By Ahmad Hathout
CALGARY – Rogers is preparing to make additional cuts to the Shaw team, which will include layoffs in the programming and communications departments, according to individuals with direct knowledge of the matter.
Vice president of programming Andrew Eddy and vice president of external affairs Chethan Lakshman are expected to depart the company this week, the individuals said. Katherine Emberly, president of business at Shaw, announced on her LinkedIn page Friday she was also leaving the company.
It is unclear to Cartt how many more are expected to be let go as part of Rogers’s integration of the cable company…
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By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – The CRTC’s commissioner for Manitoba and Saskatchewan has been extended for a five-year term starting in July, according to an order in council dated Friday.
Joanne Levy, whose term was set to expire July 2, has already served one full term starting in 2018.
Levy, of Warman, Saskatchewan, was a television reporter for the CBC in a past life and was director of programming for the Aboriginal People’s Television Network. She was also the owner of television program producer Scorpio Productions.
Barring any early exits, Levy’s extension means the CRTC’s leadership is secured until next August, when the…
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By Christopher Guly
OTTAWA – Should Bill C-18 not pass Parliament, “there is no guarantee that the deals and the agreements that have been currently negotiated in the Canadian context would continue, because there is no obligation on platforms to continue to bargain in that way,” Thomas Owen Ripley, associate assistant deputy minister for cultural affairs at the Department of Canadian Heritage, said at a Tuesday hearing of the Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications studying the Online News Act.
“Over time, it would be perfectly open for platforms to stop entering into those agreements with Canadian news businesses.”
C-18, which…
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By Ahmad Hathout
TORONTO – Rogers CEO Tony Staffieri said Wednesday that the company’s side agreements with Videotron that are part of its deal to acquire Shaw are “not much different” than existing ones it has in place for other competitors.
The cable giant committed to providing favourable wholesale internet access and roaming deals to the Montreal-based company, which acquired Shaw’s Freedom in the deal, to appease regulators and allay fears that the combination would diminish competition.
But over the last several months, questions were raised by competitors as to the nature of the deals and whether they would significantly advantage Videotron…
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By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said his government supports a bill that would require telecoms to clearly state what internet speeds customers should expect during peak periods.
Bill C-288, which was introduced by Conservative member of Parliament Dan Mazier, requires that telecoms clearly state what “typical” speeds subscribers should see during high congestion periods. The providers typically market the theoretical top end of the range of what to expect.
“The Government of Canada supports Bill C-288 as it reinforces the actions underway to improve broadband performance transparency for Canadians,” Champagne said in response to a…
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Court wrestled with whether Ian Scott’s beer meeting with Bell CEO showed bias
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – Lawyers representing TekSavvy argued in front of the Federal Court of Appeal on Monday that the CRTC reneged on its obligation to make just and reasonable wholesale internet rates when it decided in 2021 to fall back on interim costs it set five years prior.
The independent telecom challenged the CRTC’s May 2021 decision that disregarded the lower rates it proposed in 2019, arguing that the regulator breached its mandate to meet the legitimate expectation of the industry…
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By Ahmad Hathout
WHITEHORSE – Northwestel will join the Connecting Families program, officials from the Bell subsidiary said Friday, after participants in the CRTC’s far north hearing this week expressed disappointment about its absence from the broadband discount program.
“We’ve listened to our partners this week and I would like to announce today that Northwestel will be joining Canada’s Connecting Families program,” Tammy April, Northwestel’s vice president of customer experience, said during the company’s opening comments. Its participation will be subject to CRTC tariff approval because it cannot set its own price, it said.
The program, which is funded by the participating…
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By Christopher Guly
OTTAWA — Despite its recent test to limit news for some users in response to its objections to bill C-18, “Google is deeply committed to Canada” and is “one of the world’s biggest supporters of journalism,” Kent Walker, president of global affairs and chief legal officer of the search-engine giant and its parent company, Alphabet Inc.
“We believe that the legislation could be amended to support journalism and to provide consumers with a more diverse range of perspectives delivered in innovative and accessible formats, without undercutting core principles that allow the internet to benefit Canadians and people around…
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By Ahmad Hathout
WHITEHORSE – Telus announced Thursday that it has struck a deal in principle to transfer incumbency to Bell’s Northwestel in the region of Atlin, British Columbia to better serve the area.
There are only three communities in the far north that are served by Telus as the incumbent – Fort St. John, High Level, and Atlin. But unlike the former two, Telus does not serve Atlin with its own transport facilities. Instead, it leases a stretch of 1,300 kilometres of the transport portion from Bell subsidiary Northwestel.
“It is an island completely separated from the rest of TELUS’ ILEC…
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By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – The Federal Court of Appeal has denied an application by Telus that challenged the CRTC’s decision not to regulate wireless access to municipal infrastructure and that forced the carriers to provide seamless roaming to other providers.
Telus argued that the two components of the CRTC’s April 2021 decision – which mandated regional carrier access to the wireless infrastructure of the large players – were made in error. The thrust of the telecom’s argument – which was backed by Rogers and Bell – was that the CRTC too narrowly defined the term “transmission…
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