Focus on transport, says Shaw
GATINEAU – The Joint Task Force (JTF) of small incumbent local exchange carriers (SILECs) in Canada offered a rather different option to the CRTC on Tuesday when it comes to ensuring there is broadband to every household in the country.
Rather than a blanket subsidy available for all so-called high cost serving areas, it should only be available in under and unserved communities.
In addition, the subsidy shouldn’t be available on a per exchange basis, but rather on a household or NAS level. If there are two ISPs (i.e. telco and cableco) providing service into a particular…
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TORONTO – Independent specialty movie service Hollywood Suite announced today the launch of the new web version of the Hollywood Suite GO app (HSGO).
The newly designed VOD service is an extension of the premium movie channels and is available at hsgo.ca for Hollywood Suite subscribers from Access Communications, Cogeco, Eastlink, Hay Communications, MTS, NorthwesTel, Rogers, Shaw, Shaw Direct, Source Cable, Telus Optik TV, and VMedia.
“We are excited to offer our subscribers another platform to watch their favourite movies from Hollywood Suite, allowing them to experience their cinematic choices, anytime, anywhere,” said David Kines,…
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Chair's comments change the focus of the hearing, puts government, industry, on notice, to get their acts together
GATINEAU – The the second week of the CRTC's basic service objective (BSO) hearing featured a rare moment of reflection from CRTC chairman and CEO Jean-Pierre Blais which will now alter the focus of this hearing. Below are Blais' unedited personal thoughts, made just prior to Monday's lunch break.
Those of you who are familiar with CRTC proceedings will appreciate that it is unusual for Chairs to make formal remarks beyond those made at the beginning of the oral hearing.
But this is an exceptional…
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GATINEAU – Some 66,000 Canadians, or just 0.5% of Canadian television households, have signed up for the new slimmed down basic TV programming packages five weeks after they debuted, the CRTC said Friday.
The Commission asked ten of the country’s biggest TV service providers – Access Communications, Bell, Cogeco, Eastlink, MTS, Rogers, SaskTel, Shaw, Telus and Vidéotron, to add up subscribers to their new basic television packages. These ‘skinny basic’ packages, priced at $25 or less, debuted March 1st amidst great fanfare touting choice and affordability.
TV service providers also began offering either pick-and-pay for individual channels or small packages of…
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TORONTO – While more Canadians forgo paid TV subscriptions, the TV market share among traditional telcos continues to grow at the expense of cable and satellite, says a new report from Convergence Consulting.
The Battle for the North American (US/Canada) Couch Potato: Bundling, Television Internet, Telephone, Wireless predicts that telcos will hold a 25% share of the Canadian TV market at this year’s end (YE), up from 22% YE2015, where cable had 59% and satellite 19% then. It forecast 57% and 18% YE2016, respectively. On the bottom line, however, the report estimates 2015 Canadian cable, satellite, telco TV access provider subscription…
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Canadians are receiving the broadband speeds they're paying for
OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The majority of broadband Internet services in Canada are as fast or faster than their advertised download and upload speeds, says a CRTC report on Internet services.
The preliminary report, released Thursday, found that most services from the country's major Internet service providers delivered between 109% and 122% of the advertised download speed, and that performance was largely consistent across all geographic regions of Canada in a mix of urban and rural settings.
Services using fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) technologies delivered 119% of advertised download speed on average, while cable/hybrid-fibre co-axial (HFC) delivered 103%,…
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OTTAWA – Recycle My Cell, Canada's recycling program for mobile devices and accessories, has announced the winners of the sixth annual Recycle My Cell Student Challenge.
Held each year in conjunction with Waste Reduction Week in Canada, the Challenge sees students from kindergarten to post-secondary collecting as many old wireless devices as possible, including cell phones, smartphones, pagers, accessories and cell phone batteries.
Students from 75 schools across the country participated in the 2015 edition of the Challenge, which was held from October 19 to November 18. In total,…
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OTTAWA – Shaw Direct has received CRTC approval to modify its ‘skinny basic’ lineup of TV channels, specifically the local television stations that must be included.
The Commission said Monday that it accepts, with modifications, an application by Star Choice Television Network Incorporated for an exception to section 45.1 of the Broadcasting Distribution Regulations as it relates to its national DTH BDU Shaw Direct.
Star Choice submitted that the CRTC’s proposed basic service was too limiting for Shaw Direct and could not be achieved with its current system, noting that its infrastructure was never designed to deliver the multitude of…
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TORONTO – With less than two weeks until its debut, Viceland unveiled more of its millennial-focused programming and confirmed that it will be available on a three month free preview at launch.
Beginning Monday, February 29 at 5:00 AM ET/PT (check local listings), viewers wake up in Viceland with the one-hour special Bar Talk, hosted by Vice Canada’s head of content Patrick McGuire from the new Toronto studio. Following that is the 13-hour special 646-851-0347 Leave A Message.
With hosts that include Canadians Ellen Page (Gaycation), Matty Matheson (Dead Set on Life), and renowned actor Michael K. Williams (Black Market with Michael…
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THE MILLIONS OF dollars collected from cable/satellite/ IPTV customers’ subscription TV fees for the production of local Canadian content seems certain to be reallocated when the CRTC announces its decision on how to prop up traditional television stations.
When one independent station is making ends meet thanks to the payout of a life insurance policy on its recently deceased founder (as Thunder Bay's Dougall Media told the hearing), another just fired half of its staff (CHCH prior to Christmas) and dozens of others – whether independent or owned by vertically integrated companies…
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