Rogers in favour of transport subsidies for rural fund
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – Rogers and Bell are among those in favour of a “flexible” approach for the use of the Federal government’s yet-to-be-announced $1 billion Universal Broadband Fund (UBF) to support rural backbone, transport and last-mile projects, according to Rogers and a briefing note prepared for the rural economic development minister.
In a stakeholder page on its website, ISED asks those providing feedback on the program’s design to answer questions including: “In situations where government is only funding backbone investments, how could last-mile investments be facilitated?” And, “Are there particular…
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MARKHAM, Ont. — As Chinese telecom giant Huawei remains banned from the American market and from wireless networks in the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand due to accusations of posing national security threats – while facing a looming decision from the Canadian government on whether its technology should be banned from 5G networks here, too, Huawei Canada announced Tuesday the company’s chief security officer, Olivera Zatezalo, has been named as one of the Top Women in Cyber Security by publisher IT World Canada and the Ottawa-based Women in Security and Resilience Alliance (WISECRA).
The inaugural Top Women in Cyber Security…
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OTTAWA — If the CRTC decides to mandate mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) access to incumbent wireless carriers’ networks, the deployment of 5G in Canada is likely to be deferred and curtailed, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers in the second part of a study released today by the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA).
Following up on its previous report looking at the impact of mandated MVNOs on Canada’s telecom industry and economy, the second part of PwC’s study explores how wholesale MVNO access could impact Canada’s transition to 5G. The two-part study was commissioned by members of the CWTA. The study…
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MONTREAL — Mostly, all is well with Telefilm Canada’s corporate and operational management, but a number of improvements have been recommended in a special examination report from the Office of the Auditor General of Canada (OAG), made public by the film funder on Monday.
The special examination carried out by the OAG covered the period from September 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019. According to the OAG report, there were no significant deficiencies in Telefilm’s systems and practices examined as part of the audit.
However, with regard to Telefilm’s corporate management practices, the OAG found areas for improvement related to the…
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TMG CEO says deck is stacked against him
By Denis Carmel
GATINEAU – Telus has filed a complaint against Telelatino Media Group, accusing the ethnic broadcaster of undue preference, undue disadvantage and tied selling, in violation of the CRTC Wholesale Code. Telus is also asking for leniency from the Commission because it has been in non-compliance with BDU regulations because of this dispute.
In its regs, the CRTC says a distributor which carries a third-language, foreign-owned service must also carry, in the same tier, a Canadian service serving the same ethnic group as long as one is available. It’s known as…
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Amazon and Pinterest actually saw YoY growth
WHILE THE CANADIAN media market continues to struggle with unprecedented decreases in advertising revenue, June was a little better than May, according to Standard Media Index.
The company’s data shows June saw an 11% improvement in dollars invested in ad spend over May. “June ad spend was down by (only) 38% YoY, in comparison to a 49% YoY drop in May,” said the company’s June report on the Canadian market. The data covers all media types, media owners and product categories.
“Not surprisingly, the vast majority of publishers have experienced significant decreases in revenues due…
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Biggest hit is to globalnews.ca
TORONTO – Corus Entertainment is today cutting staff at Global News, Globalnews.ca and AM Radio, the company announced today. It began informing affected staff members this morning.
The company confirmed to Cartt.ca the cuts are in all regions across the country but declined to provide numbers on how many positions were eliminated.
UPDATE 07/24: The Canadian Association of Journalists sent a release late Thursday saying 70 employees were let go and a prior version of this story quoted the organization, but that number is incorrect, said Corus on Friday. The CAJ release linked to…
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HAMILTON – On March 16, 2020, the provincial lockdown forced the lights to go down on movie theatres across the province, including The Westdale, Hamilton’s premier independent cinema and performing arts hub.
Having been saved from destruction once already by new investors and the local community in 2017, the fate of the art deco movie house hung in the balance once again. The Westdale Theatre has been an essential part of Hamilton’s Westdale community, Canada’s first planned neighbourhood, since it opened in 1935 (and is just around the corner from Cartt.ca headquarters).
It was the first theatre in the Steel City…
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MONTREAL — The Fabienne Colas Foundation announced today a cross-industry partnership with Netflix, the Canada Media Fund and National Bank which will support the expansion of the not-for-profit cultural foundation’s Being Black in Canada program for Black filmmakers.
As a result of the partnership, the 2020 program will expand to include 20 new participants from Montreal, Toronto and Halifax. The program will further expand over the following two years to include Ottawa, Calgary and Vancouver and provide support to a total of 70 new filmmakers and 55 alumni in 2021 and 2022, says the news release.
“Black artists represent the…
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NEW YORK — Media advertising spend in the top English markets around the world — the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Australia and New Zealand — has declined on average by 28.2% during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to market analysis from New York-based advertising intelligence company Standard Media Index (SMI).
However, Canada was hit harder. Of the five major English markets, Canada suffered the largest three-month decline, where total national marketer advertising expenditure fell 36.2% compared to the March-May 2019 period. The shallowest decline was in the U.K. where total advertising spend decreased by 21.9%, compared to…
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