By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC is asking Rogers to provide an opinion about whether returning to service providers uncommitted money from the service provider-supported Broadband Fund at the end of year would alleviate some of its concerns.
Rogers filed a Part 1 application this summer asking the regulator to review the way the National Contribution Fund (NCF) manages the program, arguing that service providers must set aside large amounts of money for collection when the fund doesn’t always deliver the amounts it has already collected, which is currently set at $150 million per year. It is asking the…
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In a letter Wednesday, the CRTC acknowledged the measures Meta has taken to ensure its Facebook and Instagram platforms comply with the Online News Act, while also saying the commission will continue to monitor the situation.
In October 2024, the CRTC began investigating whether Facebook was continuing to allow Canadian news to be available on its platform in violation of the Act.
In a series of responses, Meta told the CRTC it had taken steps to ensure its platforms are not operating as digital news intermediaries within the scope of the Online News…
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Regulator says OUTtv must-carry application won’t be reviewed
By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC ruled Friday that Rogers unjustly removed LGBTQ+ channel OUTtv from its premium pre-assembled television package while the two were negotiating a new carry rate.
Prior to the end of the previous agreement, OUTtv was in Rogers’s Premier television package, which the cable giant stopped marketing in favour of its best pre-assembled package called Ultimate TV. After the carry agreement ended, Rogers removed the channel from the Premier package and, instead of putting it in Ultimate TV, slotted it into two themed ones called Variety and Lifestyle and Entertainment.
OUTtv, whose…
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The CRTC has denied a request from Bell to temporarily allow it and other wireless service providers to provide locked cellphones after purchase.
In a letter dated April 22, Bell and its flanker brand Virgin Plus informed the CRTC of their intention to start selling locked cellphones to address an increase in crime at Bell’s points of sale, with the phones to be locked to Bell’s network for up to 60 days after purchase.
Bell’s letter was sent to the CRTC just days before putting its new practice into effect, noted the CRTC in a…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The parties involved in a class action lawsuit over historical long-distance rates charged at Ontario correctional facilities are in “jurisdictional limbo” because the CRTC refuses to definitely state that it has domain over those rates, Bell claims in a new court filing.
Nearly a month after Ontario filed its own leave to appeal application at the Federal Court of Appeal, the telco is similarly asking the high court to find that the regulator failed to address an issue central to the lawsuit: that the CRTC’s forbearance from regulating those rates is itself an exercise in…
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Bell says its ‘Flex Option’ complies with code
By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC is asking Bell a series of questions to see if a new plan that gives customers an additional 12 months to pay off the remaining balance owed on their devices is onside of Wireless Code rules.
Bell’s new “Flex Option” provides customers an additional option to pay off their device after the initial two-year service plan period. The appeal is that the customer pays a lower monthly amount for the phone during the service plan period. The customer then has three options for dealing with the…
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By Howard Law, author of MediaPolicy.ca and Canada vs. California: How Ottawa took on Netflix and the streaming giants (Lorimer, 2024)
In October 2022, Netflix appeared at the Senate committee reviewing the proposed Bill C-11, the Online Streaming Act, when the Conservative senator Fabian Manning pitched a softball question: What was the Hollywood giant’s “main priority” in amending a bill it didn’t welcome?
The Canadian spokesperson for the streamer was succinct in his answer: “If I had to choose just one, it would be the issue of copyright ownership.”
Last week, Netflix got what it wanted.
The CRTC’s Continue Reading
By Connie Thiessen
Stingray Radio has entered into an agreement to acquire CHUP-FM, currently branded as Hot AC format C97.7, in Calgary from Rawlco Radio, subject to approval from the CRTC.
CHUP-FM would join Stingray stations 90.3 AMP Radio (CKMP-FM) and XL 103 (CFXL-FM) in the Calgary market, which are among the 33 radio licenses the company operates in Alberta. It would bring Stingray Radio’s roster of stations to 97 across the country.
“We are excited to expand our presence in the vibrant Calgary market,” said Steve Jones, President of Stingray Radio, in a company announcement. “C97.7 has built a strong connection with listeners and the community, and we are committed to continuing the…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Cogeco is alleging the CRTC did not adequately weigh the impact of Quebecor’s influence on editorial voices in Montreal when it allowed its internet station QUB Radio to continue operating on the FM airwaves.
Cogeco claims in a leave application to the Federal Court of Appeal on Monday that the regulator made an incomplete analysis when it determined last month that QUB Radio could continue operating on Leclerc Communication’s FM station, CJPX-FM (99.5 FM), through a simple agreement between the two companies.
The CRTC ruled that the arrangement, announced in the summer of…
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Geoff White has resigned from his executive director position at the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), according to an article in The Logic last week.
The article states White alleged PIAC owes him tens of thousands of dollars in back pay, as he has not been paid since April. According to the article, White said he voluntarily went without pay to help PIAC stay afloat during what he thought would be a short-term financial crunch while an organizational overhaul plan was executed. He alleged he resigned after several months of the board not supporting him…
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