OTTAWA – The Cable Public Affairs Channel (CPAC) announced Tuesday a number of changes to its board of directors that include long-time board member Jim Deane assuming the role of chair.
Until his retirement from Regina-based Access Communications earlier this year, Deane had served as Access CEO since 2000. He has been a CPAC director for more than 20 years “and brings a wealth of institutional knowledge to the role” of board chair, says a press release announcing CPAC’s board changes.
Pam Dinsmore, vice-president of regulatory for cable at Rogers Communications, is joining the CPAC…
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By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – Telus is accusing the CRTC of deviating from precedent when it argues that spectrum sale and leasing revenues count toward the telecoms’ total operating revenues for the purposes of calculating what fees are owed to the commission.
The Vancouver-based telecom argued in a submission Thursday that those revenues have traditionally not been filed under total operating revenues when using the generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) for financial reporting, which has been used by the CRTC to calculate contributions owed to the commission.
Telus was backing a point made by mobile satellite and cell services provider TerreStar, which…
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By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – The CRTC has set Friday who will be subject to regulation under the new Broadcasting Act regulations as part of its implementation of the new Online Streaming Act, setting the threshold at $10 million and higher in annual broadcasting revenues in Canada.
The new entities will need to register by November 28, 2023, so that the regulator can keep tabs on them.
Registering requires the entities to provide their basic information like name, phone number, mailing and email addresses, what services they offer and out of where they are incorporated.
The CRTC said it will publish the list…
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Rogers says it is fully compliant with MDU rules
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – Fibre service provider Beanfield is asking the CRTC to prohibit Rogers from signing bulk service agreements with residential buildings that it alleges serves to limit competition.
Bulk service agreements are multi-year contracts one service provider has with the developer of a building to provide default internet service to all tenants of the building, meaning the residents pay for a single provider’s internet through their rent or fees.
In a Part 1 application dated September 20, Beanfield argues that while those Rogers agreements don’t prevent other service providers from accessing…
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OTTAWA – British Columbia has filed a Part 1 application to the CRTC requesting that the regulator consider mandating an environment where testing can be done on the next generation 911 networks.
The new emergency networks set up by Bell and Telus, which will be able to carry images and videos from distressed callers, don’t have a pre-live testing environment to iron out any kinks before being operational, BC said.
The implication of that, the province argues, is that complex troubleshooting issues and upgrades will have to be done with multiple service providers live, which could be highly disruptive to critical…
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By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – The CRTC communicated with Canadian Heritage over months about the information it was going use in its messaging about the Online Streaming Act, but that was not for soliciting comment or approval, the regulator told Cartt.
Earlier this year, Conservative member of Parliament Martin Shields of Bow River, Alberta, tabled a request for the government to provide detailed communications between the regulator and the department about the legislation that requires online streaming services to contribute to Canadian content.
The Conservatives have accused the independent regulator of parroting government talking points about the legislation after…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC denied TekSavvy’s application challenging the legality of specific arrangements entered into by Rogers and Bell that gave wholesale providers an internet rental rate better than that approved by the regulator.
The largest independent internet service provider filed undue preference challenges against an unpublicized rate deal Rogers is giving Videotron and a deal Bell is giving its own affiliate, the recently acquired EBOX, for access to their national internet networks.
After seeing those confidential terms, the CRTC ruled last Friday that the Rogers-Videotron discounts are “similar to those available under other existing off-tariff agreements.” The regulator noted that…
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Bell is currently going through “strategic review” on programming
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – Bell has revealed that WildBrain’s heavily redacted application last month accusing it of giving an undue preference to Corus on children’s programming distribution also accuses the large BDU of breaking the CRTC’s standstill rule.
Bell alleges in the reply dated September 8 that WildBrain is claiming the standstill rule – which stipulates that the BDU must continue to distribute channels on the same terms and conditions even while in a dispute – has been invoked because the parties began negotiating potential terms for a new…
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TORONTO and MONTREAL – The Canada Media Fund said Monday it is starting the process of making changes to its funding programs that will take a platform-agnostic approach to supporting content creators, in lockstep with the federal government’s modernization of the broadcasting industry via the Online Streaming Act.
“After several years of calls for change from the industry we proudly support, the Department of Canadian Heritage has unlocked new authorities for the CMF to administer our funding and programs moving forward,” reads a CMF press release.
“As the CRTC undertakes its process to…
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FRIENDS is currently seeking candidates to join its Board of Directors. We are looking for individuals who have the capacity, experience and qualifications to assume future leadership roles on the Board. If you are team-minded and committed to creating a culture and governance style that is collaborative, strategic, and supportive, please keep reading…
About FRIENDS:
FRIENDS is a non-partisan citizens’ movement that stands up for Canadian voices in Canadian media – from public broadcasting to news, entertainment, culture, and online civil discourse – FRIENDS works to protect and defend Canada’s rich cultural sovereignty and the healthy democracy it sustains. We are…
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