TORONTO – Accessible Media Inc. (AMI) has kicked off a new television campaign to help promote its descriptive audio service AMI-audio.
AMI-audio is the world's largest broadcast reading service whereby volunteers read and record current articles from newspapers and magazines, which are then broadcast on TV and online.
The campaign's 30 second TV spot features a blind man walking into a variety store. He sets up the story of an attempted robbery and then clicks on a television set to reveal the AMI audio channel where the announcer completes the news story. It is airing nationally in English Canada on a…
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HALIFAX – EastLink is partnering with Tele Greenland and Hibernia Atlantic on a new, shorter bandwidth connection between New York and Iceland.
Utilizing the Greenland Connect cable, the facilities of Hibernia Atlantic from Halifax to New York, and EastLink’s network facilities in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, the new route could remove up to 1100 kilometers from the existing route plus provide the lowest latency possible.
Tele Greenland’s Greenland Connect is a cable system connecting Europe and Halifax via Iceland, Greenland and Newfoundland. The new build will modify the design of Greenland Connect from Landeyajasandur, Iceland to Milton, Newfoundland via Nuuk, Greenland…
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OTTAWA – Small local telephone companies operating in rural regions of Ontario and Quebec have enjoyed special protection from competition for long enough and now is the time to open up their markets to cable competitors, its competitors and potential competitors have told the Governor-in-Council.
The Ontario Telecommunications Association (OTA) and the Association des Compagnies de Téléphone du Québec Inc. (ACTQ) fear that if their markets are fully opened to competition, they will suffer severe financial impacts that could put them out of business (as they have noted on Cartt.ca). They are urging the Governor-in-Council to…
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TORONTO – Travel+Escape HD is available in approximately 1.1 million homes across Canada after launching on Rogers, Cogeco, Telus and EastLink on Tuesday.
Owned by GlassBox Television, the travel and adventure themed channel is available on free preview for the next three months. Viewers will be able to watch programs such as Lonely Planet’s Roads Less Travelled as well as Anthony Bourdain’s The Layover, Fishing Adventurer and Cottage Life, in addition to new commissioned series Destination Fear and Scam City.
“Travel+Escape HD fulfills our commitment to giving our viewers the ultimate entertainment experience,” said programming EVP Vanessa Case, in the announcement. “Being able to watch our quality travel and…
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In its comments on the petition filed by the Association des Compagnies Telephone du Quebec and Ontario Telecommunications Association (the petitioners) earlier this month, EastLink stated that the petitioners’ three recommendations to the Governor in Council would harm rural consumers by restricting competition plus establish an unnecessary degree of government intervention in the telecommunications market.
In its filing dated April 5, 2012, EastLink noted that the ACTQ/OTA has proven, by their aggressive competition, expansion of multiple services, fibre to the home builds (for some SILECs), and in some cases, below-market rates, that they do not require the same substantial government…
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HALIFAX – EastLink launched a new look Monday in honour of its 40th birthday.
The new visual identity, which is in place across its website, social media presence and advertising, debuts as the Halifax-based company gears up to launch its new wireless (cellular) voice and data services later this year.
“We're so proud of the many innovations Eastlink has delivered over the past four decades,” said CEO and vice chair Lee Bragg, referencing the company’s evolution from a small cable company to a national telecommunications and entertainment company. “As we reflected on our 40 year history, we felt the time was right…
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OTTAWA – True to its word, the CRTC was quick to release its determinations from last month’s expedited hearing into dispute resolution between the Canadian Independent Distributors Group (CIDG) and Bell Media.
As Cartt.ca has reported, independent distributors Cogeco Cable, Telus, EastLink, MTS and the Canadian Cable Systems Alliance, collectively the CIDG, object to packaging, penetration, and other terms offered to them by Bell Media for its 30-some specialty channels. Bell says that its wholesale costing model, a penetration based rate card that has already been signed by a number of other distributors, rewards stable packaging with stable long-term rates for…
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TORONTO – Nascent FX Canada kicked off a free long-weekend preview Thursday through Monday for Rogers, EastLink, Cable Cable and Telus’ Optik TV customers. MTS and SaskTel subscribers continue their two-month free preview of the channel through May 31st.
The Rogers-owned specialty channel, which launched last October, will offer “marathon programming” of Wilfred (season one), The Ultimate Fighter Live and Sons of Anarchy (season two).
www.fxcanada.ca
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ON THURSDAY, A PANEL of seven CRTC commissioners and a dozen industry executives took part in a hearing where they all must have asked themselves repeatedly, “Geez, how often have I heard this before?” At least, that’s the question that popped into my head as I listened in.
Bell Media faced off against the Canadian Independent Distributors Group during an expedited hearing concerning the parties’ fight over Bell Media’s 2011 wholesale carriage agreement, as we have already covered extensively. The CIDG (Telus, Cogeco, EastLink, Canadian Cable Systems Alliance and MTS) say the dispute isn’t primarily about…
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HALIFAX – EastLink has raised the bar on Internet speeds in Atlantic Canada after introducing speeds scalable to 200 Mbps on Friday.
'Internet 200' is launching first in the Halifax regional municipality and will roll out to other markets across Nova Scotia and Canada in the weeks and months ahead. The company also announced the launch of its new 'Internet 80' product which it predicts will appeal to its bundle customers.
"We've understood for a long time how people are using the internet, and just how important fast download speeds are to our customers," said president and COO Deborah Shaffner, in…
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