GATINEAU – CRTC commissioners were given a lesson in basic cable architecture on Wednesday as Rogers, Shaw, Cogeco, Videotron and EastLink faced the panel considering CRTC 2009-261, the wholesale high-speed access services proceeding.
The overall message appeared to be a detailed reminder to the Regulator from cable that “we’re different. Cable is a shared network that can’t be unbundled.”
Some have asked, for example, that a single 6 MHz channel (the space in which one analog TV channel is transmitted but which can be crammed full of digital and IP data and is by MSOs) be set aside for wholesale access by…
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HALIFAX – EastLink has completed its share of the broadband network under the Broadband for Rural Nova Scotia initiative.
The cableco announced Monday that its high speed wireless Internet is now available in the Annapolis, Digby, Hants, Kings, Lunenburg, Queens, Shelburne and Yarmouth counties.
Broadband for Rural Nova Scotia is a $75-million initiative designed to provide high-speed Internet access throughout the entire province.
www.eastlink.ca/internet/ruralwireless
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SYDNEY – Bell Aliant is bringing its fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) technology to Sydney, Nova Scotia. The news comes a week after rival EastLink announced that Sydney would become its first community within Nova Scotia to go 100% digital.
In an announcement on Friday, Bell Aliant said that its FibreOP services and bundles will be available to residential and business customers in Sydney, Sydney River, North Sydney, Sydney Mines, Glace Bay and New Waterford as early as this fall.
"This advanced broadband network is the ultimate in today’s Internet and TV experience," said president and CEO Karen Sheriff, in a statement. "We’re…
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CALGARY – The Shaw Rocket Fund has added a new digital funding stream to help finance digital content related to the Canadian television programs that the Rocket Fund has invested in.
The new stream, which will allocate up to $2 million annually towards digital content, will support the creation of digital content on various platforms to enhance the viewing experience for the audience and support the exploitation of the programs. The deadline for applications is June 16, 2010, and any digital content related to a Canadian television program that the Rocket Fund has invested in is eligible for funding.
The Shaw…
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HALIFAX – Sydney is about to become EastLink’s first community within Nova Scotia to go 100% digital.
The upgrade means that customers will require a set top box for each TV in their home, and in turn, have access to additional services including an interactive program guide and digital music channels, for no additional charge.
“This upgrade is part of EastLink’s on-going commitment to provide our customers with the very best television experience,” said CEO Lee Bragg, in the announcement.
EastLink has also opened two new store locations where customers can pick up their free digital boxes, and receive more information…
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LOS ANGELES – Since it went digital, the cable industry has been on a long, arduous search for a pair of improvements: a better remote control and an easier to use interactive program guide.
The on-screen grid guide and multi-buttoned remotes have gone about as far as they can in their ability to navigate the multichannel world. It’s a world not only with hundreds of linear TV channels but also thousands of video on demand titles (and in the case of Comcast, tens of thousands of titles).
Navigating through what’s on with a remote and the standard grid is not a customer-pleasing…
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HALIFAX – EastLink has rolled out a new, faster Internet package aimed at households with multiple users.
Available now in the Halifax Regional Municipality, EastLink Internet 30 offers download speeds up to 30 Mbps, upload speeds up to 2 Mbps, and includes a DOCSIS 3.0 modem rental.
"Our customers are looking for increasingly higher levels of internet performance”, said CEO Lee Bragg, in the announcement. “For example, some households have three or more users on computers, mobile devices such as iPhones, and gaming consoles at the same time, all connected to the internet. The addition of EastLink Internet 30 responds to these…
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HALIFAX – EastLink CEO Lee Bragg has some new responsibilities in his portfolio.
Bragg is one of two new members named to the board of directors at Nova Scotia Power. The provincial utility also named Elaine Sibson, tax professional and former partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, to its board.
www.nspower.ca
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TORONTO – By the end of 2014, new wireless entrants will capture 22% of the Canadian wireless market, says a study from Toronto’s Convergence Consulting.
And the effect of the newcomers is already being felt – and will continue to be. Despite wireless data’s 36% revenue growth in 2009, total wireless service ARPU declined, says the report. New wireless entrants will increasingly put pressure on both data & voice prices (the US has already seen major impact in this regard) leading to lower ARPU (at least over the next three years), regional (West, Quebec, Atlantic) bundle battles, a shift in…
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OTTAWA – CRTC audits of the community channels operated by some of Canada’s biggest cable companies show “numerous abuses”, according to the Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS).
From 2002 through 2005 (the last year in which the CRTC monitored them), CACTUS said that the audits prove that cable companies “routinely” exceeded the maximum of two minutes per hour of promotional ads, and the 15-second limit for sponsorship messages.
Calling out Rogers in particular, CACTUS said that one of its OHL hockey programs contained 24 ads in one episode, plus another 41 ads two nights later, yet none of…
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