Cogeco said terms are “positive step”
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – The CRTC has defined the boundaries for regional mobile virtual network operators to lease wireless space from the networks of the large incumbent operators, stipulating carriers wanting to operate such an MVNO must actively be offering services to retail customers, not just have spectrum and facilities.
The regulator earlier today released its long-awaited terms and conditions for an MVNO regime, which emerged out of its April 2021 decision to allow established regional virtual operators with spectrum and existing facilities to lease network space from Rogers, Bell, Telus, and SaskTel.
The terms and…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – Attendees of the Competitive Network Operators of Canada’s 2022 ISP Summit received a surprise visit earlier today from MP and industry committee member Nathaniel Erskine-Smith (above) who spoke about competition, affordability and universal access.
He noted his frustration with the CRTC and its 2021 decision to backtrack on its previous wholesale rates decision, stating he viewed it “as the CRTC screwing things up and then throwing up their hands and saying oh this is actually too hard for us to fix… so we’re actually going to have to not deal with this anymore.” (He previously made his…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – While attendees of the Competitive Network Operators of Canada’s (CNOC) 2022 ISP Summit heard yesterday about the “unfriendly regulatory environment for competitors”, CNOC executive director and general counsel Geoff White highlighted today the reasons they have to still be optimistic about the future.
During his keynote speech titled “Where Do We Go From Here?”, White did not deny the last year has been difficult. He spoke about the recent wave of acquisitions in the industry (CNOC members VMedia and Distributel included), Rogers’ nationwide outage and the CRTC’s lack of movement on key files including one…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – Yesterday afternoon, the regulatory panel at the Competitive Network Operators of Canada’s (CNOC) 2022 Canadian ISP Summit delved into currently hot topics including rural broadband subsidies, affordability, competition and site blocking.
And while the panel, moderated by Bryson Masse (above, left), CNOC regulatory and communications adviser, was titled “Zen and the Art of Regulatory Patience”, the panelists gave the distinct impression the time for patience has come and gone.
Madeleine Redfern (second from right), COO of CanArctic Inuit Networks Inc. spoke about her experience living in Canada’s north where she pays $1,000 per month for unreliable and slow Internet….
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – The Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications today heard from academics who argued the bill is overly broad and needs to be fixed.
Vivek Krishnamurthy (above), director of the Samuelson-Glushko Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic at the University of Ottawa told the committee in his view, “we shouldn’t be enacting laws that seek to sweep so much content into a regulatory scheme.”
He took issue particularly with how the act deals with user-generated content, stating he is concerned about the broadness of what the government is including in the bill as well as the “narrow exclusions…
Continue Reading
Minister Rodriguez to appear at CHPC on C-18
By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – Earlier today, the House of Commons heritage committee held its third meeting on Bill C-18, the Online News Act.
Canadian Association of Broadcasters
The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) reminded us during the meeting that “… foreign digital platforms take more than half of those ad revenues out of Canada’s economy. They are offshored to entities with little connection to Canadians’ values or public interest, and profoundly undermine Canadian news organizations’ ability to support and maintain a robust newsgathering infrastructure.”
Pleasant prelude to future negotiations.
“Search and social platforms may help to…
Continue Reading
Survey also shows few Canadians are following C-18
CANADIANS ARE NOT very familiar with the Bill C-18, the Online News Act, but after hearing about Google’s concerns, most still want government to amend it, according to data from an Abacus Data survey commissioned by Google Canada that was released last week.
“The results clearly indicate that while few Canadians are paying close attention to what is happening with the Online News Act, the issues with Bill C-18 raised by Google resonate with Canadians and cause them to want legislators to amend the bill to address concerns they have with it –…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – Telus may have to wait until the beginning of December for a decision from the CRTC on its application to amend its general tariff so it can start charging customers a 1.5% credit card processing fee, according to a letter the Commission sent the company last week.
The letter notes the CRTC’s staff are still working on the application and as such, a decision will not be possible within the timeframe initially given (45 business days). The Commission is now saying it will issue a decision within 120 calendar days of Aug. 8, the date of…
Continue Reading
GATINEAU – CRTC chair and CEO Ian Scott (above) issued a statement today explaining the funding mechanisms in place for participation in Commission proceedings and announcing they have launched an internal review of the criteria for cost awards in light of recent events, which have called into question the funding awarded to the Community Media Advocacy Centre (CMAC) and its senior consultant Laith Marouf.
Back in August, the federal government cut the funding it awarded to the organization to develop an anti-racism strategy after it was brought to the minister of housing and diversity and inclusion’s attention that Marouf…
Continue Reading
Globalive (and Wind Mobile) founder adamant national wireless only player the solution
TORONTO – Canadians are more fed up with the nation’s telecommunications industry than they are with airline delays and real estate prices, according to the 2022 Canadian Telecom Sentiment Report, released late last month.
The survey, conducted by Pollara Strategic Insights and commissioned by Globalive, shows 59% of Canadians “are angry or annoyed when they think of telecom companies, the highest of all major Canadian industries surveyed,” a press release announcing the report says.
Furthermore, 71% of Canadians “are angry about telecom bills specifically, the third highest of 13 cost-of-living…
Continue Reading
