TPIA providers say they’ve had to make tough financial decisions to stem the bleeding
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – Canada’s large telecommunications companies are claiming third party internet service providers have never had it better with the interim bulk internet purchase rates the CRTC made permanent in May.
The telecoms were responding to petitions to the federal government to overturn the May decision filed by large independent internet service provider TekSavvy, ISP National Capital FreeNet, and the Competitive Network Operators of Canada (CNOC), an organization representing smaller telecoms who lease network space from the larger carriers. In the decision, the regulator said it…
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Deborah Shaffner retires after nearly 26 years
HALIFAX – Eastlink has a new CEO – Jeff Gillham (above), who has been with the company since 2000, most recently as its chief operating officer.
This move, which happened in September, reflects “Eastlink’s passionate commitment to developing leaders from within the organization,” reads a company statement emailed to Cartt.ca.
Gillham, who has a degree in economics and political science from Mount Allison University, was born and raised in Nova Scotia and currently lives in Halifax.
When he started at Eastlink he led the company’s business sales team. “Since then, Jeff has assumed leadership roles across…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC is now allowing Cable Public Affairs Channel Inc. (CPAC) to participate in the proceeding dealing with the broadcast side of the proposed Rogers/Shaw transaction as an interested party, thereby granting it several new rights.
In a letter dated Oct. 7, the CRTC authorized CPAC to appear at the upcoming hearing into the matter in its own right and granted CPAC the right for its representatives to participate in any in camera discussions that may be held regarding its governance.
The CRTC also granted CPAC “the right to file a reply to intervenors in accordance with section 27…
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TORONTO – WildBrain Television announced today its fall lineup for Family Channel and Family Jr., which include several exclusive Canadian broadcast premieres.
“This October, WildBrain Television is handing out treats for the whole family to enjoy,” a press release says.
New programming includes Game of Talents (pictured above), which will premiere exclusively on Family Channel on Oct. 5 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
Hosted by Wayne Brady (Let’s Make A Deal, Whose Line Is It Anyway?), the show “infuses the spectacle of a large-scale variety show with a clue-centered, high-intensity investigative game, pitting two teams of contestants against each other as they attempt to…
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TORONTO — Corus Entertainment announced today the Peacock Original series Frogger, a new game show based on the iconic 1980s video game, will premiere on its kids’ channel YTV on Sunday, Oct. 3 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
“The new game show promises to test skill, strategy and strength as contestants go through incredible obstacle courses in hope of bringing home $100,000!” reads a Corus press release.
The competition series is hosted by Damon Wayans Jr. (above, left) and Kyle Brandt (right) and invites contestants from across the U.S. “to test their physical prowess and problem-solving skills on a variety of epic…
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YORK, PA — United Fiber and Data (UFD), a fibre-optic network provider in the northeastern United States, announced today Canadian telecom carrier Eastlink and an unnamed global data centre provider are now using UFD’s fibre backbone in the U.S.
Eastlink and the other data centre company “are now leveraging UFD’s wholly owned dark fiber assets and regen/ILA sites on its diverse long-haul fiber backbone that spans more than 400 miles and sits outside the Mid-Atlantic I-95 corridor,” reads a UFD press release.
UFD’s regen/ILA sites “are strategically placed along UFD’s unique fiber optic network designed to avoid congestion and single…
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By Denis Carmel
Several Internet service providers and related groups have now officially weighed in on TekSavvy and the Competitive Network Operators of Canada’s (CNOC) petitions to the Governor in Council, requesting cabinet overturn CRTC Decision 2021-181.
Unsurprisingly, competitive high-speed access (HSA) providers appealed CRTC Decision 2021-181, which reversed the Commission’s own Decision 2019-288, setting final rates on HSA. The rates had been interim ones since 2016.
This reversal came after the Federal Court of Appeal confirmed the CRTC’s 2019 decision and the Supreme Court denied the incumbents’ appeal to the Highest Court. It also came after the government refused to send…
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HALIFAX — Eastlink announced today it will invest almost $26 million to expand its mobile network further into New Brunswick, bringing its service to mobile customers in the northern part of the province.
This project will take place over the next couple of years and will expand existing coverage from Shediac to the Miramichi in 2022, followed by Bathurst and the Acadian Peninsula, according to a press release.
“We’re really excited to be taking this next step with our mobile network,” said Jeff Gillham, CEO of the Halifax-based telecom company, in the press release.
“When we launched in 2013, we knew we…
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By Denis Carmel
CARTT.CA HAS LEARNED large Canadian broadcasting and telecommunication enterprises collected significant amounts from the federal government’s Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) and Canada Recovery Hiring Program (CRHP) in 2020 and will likely receive more for 2021.
The following companies have, according to the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA), received subsidies:
BCE: $122.9 million
Québecor: $3.1 million
Rogers: $90.5 million
Telus: $38.6 million
Stingray: $25.2 million
Corus: $34.9 million
Pelmorex: $6.3 million*
According to the administer these programs, “a Canadian employer who has seen a drop in revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic, may be eligible for a subsidy to cover part of its…
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Office life unlikely to return to what it was in 2019
By Amanda Oye
AS COMPANIES AROUND the country make plans to bring employees back into offices, and grapple with how to do so safely, Cartt.ca asked a variety of Canadian telecommunications and broadcasting companies about their own plans.
Few companies Cartt.ca reached out to have, at this point, decided to require staff to be fully vaccinated. Fourteen companies responded to our request for information on back to office plans, only three of which indicated they were requiring some or all employees to be vaccinated.
OUTtv is one of those companies. While…
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