The CRTC announced last week it is committing more than $17 million from its Broadband Fund to help bring high-speed fibre internet to 18 rural communities in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario.
The funding is being awarded to Minto Communications Society, County of Forty Mile No. 8, MCSnet, Missing Link Internet Inc., and Vianet Inc. to build nearly 330 kilometres of new transport fibre infrastructure to improve access to reliable and high-quality internet services, the CRTC said in a press release.
According to a CRTC backgrounder, Minto Communications Society will…
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Appeals on the horizon
By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC ruled Friday that it will continue allowing the three largest internet service providers to use the wholesale access regime, pointing to the “several thousand” Canadian households now on service plans offered by the “dozens of providers” using the final framework from August 2024.
The decision flies in the face of concern from a broad swath of ISPs big and small, who have argued this would be a disastrous decision for investment in networks and for the viability of regional players as the deeper-pocketed, bigger brands will now be able to ride on their…
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The CRTC has asked Telus via a June 5 letter to provide a public summary of a 911 service outage Telus experienced from March 22-24 this year that impacted wireless 911 calls trying to connect to the public safety answering point (PSAP) in Brandon, Manitoba.
The commission initially requested information regarding the outage from Telus in an April 11 letter asking for weekly progress reports on the Vancouver-based telecom’s investigation of the cause of the outage, steps taken to resolve the outage, the impact of the outage, and plans put in place…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC is expanding eligibility for the independent news fund by including Corus’s 15 Global stations into the fold.
Because Corus is a large media company vis-à-vis other eligible services – and would likely receive the majority of the funding – the CRTC said it is also instituting a funding cap of 45 per cent to any one entity to ensure the other recipients of the Independent Local News Fund (ILNF) are not adversely affected by its inclusion.
“The Commission notes that Corus plays an important role in producing and broadcasting locally reflective and locally relevant news and information…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC has contract work to purchase Canadian music data for its public database.
The contract, opened for bids Tuesday and valued at $95,000, seeks a supplier from which to purchase data and metadata to supplement its existing bank of information which it says is “incomplete or insufficient” to assist it in classifying Canadian content.
The supplied information “is meant to be integrated seamlessly within a data management tool procured from a third-party Contractor allowing CRTC staff to handle, validate, and certify high volumes of Canadian content using data and metadata on an ongoing basis,” the contract reads.
“On a…
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Quebecor said it welcomes the decision
By Ahmad Hathout
The Federal Court of Appeal ruled Wednesday that the CRTC did not err when it chose Quebecor’s rate to access Rogers’s wireless facilities as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) during final offer arbitration (FOA).
The court rejected all three arguments the cable giant put forth for why it believed the regulator erred when it chose the lower rate, which it argued was unjust and unreasonable per the Telecommunications Act.
Rogers argued that the CRTC erred by ruling in July 2023 that just and reasonable rates can “include rates that may…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Rogers executives said Friday they feared the CRTC would come out of its hearings on the modernization of the Broadcasting Act emboldened to try to regulate some of the issues it has identified during its current proceeding instead of loosening the regulatory grip it has had on traditional broadcasters.
“We can’t rely on the traditional tools anymore,” said Dean Shaikh, the company’s senior vice president of regulatory affairs. “We no longer have a closed system. We’re competing against massive online streaming giants that have no rules. We need much more flexibility to compete for audiences, subscribers, advertising dollars…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC has closed the loop on a matter it opened over a year ago: that it does, indeed, have concurrent jurisdiction with Industry Canada over the wireless attachments on telco-owned or controlled structures.
The ruling means the installation of small cell and Wi-Fi equipment is subject to the support structure tariffs filed to the commission, which was the starting point for the matter in question.
The commission held that preliminary view since February 2024 after Rogers and Quebecor applied to it for an order directing Bell, which was accused…
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The CRTC last week in a letter informed Bell that the telecom’s recent move to start selling wireless devices locked to Bell’s network for 60 days is in apparent breach of the Wireless Code.
Bell has until May 16 to explain to the CRTC how it intends to ensure it remains in compliance with the unlocking rules set out in the Code, which requires service providers to ensure devices are unlocked at or before the time of sale, without requiring any specific action on the part of the customer.
The CRTC’s missive was…
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Public interest groups say the consultation is overdue
By Ahmad Hathout
Citing a broader portfolio of regulatory obligations, the CRTC on Monday launched its consultation on how to support and sustain public interest participation in its proceedings.
The commission wants to know, by September 10, whether it should create one funding system for both telecom and broadcasting matters to support that end; whether that single fund should be managed by an independent third party, such as the existing Broadcasting Participation Fund (BPF); whether more parties should be eligible for funding; and who should be obligated to fund it.
The CRTC currently has two…
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