The CRTC has approved Arsenal Media’s acquisition of seven radio stations and one transmitter in Quebec from Bell Media.
The stations involved in the transaction include CFEI-FM Saint-Hyacinthe, CFVM-FM Amqui, CFZZ-FM Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, CHRD-FM and CJDM-FM Drummondville, CJOI-FM Rimouski, and CIKI-FM Rimouski and its transmitter CIKI-FM-2 Sainte-Marguerite-Marie.
As a standard condition of service, Arsenal is expected to broadcast at least 42 hours of local programming on each station during each broadcast week.
The commission’s approval of the transaction, with a proposed value of $8.46 million, requires Arsenal to contribute to the Canadian broadcasting system by paying tangible benefits totalling $507,684,…
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Bell says it will withdraw court app challenging lack of action on rate-setting before new attach rules
By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC on Tuesday made interim the current wholesale rates competitors pay to attach to the poles owned by Bell and Telus, paving the way for the setting of final rates that will apply retroactively.
The decision, effective today, locks in Bell’s current charges of $1.04 per pole per month in Ontario and Quebec and Telus’s going rate of $1.61 to do so in British Columbia and Alberta as the commission evaluates the telcos’ request to bump up those aging rates.
More importantly…
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By Connie Thiessen
The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) and 25 of its radio members – including Rogers Sports & Media, Bell Media, Cogeco, Stingray, Pattison Media and Corus Entertainment – have written to the CRTC asking the commission to tear up its recent notice of consultation on updated rules for the radio and audio sector and start over.
Released on Feb. 20, the consultation will inform work to update the definition of what constitutes Canadian content on radio and audio streaming services. It also outlines a financial contribution framework for broadcasters that the CAB says suggests that…
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Dissenting opinion says process to alert competitors must be better
By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC approved Monday a proposal by Northwestel to offer former customers discounts on certain internet packages to bring them back on board.
The promotion, proposed in August, would apply to 12 new internet packages with unlimited data and would run for six months in the far north. Eligible customers are those who had previously been a Northwestel customer for at least a month, who have been gone for at least the same amount of time, and who have been subscribed to another service provider in Northwestel’s operating territory.
The…
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The CRTC last week asked Bell, Rogers and Telus to make available as soon as possible new international roaming offerings the big three telecoms have told the commission they are planning to introduce, and to ensure these new offerings are easily found on their websites.
In response to an October 2024 letter from the CRTC calling on the telecoms to reduce international roaming fees and provide more flexible options, Bell, Rogers and Telus reported to the commission they have introduced or plan to introduce new international roaming offerings that include:
monthly…
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The CRTC on Thursday launched a proceeding into the possible replacement of an existing AM station in Wingham, Ontario using one of the last known FM frequencies in the area.
The commission is seeking comments, due April 7, on the market capacity and the appropriateness of issuing a call for radio applications to serve the area.
The proceeding follows an application by Blackburn Media Inc. to operate an English-language FM station on the 104.3 MHz frequency, instead of its existing AM facility, which it said has experienced failing equipment and infrastructure that are expensive to maintain.
In the event there is no…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Bell is accusing the CRTC of putting the cart before the horse when it ordered new pole attachment obligations without first updating the cost for competitors to put their equipment on its structures.
In late January, the CRTC imposed on the legacy telcos – Bell, Telus, and SaskTel – new obligations to speed up the ability of competitors to attach their broadband equipment to the poles: absorb the full cost of “corrective work” or getting poles up to compliance standards; schedule both make-ready and corrective work together on strict timelines set by the commission in…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC did not establish that it has jurisdiction over long-distance calls from correctional facilities when it ruled it doesn’t regulate those rates, opening the door for provincial courts to make conflicting determinations on proper charges in civil actions, according to applications filed by the province of Ontario and Bell.
The regulator released a decision in December clarifying that it has not regulated inmate long-distance calls since 1997, and that it does not have the authority to adjust rates that were charged by Bell on a retroactive basis.
The decision followed an application…
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Regulator also designates small ILECs as ONPs
By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC on Friday extended by two years the deadline to decommission the legacy 911 system, after public safety groups said they wouldn’t be able to make the March 4, 2025 deadline to implement the new system.
The regulator said a majority of proceeding intervenors – including the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs, and the Paramedic Chiefs of Canada – said they would not be able to implement the system by this week.
The CRTC has now set March 31, 2027 as the deadline for the…
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The CRTC has approved My Broadcasting Corporation (MBC)’s purchase of four Bell Media radio stations in eastern Ontario.
The stations include CFJR-FM (Move 104.9) and CJPT-FM (Bounce 103.7) in Brockville and CFLY-FM (Move 98.3) and CKLC-FM (Pure Country 99) in Kingston.
Based on a proposed transaction value of nearly $1.87 million, MBC will be required to pay a total of $111,936 in tangible benefits over seven consecutive broadcast years to various funds, including Canadian Starmaker Fund, Fonds RadioStar, FACTOR, Musicaction, the Community Radio Fund of Canada, and any eligible Canadian content development initiative of MBC’s choosing.
MBC has said…
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