By Ahmad Hathout
The Senate Transport and Communications committee is scheduled to hold hearings starting next week looking into the issue of copper wire theft that has plagued the telecom industry.
Industry Canada, Public Safety Canada, and the Department of Justice are all scheduled to appear on the first day, Tuesday, December 10, while the industry association Canadian Telecommunications Association (CTA), Bell, Telus, and Electricity Canada are scheduled for the day after, according to the committee website.
The study comes after a number of incidents reported by telecoms, specifically telco Bell, in which individuals have cut and stolen the copper wire to…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Rogers CEO Tony Staffieri on Monday defended a $7-per month price hike on the company’s TV set top boxes in front of House’s committee on industry, saying it’s the result of increased investments the company makes to improve software and functionality to the device it considers a premium product.
The cable giant’s head also said the majority of customers are not impacted by the hike on the Ignite boxes first revealed by a CBC/Radio-Canada investigation – stemming from consumer complaints that promises of fixed-rate contracts were allegedly broken – and that customers who were affected,…
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Blue Ant Studios announced Tuesday the promotion of Nick Solowski to the position of vice president of international sales.
Based in Toronto, he previously held the role of senior director of international sales and acquisitions at the international production studio and rights business.
Called “an integral member of both Blue Ant Studios’ APAC and Americas teams” in a company press release, Solowski reports jointly to Jon Penn, managing director, APAC, Blue Ant Media, and Bryan Gabourie, senior vice president, international sales and partnerships, Blue Ant Studios, with a focus on the territories of Australia, New Zealand, Korea, Japan, China and Canada.
“After…
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Rural broadband service provider Xplore Inc. announced Monday the appointment of Brent Johnston as its new CEO, effective immediately, following the departure of former CEO Rizwan Jamal earlier this year.
Xplore also announced Monday its chief financial officer, Geoff Lowe, who recently served as the company’s interim CEO, has been promoted to the position of president and chief financial officer (CFO).
A veteran of the Canadian telecom industry, Johnston previously served as president of wireless services at Rogers Communications, senior managing director at Apple Canada, and senior vice president of consumer…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Burlington-based film financier Productivity Media is now under receivership after defaulting on approximately USD $2.5 million in loans after allegations emerged this summer that its CEO siphoned over $100 million of the company’s money to fraudulent media projects, according to court documents.
The alleged fraud by 50-per cent company owner William Santor broke covenants between the company and the short-term lender, Toronto-based Two Shores Capital Corp., which required the investor to keep an arm’s length from the money it loaned to productions including Hollywood films – the budgets of which range between USD $2 million…
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Earlier this week, a pilot workshop organized by indigenous-led climate organization Sacred Earth, in collaboration with the Indigenous Screen Office and Telefilm Canada, examined sustainable filmmaking and best practices used in the screen content industry.
Held online, the Nov. 25 workshop was attended by 87 industry professionals from across North America, including Indigenous, English and French speaking communities, as well as internationally, according to a Telefilm press release.
“Our new partnership with Sacred Earth, along with our longstanding collaboration with the Indigenous Screen Office, facilitated this first-of-its-kind pilot workshop on Indigenous sustainable practices,” said…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Apple and Samsung, the two largest smartphone manufacturers in the world, are expressing befuddlement that the Quebec Court of Appeal would uphold the authorization of a class of plaintiffs to take the companies to court for punitive damages for what they describe as unfounded claims of health-related harm associated with the emissions of radio frequencies (RF) from cellphones.
The class authorization, which the companies are calling a first in Canada, creates a disastrous precedent involving the approval of classes seeking damages for mere allegations of an intentional violation of Quebec’s Consumer Protection Act (CPA) with no harm claimed,…
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Telus announced Tuesday it has launched a petition looking to drum up support for the Vancouver-based telecom’s plans to use the CRTC’s aggregated last-mile fibre regime to bring its PureFibre internet to Ontario and Quebec, following a federal cabinet decision earlier this month asking the commission to reconsider allowing the Big 3 telecom providers to use the bundled fibre networks of Bell and Telus in those two provinces.
Telus said in its Tuesday press release that it is “calling on Canadians to protect their right to choose their Internet service…
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By Ahmad Hathout
A group of creatives sent a letter last week to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the relevant cabinet ministers requesting that the government include in its fall economic statement a doubling of Canada Media Fund’s stabilization subsidy to $85 million and make permanent a $30-million annual commitment to its equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility (EDIA) initiatives.
The letter, addressed to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland and Canadian Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge and seen by Cartt, states that the CMF’s EDIA initiatives – backed by a $20 million per year injection over three years from the 2020 federal budget –…
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Incumbents say market is evolving and no regulatory action is needed
By Ahmad Hathout
Quebecor’s Freedom Mobile on Thursday launched a national campaign urging Canadians to sign a petition voicing displeasure at what the telecom is calling “expensive daily roaming fees that cost Canadian travellers millions of dollars annually.”
Freedom is targeting the international roaming fees in Canadian plans, which it says are among the highest in the world. “We demand an end to these unfair and inflexible roaming fees, and we call on the incumbent carriers to take it upon themselves to implement fair and affordable roaming options for their customers….
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