GATINEAU – Bell Canada has applied to the CRTC to be allowed to carry one or both of Canada’s satellite radio subscription services on its cable BDUs serving parts of Ontario and Quebec.
Bell has two regional Class 1 digital licences, serving Toronto, Hamilton/Niagara, Oshawa, Kitchener, London, Windsor, Ottawa, and the surrounding areas, and one serving Montreal, Gatineau, Sherbrooke, Quebec City, and the surrounding areas. The Ontario BDU will roll out starting in Toronto later this year, while the Quebec service is already operating in parts of Montreal, the company said in its application. Bell wants to be able…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – Existing specialty services which don’t move to high definition "on a timely basis" risk losing their genre protection, the CRTC said last week.
On Thursday, the Commission released its long-awaited framework for the licensing and distribution of HD pay and specialty services, outlining how licenses will be issued, how they will be distributed on cable and how many hours of high definition programming the new HD specialty services will have to air in order to merit carriage.
Also – an additional public notice to come up with a framework to apply to the direct to home satellite…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – The new Federal Accountability Act may cost Elizabeth Roscoe her job, say to reports out of Ottawa.
According to The Hill Times newspaper, a series of new amendments introduced last week makes it virtually impossible for anyone who has worked in government in any way to take any kind of lobbying position for five full years.
Elizabeth Roscoe, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ senior vice-president of policy and public affairs has become something of an Ottawa flashpoint on the issue. She worked for a few weeks on the transition team when Prime Minister Steven Harper was taking…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – As CRTC chair Charles Dalfen mentioned in his speech to the Canadian Telecom Summit on Wednesday, the Commission has put out a call for comments to figure out whether or not wireless service should be factored into the local phone deregulation calculation.
When the CRTC set out its rules surrounding the deregulation of local telephone service, it did not include the so-called "wireless substitution" phenomena in the framework. Wireless substitution happens when a telephony customer abandons a wired line altogether in favour of wireless only, something Industry Minister Maxime Bernier says he has done already.
Telus CEO…
Continue Reading
CALGARY – Shaw Communications has taken its battle with Internet phone company Vonage to court.
Today, Shaw filed the latest in a series of court documents with respect to a claim against Vonage Canada in the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench, Calgary, "to set the record straight on its digital phone service and its quality of service enhancement," says the company’s press release.
Shaw offers a voluntary fee of $10 a month to Shaw High Speed Internet customers who get their phone service from third party providers such as Vonage. Shaw says the fee is to guarantee quality of…
Continue Reading
CALGARY – On the face of it, Shaw Communications purchase of Pemberton Cable, announced late Wednesday, is small potatoes.
But, if you consider that Pemberton Cable’s owners have a license to build a cable system into mega-popular resort town, Whistler – home of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games – then the deal becomes something else altogether.
Pemberton Cable currently operates the cable and Internet systems located in Pemberton, B.C., 30 kms north of Whistler.
"We are truly delighted with the acquisition of Pemberton Cable" said Peter Bissonnette, president of Shaw Communications in a release. "This gem of a cable…
Continue Reading
IF RHETORIC AND HYPERBOLE were gasoline, a single spark would have razed the entire Toronto Congress Centre this week.
The speeches from Bell Canada Enterprises CEO Michael Sabia and Telus CEO Darren Entwistle at this week’s excellent Canadian Telecom Summit – as well as comments from a few others who work under them – suggest that not only are the communications of all Canadians utterly crippled by wacky regulation, but that our CRTC stands in the way of all Canuck creativity, innovation and productivity.
It’s an absurd notion, really. But it’s one much of the nation’s consumer media has…
Continue Reading
BANFF – The Banff World Television Festival is the place to be heard.
Although the pitch sessions, the keynote address and the behind-the-scenes deal making is a major part of the conference, it will not be what we remember most about these past few days in June.
It appears this, the 27th year of the annual conference, is where people went to make substantial announcements.
In a mere few days, we’ve seen the Bev Oda, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women announce the government will ask the CRTC to study the technological changes facing the broadcast industry…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – The CRTC today approved the addition of HDNet, a U.S. all high definition channel, to the list of eligible satellite services.
Owned by American multi-millionaire (and owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks) Mark Cuban, HDNet is a 1080i format channel offering original series, including music and news programs. HDNet acquires programming from several sources, including Paramount, Warner and Sony. Live HDNet sports productions include NHL games, major league soccer games, horse racing, auto racing, boxing, football and basketball games.
What’s not known is if HDNet has the Canadian rights to all of its programming.
The now-defunct Canadian…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – The CRTC also approved the addition of NEW SAT, a channel out of Lebanon.
The 24-hour general interest service offers programming in Arabic without English subtitles or secondary audio program. NEW SAT offers a wide range of programming including news, political programs, talk shows, comedy, drama, music and sports.
www.crtc.gc.ca
Continue Reading
