WHILE WE DEFINITELY WILL cover news as it happens on Cartt.ca over the next two weeks, our newsletters (and the hard-working writers who fill them with newsy goodness) are taking a holiday break. Today's edition will be the final regular newsletter until January 8th as those of us at Cartt.ca pause to celebrate Christmas and the New Year.
If there's REALLY BIG news over the holidays, we'll be on it of course, but the whole industry usually gets a bit quiet between now and the back-to-school week, so that’s when we schedule our break, too.
As every year, we’ll be pretty…
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AS CANADIANS CHOOSE to carry their worlds in their pockets – loaded onto their much loved and much used Androids, iPhones, BlackBerrys and so on, they are demanding service that’s always excellent and bills that are always affordable.
When things go wrong with the little device in our hands, when we get dinged for charges we didn’t expect, when it doesn’t work as fast as advertised, when it breaks, it’s a mini-disaster. It’s not like tearing a hole in your pants or getting a flat tire. Those things can be dealt with and are relatively easy to fix. When it…
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VICTORIA – Vecima Networks announced it has been named as a defendant in legal proceedings filed in the Supreme Court of Ontario by Inukshuk Wireless Partnership. Inukshuk, alleges in the legal proceedings that an agreement existed for Vecima to sell to Inukshuk certain radio spectrum and that Vecima did not comply with that agreement. In the legal proceedings, Inukshuk is seeking, among other things, an order requiring Vecima to sell the radio spectrum to Inukshuk, an injunction preventing Vecima from selling the radio spectrum to any other person, and monetary damages.
Vecima believes the legal…
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AJAX, ON – Novanet Communications, a provider of broadcast, wireless, satellite, systems and solutions says its purchasing Incospec Communications based in Laval, Quebec, with the transaction expected to close in early January, 2013. For nearly 35 years Incospec Communications has been supplying products and services to the cable television, satellite and wireless industries including repairs of warranty and out-of warranty equipment
“We are extremely excited about the prospect of working closely with one of Canada’s most respected value added reseller and systems’ integrator for the CATV/IPTV and broadcast transmission markets”, said Joe Uyede, President…
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TORONTO – The Banff World Media Festival has announced that CBS Corporation will be the inaugural Company of Distinction at next year’s Festival, being held from June 9 – 12, 2013 at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, in Banff Canada.
As the Company of Distinction, executives, producers and talent from CBS Corp. programming divisions will be featured during the four-day festival in different facets of the event, including: keynotes, media leaders sessions, the Rockies Award Gala, and Banff’s famed master classes.
The new Company of Distinction program will allow the Festival to pay homage each…
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TORONTO – Koodo's star spokescharacter is releasing a special holiday carols album to raise funds for Food Banks Canada. For every download of A Merry Mariachi Holiday, Koodo will make a cash donation to Food Banks Canada to help the fight against hunger. The album of festive carols, featuring original lyrics written and sung by El Tabador himself, is available now for free.
"El Tabador is no stranger to the fight against hunger, but he needs the help of Canadians this holiday season to give it a one-two punch," says Lise Doucet, VP, Marketing…
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DUBAI – Negotiations to update UN telecommunications rules have collapsed with Canada, U.S. UK, and several of their allies refusing to sign the proposed International Telecommunications Regulations (ITR) tabled by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
"Canada believes in a secure, stable and resilient Internet that enables rapid innovation and delivers benefits for Canadians," said Christian Paradis, Minister of Industry. "The current multi-stakeholder, private sectorled model promotes innovation and the development of new digital industries."
With many like-minded countries, Canada endeavoured to reach consensus on new International Telecommunication Union regulations that recognized advances in telecommunications while…
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MARKHAM, ON – “Re-commercialization of CBC Radio is a terrible idea” and would be “extremely detrimental to smaller market operations” says Douglas E. Kirk, President, Ontario Association of Broadcasters (OAB).
In a letter to the CRTC dated Dec. 11, Kirk responds to the CBC’s proposal made at its recent license renewal hearing that it be allowed to run commercial ads on its radio properties and responded to the CBC’s claims regarding revenue growth.
In the letter Kirk questions whether CBC Radio is actually facing a “financial crisis” given the $327.3 million in parliamentary appropriation it…
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TORONTO – With the Supreme Court ruling the CRTC does not have the authority to require cable and satellite companies to negotiate with local broadcasters it now needs to focus attention on local stations says the Canadian Media Guild.
“The CRTC must now focus its attention on helping the local stations that really need it: those run by public and community broadcasters,” says Marc-Philippe Laurin, president of the CBC branch of the Canadian Media Guild.
The so-called value-for-signal scheme, proposed by the CRTC in 2010, would not have included CBC/Radio-Canada, the largest national network…
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OTTAWA – In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court of Canada said Thursday that the CRTC does not have the jurisdiction to allow conventional over-the-air broadcasters pursue a wholesale fee from BDUs for the carriage of their signals. The court’s decision should just about bring to a close the so-called fee-for-carriage (FFC) or value-for-signal (VFS) debate.
The court heard the case back in April which was essentially between the big BDUs, which had always stood against VFS, and Bell Canada. Canwest Television was listed as a respondent, but that was a leftover artefact of the earlier case as Canwest’s new…
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