Regulator leaves open possible regulation on credit card fees more broadly in the future
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – The CRTC said today that it will not allow Telus to charge credit card fees to customers in areas where its services are regulated, arguing that it would negatively impact service affordability for Canadians and said such fees could be examined more broadly under a new proposed policy direction from Innovation Canada.
In August, Telus asked the CRTC if it could charge a 1.5% fee to customers paying by credit card in areas of British Columbia and Alberta where services…
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WHITEHORSE and YELLOWKNIFE — Bell subsidiary Northwestel announced today it has marked the completion of its 2022 fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) projects with community celebrations in Burwash Landing and Haines Junction, Yukon — two of 17 communities in Yukon and Northwest Territories (NWT) that received FTTH service this year through Northwestel’s Every Community Project.
“Over 80% of Yukon and NWT homes now have access to unlimited high-speed Internet that meets or exceeds the CRTC’s universal service objective of 50/10 Mbps unlimited service,” reads a press release. “The majority have access to the North’s fastest home Internet, up to…
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OTTAWA — The CRTC yesterday denied an application by City Wide Communications to reverse a decision by the commission that declined to force Eastlink to move its point of interconnection (POI) from Pennant Point to a core location in Halifax.
City Wide had filed the original Part 1 application back in May 2020 after the Dartmouth-based telecom alleged that Eastlink misrepresented that the rural Pennant Point POI was carrier-neutral and served by competitive transport facilities when the CRTC approved Eastlink’s request in 2016. City Wide has said the Pennant Point POI has increased its transport costs because its further…
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By Connie Thiessen
The Canadian Association of Broadcasters blasted today’s CRTC review of commercial radio, saying it doesn’t do enough during a time when broadcasters are losing money and are having to compete against “unregulated options.”
The first commercial radio policy update since 2014, one of the review’s key changes offers greater flexibility to Common Ownership Policy. For markets with eight commercial radio stations or more operating in a given language, an individual may now be permitted to own or control as many as four stations, with a maximum of three stations within one frequency band (FM or AM) in…
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OTTAWA — The Broadcasting Accessibility Fund (the Fund) announced last week it will award $398,016 to three new projects, approved by its board of directors, that will advance the accessibility of Canadian broadcasting content.
“These three innovative projects represent the completion of the Fund’s eighth round of grants, with a total commitment of approximately $4.4M to date, to address gaps in broadcasting accessibility,” a press release explains.
The CBC is receiving $107,467 for a project designed to optimize closed captioning for children with disabilities. “This project aims to advance the current state of accessibility to…
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By Howard Law, former director of media locals for Unifor, who writes in mediapolicy.ca
The Australian finance minister’s overdue anniversary review of the groundbreaking News Media Bargaining Code (NMBC) gives Canadians some welcome pointers on how to think about, improve or critique our bill C-18, the “FaceGoogle” Online News Act.
The report does two things well, the first being an evaluation of how well the Australian legislation was implemented. The other is that finance minister (‘Treasurer’ in Oz lingo) Jim Chalmers unapologetically backs the code as an anti-oligopoly law and downplays using the code…
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Report recommends a national digital infrastructure strategy
VANCOUVER — 5G and 5G-enabled technologies could deliver an estimated 16%, or $120 billion, of Canada’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth by 2036, but Canada lags behind other leading countries in the rollout of 5G, according to a new report from Vancouver-based management consulting company Deetken Insight.
“Despite its market-leading performance in 4G and the transformational benefits of 5G, Canada is lagging its peers in the deployment of 5G. Compared to the U.S., Germany, Japan, Italy, Australia, and South Korea, Canada’s 5G spectrum allocations for mid- and high-band frequencies are…
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Laizner’s term was set to expire next summer
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – Christianne Laizner, the CRTC’s vice chair of telecom, is retiring from the commission next month, according to a farewell note to colleagues.
Laizner’s retirement takes effect January 4, six months before her term was set to end in July. Her retirement also comes on the same day that chairman Ian Scott’s term – who was extended for four months in September – is ending.
“I know the Commission will benefit from an exciting new leadership team in 2023 and I look forward to following all the Commission’s successes and innovations in…
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By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – After the United States issued a warning yesterday about Canada’s online streaming legislation, an amendment to the Online Streaming Act intended to force foreign companies to contribute a similar level of Canadian creative and human resources as their Canadian counterparts drew strong criticism from the Canadian government and was defeated at committee.
“The government cannot support this amendment,” said Marc Gold, government leader in the Senate. “We need to recognize the reality that foreign players operating in Canada have global business models. It is just not realistic, in the opinion of the government, to expect that…
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Also announces expansion of Kings County FTTH project
HALIFAX — Develop Nova Scotia, a Crown corporation responsible for advancing high-speed Internet access projects across the province, today announced the expansion of the Satellite Internet Service Rebate program, which is funded through the Nova Scotia Internet Funding Trust.
Launched in July, the rebate program covers the one-time costs for eligible residents and businesses to set up satellite internet service, including hardware, taxes, shipping and installation, up to a maximum of $1,000.
When the program launched, Develop Nova Scotia said the rebate would be…
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