Interveners will have to sign NDA
MONTREAL and OTTAWA — Bell is ready to test an artificial intelligence-based system it has developed for blocking fraudulent phone calls, and says last week’s decision by the CRTC regarding its application brings it a step closer to launching its technology trial.
According to a Bell news release Friday, its AI-based network technology could potentially block an estimated 120 million more scam calls per month than Bell is able to stop using call-blocking methods currently mandated by the CRTC.
“Our industry has made solid progress in combatting these scam calls, and Bell’s innovative new AI…
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OTTAWA — The CRTC has agreed to direct the Competition Bureau to disclose certain confidential information that was redacted in the economic report submitted by the Commissioner of Competition in November to the CRTC’s wireless policy review proceeding. That is, the CRTC is agreeing to disclosure requests from Bell and Rogers; but it’s still considering similar requests from Telus and CNOC.
In a letter posted to the CRTC website on January 10, the CRTC says it is of the view that, generally speaking, the public disclosure of the redacted information, as requested by Bell and Rogers, would pose minimal…
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GATINEAU — With two CRTC commissioners reaching the end of their terms this spring, applications to fill their positions are still being accepted until February 9.
The appointment opportunities were first posted to the Governor in Council Appointments website back in June, and with a month left before the application deadline, the Commission on Tuesday reminded its Twitter followers about the job openings.
The CRTC term for Commissioner for Alberta and Northwest Territories Linda Vennard (pictured left) ends May 10, while the term for Commissioner for Atlantic Region and Nunavut Christopher MacDonald (pictured right) ends June 16.
The job title…
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No surprises in the documents
By Denis Carmel
GATINEAU – As expected, Rogers, Shaw, Vidéotron, Cogeco and Eastlink have filed an official Review & Vary application with the CRTC, requesting changes to Telecom decision 2019-288—the final rates for aggregated wholesale high-speed access services (HSA).
The themes are similar to what was filed with their appeals to the courts and to federal cabinet.
The cable carriers focused on “new facts and circumstances and on errors of fact and principle” that questions how the Commission arrived at its much-delayed decision.
“The Commission has announced an imminent review of its approach to setting…
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A good sign to win in a Review & Vary on third party network access?
By Denis Carmel
GATINEAU – The CRTC admitted Monday it may have misjudged the complexity of an independent ISP connecting to fibre.
“The Commission acknowledges that the differences between in-building fibre and in-building copper are greater than it had originally considered. There also appears to be some confusion about the existing framework among both in-building wire owners and competitors. It appears that some LECs that own in-building wire believe that only Bell Canada must give access to its in-building fibre to other LECs, while some competitors are…
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GATINEAU – The CRTC today levied a $100,000 fine to John Paul Revesz and Vincent Leo Griebel, who were partners operating under the business name Orcus Technologies, for developing, selling and promoting malware.
An additional penalty of $15,000 was issued to John Paul Revesz “for operating a secure dynamic domain name service that was allegedly used by hackers to communicate with a variety of infected machines,” reads the press release.
The Commission investigation found Orcus Technologies marketed and sold a Remote Administration Tool under the name Orcus RAT, and concluded this tool was in fact malware. It was a Remote…
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CIPPIC and vLex want to correct power imbalance when it comes to policy making
OTTAWA – Canada’s CIPPIC and international legal technology firm, vLex want to reduce the barriers to effective public participation in communications policy and will do so by developing a free and fully public communications law and policy research platform, the two organizations announced today.
This initiative “aims to increase access and contextual understanding of regulatory, policy and legal submissions and documentation, allowing Canadian citizens to become more informed and more influential in a policy-making process that is often dominated by multi-billion dollar telecom and broadcasting giants,” reads…
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GATINEAU – Canadians hate it when the phone rings and it is someone or a machine trying to sell them something they don’t need and the CRTC was given the mandate to deal with these nuisance calls through legislation back in 2005.
As the callers are becoming more sophisticated or rather as technology allows them to easily circumvent the rules, the regulatory bodies around the world have been struggling to keep up with the task at hand.
One of those method to circumvent the rules is called ID/spoofing. Spoofing occurs when callers deliberately falsify the caller identification (e.g. telephone number)…
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GATINEAU – While everybody else was requesting an extension to the 90-day deadline to file a R&V with the CRTC over its decision on wholesale internet access rates, Telus quietly filed its own application on November 13th.
It requests the Commission to vary some determination of the Telecom Order 2019-288.
The following excerpts are highly technical. Mature audiences only.
To determine the rates Telus must charge its resellers, the Commission relies on Phase II costing methodology, but Telus argues, however, “the effectiveness of Phase II hinges on adhering to and implementing the underlying principles of this methodology. If…
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OTTAWA — The CRTC announced Wednesday the total amount of subsidy to be paid to incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) from the National Contribution Fund will total $60.7 million in 2019. The Commission also said it estimates the total interim subsidy payments to ILECs will be approximately $38.7 million in 2020.
Last year, in Telecom Regulatory Policy 2018-213, the CRTC announced it would phase out the local telephone service subsidy over a three-year transition period from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2021, through semi-annual reductions.
Each year, the CRTC finalizes the subsidy payments for ILECs providing residential local telephone service…
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