By Ahmad Hathout
The Ontario government is asking the Federal Court of Appeal to review whether the CRTC again abrogated on its alleged duties to clarify whether it has jurisdiction over long-distance calls in correctional facilities.
In late September, the CRTC rejected applications filed by Ontario and Bell that requested that the regulator explicitly state that its power to forebear from regulation is itself a form of regulation, which would place these call rates squarely in its domain and have the ultimate effect, the applicants believe, of avoiding courts making conflicting determinations on what those…
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The CRTC last week approved separate applications by Lakeside Radio Broadcasting Corp. and FAB Broadcasting Corp. — both owned by London Publishing Corp. — to change the ownership and effective control of radio stations in Kincardine and Listowel, Ontario, respectively.
With the approval of Lakeside’s application, parent company London Publishing is acquiring Gregory Hetherington’s 47.4-per-cent share of Lakeside, giving Raymond Stanton effective control of classic rock radio station CIYN-FM Kincardine (operating as Shoreline Classics FM) and its transmitters CIYN-FM-1 Goderich and CIYN-FM-2 Port Elgin, Ontario.
Based on a CRTC-revised transaction value of…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC on Friday said it is suspending a trio of applications from channels that are asking for an increase in the monthly wholesale rate to carry them until it resolves some proceedings that may impact those decisions.
By majority decision, the regulator said it is deferring the applications of Cable Public Affairs Channel Inc. (CPAC), TV5 Quebec Canada (TV5), and Vues & Voix until it decides on “whether the existing regulations remain suited to and effective in supporting services of exceptional importance, and is reassessing, among other things,…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC said in a letter Wednesday that it will clarify rules surrounding the disclosure of information related to last-mile fibre locations for competitors.
The letter was prompted by a Telus Part 1 application, dated June 9 but made public Wednesday, that asked the CRTC to impose enforcement action against Rogers for cutting off its access to the cable company’s wholesale access portal on April 4. The service was eventually restored within a day, but the Vancouver-based telco said the incident “severely” disrupted its operations.
Telus said it received notice on that Friday afternoon from Rogers saying that it…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC has rejected a Rogers application asking the regulator to reconsider mandating access by enterprise business and internet of things applications to the mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) regime.
Rogers argued in its January application – backed by other big telecoms including Bell – that when the CRTC affirmed its preliminary view to open those segments to the mandated access regime to curb market concentration, it allegedly failed to consider that the market for these services “is likely one of the most competitive.” They argued there is sufficient…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC has made more flexible what qualifies as “Canadian” in the audio-visual space, as it increases the number of positions to qualify in live action and animated productions and shifts the rubric to a percentage-based evaluation system that moves with how much of the copyright Canadians own.
The commission confirmed Tuesday a preliminary view from almost exactly a year ago that the previous 10-point system should be expanded to a 15-point system, with the addition of key creative positions including showrunner; heads of departments in costume design, hair, and make-up; and visual effects and…
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Freedom has been using MVNO regime in the province for time being
Quebecor announced Monday its president and CEO, Pierre Karl Peladeau, recently met with Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew to discuss a series of upcoming initiatives in the province, including the rollout of its own wireless network in the province next year.
Peladeau, who is the owner of the Montreal Alouettes, was in Winnipeg for the Grey Cup final, which saw the Saskatchewan Roughriders defeat the Alouettes 25-17 to win the cup.
In addition to the planned construction of Freedom Mobile’s Manitoba wireless network, expected…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Quebecor and Bell are wrangling on the issue of when exactly permits are processed for the purposes of determining who is responsible for corrective work on support structures that must carry more attachments.
Quebecor filed a Part 1 application, made public on Monday, asking the CRTC to clarify the status of attaching permit applications that had yet to be fully approved by Bell when the CRTC in January ordered the telcos to make the necessary corrective work on structures at their own expense to prepare for new equipment.
Specifically, the issue is when those outstanding applications…
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The CRTC announced Monday it has committed more than $15 million from its $750-million Broadband Fund to SaskTel and Access Communications Co-operative to build approximately 455 kilometres of new transport fibre infrastructure that will deliver high-speed internet to 3,880 homes across 27 communities in Saskatchewan.
These are the final projects selected for funding from the CRTC’s third call for applications to the Broadband Fund. The next round of funding applications will open in 2026, the CRTC said in a press release.
“We are taking action to help ensure that Canadians have access to…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) is asking the CRTC to reduce what it calls outdated and unnecessary reporting requirements and hasten ownership transaction applications.
According to the letter, sent Thursday, Canadian broadcasters must submit dozens of reports to the regulator on a monthly and annual basis, “many of which are duplicative or overlap to a considerable extent” because their necessity have “never been reassessed.”
These reports, as outlined in the letter, include annual financial and monthly television programming log evaluation reports, local TV news audits, independent and regional production reports, women in production reports, emerging and indigenous artist…
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