities in Canada to establish their own multi-media centres and “take back”…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has denied a request from wireless industry stakeholders that it conduct separate reviews of the mobile data services framework and its applicability under the recently established Internet traffic management practices (ITMP) framework.
Bell Aliant, Bell Canada, NorthernTel, Télébec société en commandite and SaskTel supported the requests made by Telus and Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association, while the Public Interest Advocacy Centre and the Canadian Film and Television Production Association opposed the requests.
In its decision, the Commission said that it “is not persuaded that the scope of NoC 2010-43 should be modified as requested”, and…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has issued a report examining telecommunications, broadcasting, and the evolving converged world of communications in an effort to help shape future regulation.
Called Navigating Convergence: Charting Canadian Communications Change and Regulatory Implications, the document seeks to:
– compile cultural, economic and technological trends toward convergence, to reflect the pace at which change is occurring and to present the resulting challenges and opportunities for traditional regulatory models;– outline the high-level structural changes and regulatory considerations that will need to be navigated between now and 2014; and – provide a specific, but not exhaustive, list of mid-term issues that…
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TORONTO – FreeHD Canada received CRTC approval Monday to provide national direct-to-home satellite TV and wholesale programming satellite distribution (SRDU) services in Canada.
However, the Commission declined to rule on certain parts of FreeHD Canada’s application – such as its request for a free local program package and exemption from LPIF contributions, until it has issued policy on all matters related to Canada’s upcoming digital transition.
“…the Commission notes that specific issues related to the digital transition, and, in particular, possible alternatives to free conventional television signals in those markets where broadcasters do not construct digital facilities, are under consideration in the…
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Several months after establishing conditions under which small incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) would have to face competition in their local markets, the CRTC has put those plans on hold.
In a consultation issued late last month, the Commission decided to reconsider the competition framework for small ILECs, as well as the potential impact that wireless number portability (WNP) could have on them. As a result, 12 cases of local competition implementations and one case of WNP have been suspended pending the outcome of the proceeding.
Jonathan Holmes, executive director of the Ontario Telecommunications Association (OTA), says…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has approved the use of deferral account funds by Bell Aliant and Bell Canada to expand broadband services to 38 distribution serving areas in 10 Ontario and Quebec communities.
Harriston, Hastings, Hepworth, Lanark, Michigan, Tweed, and Wingham, Ontario were approved, as were La Patrie, Napierville, and Yamaska in Quebec.
The Commission denied the Bell companies’ request to use deferral account funds in 29 other distribution serving areas in eight additional Ontario and Quebec communities.
Click here to read the full decision.
www.crtc.gc.ca
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OTTAWA – Wireless industry stakeholders are calling on the CRTC to initiate a separate review of the mobile data services framework and its applicability under the recently established Internet traffic management practices (ITMP) framework, rather than include the matter in a broader consultation on certain legacy telecom obligations.
They say the matter is largely administrative in nature and can be best handled separately.
“It would be a lot simpler in my mind to have dealt with that in a very small paper proceeding,” Michael Hennessy, Telus’ senior VP of regulatory and government affairs said in an interview.
“I suspect…
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OTTAWA – Three of Canada’s largest telecommunications service providers agree that it’s time to review the nearly 10-year-old contribution regime and make changes to the local subsidy that better reflect the reality of today’s telephony landscape.
Their comments come after the CRTC issued a consultation on the contribution regime and other related matters last week (Telecom Notice of Consultation 2010-43).
The current contribution regime, established back in 2000 (Telecom Decision 2000-745), requires all TSPs with revenues greater than $10 million to provide a portion of their earnings to a national pool that would be made available to telecom…
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MONTREAL; WINNIPEG and OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Both Bell and MTS Allstream debuted their enhanced wireless 911 services Monday, squeaking in just under the CRTC-imposed deadline.
Wireless E911 is now available to Bell Mobility and Solo Mobile clients with compatible handsets wherever wireline 911 service exists in Canada, while MTS Allstream introduced the service across its CDMA cellular network in Manitoba. Telus launched its upgraded emergency service last week.
The enhanced 911 (E911) phase II capability is the result of a year-long effort involving Canada’s wireless carriers, local telephone companies and 911 call centres across the country. The CRTC set February…
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MONTREAL – Corus Entertainment’s AM Info690 Montréal and AM940 Montreal’s Greatest Hits will sign off for good today at 7 p.m. Ten people will lose their jobs.
The two stations are unprofitable and have been for some time.
“Corus Québec and its employees worked to grow audience and revenues on both these stations while operating them as efficiently as possible. It is clear that these two AM stations are not viable, particularly in the current economic climate,” reads the press release.
This decision affects 10 positions, including eight positions at Info690: three journalist positions, two traffic reporter positions and three operations positions….
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