Search Results for: crtc

Cable / Telecom News

Telus exec to pursue politics

OTTAWA – Telus executive Janet Yale has announced that she is seeking the federal Liberal nomination for the riding of Ottawa-Centre, where she has lived for the last 28 years. Yale, currently the executive vice-president of corporate affairs for Telus, once headed up the now defunct Canadian Cable Telecommunications Association (CCTA).  She has more than 20 years of government and regulatory experience through senior leadership positions at AT&T Canada, the CRTC and the Consumer’s Association of Canada. Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Montreal to get another area code next year

OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The greater Montreal region will have another new area code starting next year. The CRTC announced that new telephone numbers assigned in the 450 region may be given the area code 579 starting in August 2010 in order to help manage the telephone number shortage in the area. The Canadian Numbering Administrator told the CRTC last year that area code 450, which is adjacent to the 514 region, is expected to run out of telephone numbers by February 2011. www.crtc.gc.ca Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Despite CRTC review, Globalive forges ahead

OTTAWA and TORONTO – For a guy whose new company is about to jump into the competitive world of mobile communications – but only after it has been scrutinized in a very public review by the CRTC – Globalive Holdings chair and CEO Anthony Lacavera seems pretty relaxed. Calling the upcoming review of Globalive’s ownership and control “fairly standard procedure”, Lacavera told Cartt.ca that his only moment of concern came when he read that the CRTC could take up to 120 days after the close of the hearing in September to render a decision, which could have pushed back his launch… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

CBC applies to amend bold’s licence

OTTAWA – The CBC has formerly applied to amend the broadcast licence of its specialty channel ‘bold’, formerly known as ‘Country Canada’. The pubcaster re-launched its category 1 specialty Country Canada as bold on March 27 2008, after telling the CRTC that the change could be done without amending the nature of service of Country Canada.  But the Commission disagreed, and scheduled a hearing to determine whether the way that CBC re-branded the channel had negatively impacted “the integrity of the licensing process”. The CRTC suspended the hearing after CBC agreed to make a formal application. In Broadcasting Notice… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

UPDATE: Canwest’s Victoria, Red Deer, stations to close; Kelowna to become a Global outlet

WINNIPEG – While CHBC TV Kelowna will live on – rebranded from E! to part of the Global TV network – CHEK-TV Victoria and CHCA-TV Red Deer will be shuttered at the end of business on August 31, 2009, said the stations’ owner Canwest Global Communications. As reported by Cartt.ca, the other two stations in the E! chain CHCH-TV in Hamilton and CJNT-TV in Montreal have been conditionally sold to independent broadcaster Channel Zero. “When we began this process about six months ago to determine if there was any way to keep these local stations on the air in the… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Telephone pole rates to be reviewed

OTTAWA – The CRTC will review the structure service rates charged by some of Canada’s biggest telephone companies. Telus sent an application to the Commission last October asking for it review the rates, terms, and conditions of the support structure service tariffs of the large incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs). The ILECs would like to increase the rates they can charge, currently $9.60 per year, to rent their poles to other customers such as cable companies. Telus’ application noted that the Ontario Energy Board had approved a hydro pole rate of $22.35 per year. Parties other than those identified in Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

Access to communication services must improve, CRTC vows

OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The CRTC has announced plans to make telecommunications and broadcasting services more accessible to disabled Canadians. On the telecom side, the CRTC has pledged to: – require that telephone companies offer a new service that will allow an operator to convert text messages sent over the Internet into voice calls, and vice versa. Known as Internet Protocol relay, this service is used by persons who are deaf or hard of hearing to communicate; – require that telecom companies, including cable and satellite companies, improve the accessibility of their customer service; – request that wireless companies offer at least one type of cell phone… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

UPDATE: CRTC’s review of Globalive’s ownership could delay launch

OTTAWA – The CRTC has decided to proceed with a review of wireless newcomer Globalive’s ownership to determine whether it is truly Canadian owned and controlled. The Commission announced Monday that it will initiate a ‘Type 4’ review of Globealive’s ownership and control, given the complexity of Globalive’s corporate structure and financing arrangements, Telecom Notice of Consultation CRTC 2009-429 reads.  A Type 4 review consists of an oral, public, multi-party proceeding, and occurs when the CRTC finds that a company’s ownership and governance structure “is of a complex or novel nature, such that in the Commission’s view its determination… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

CRTC announces hearing on Channel Zero’s purchase of two E! stations

OTTAWA – The CRTC will hold a public hearing next month to review the purchase of two of Canwest’s E! stations by Channel Zero. The independent specialty service operator, which owns short film specialty Movieola, classic movie channel Silver Screen Classics, film distributor Ouat Media and a majority stake in the AOV adult channel brands, agreed to purchase E!-branded CHCH TV Hamilton and CJNT TV Montreal from Canwest Global on June 30. According to Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2009-425, the applicant (which is listed as two numbered companies in Ontario rather than Channel Zero by name), is also seeking broadcasting… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

UPDATE: Shaw buys Mountain for $300 million

CALGARY – The rumour mill had been spinning wildly over the past couple of days in Hamilton about the impending sale of Mountain Cablevision, but the buyer, announced this morning to be Shaw Communications, is a bit of a surprise. Based in Hamilton, Ontario Mountain has approximately 41,000 cable customers and has been very successful adding services, too, with 28,000 Internet subscribers and 27,000 telephone customers. The purchase price was not announced, but a cable company in the lucrative southern Ontario market with this many revenue generating units, expect the price to be north of about $300 million, sources have told… Continue Reading