Search Results for: industry canada

Radio / Television News

Canadian film industry soars at home and abroad

MONTREAL – Telefilm Canada reports that domestic and international sales of Telefilm projects doubled in 2011 compared to 2010, while domestic box office receipts increased 11.6% to $27.5 million. According to federal agency’s new Success Index, the performance of its portfolio improved by 23.7% in 2011. The index measures the year-over-year results for the commercial, cultural and industrial success of feature films supported by Telefilm. The benchmark year for the Success Index is 2010, which was assigned a value of 100. In 2011, the Index increased to 123.7. It says growth primarily stems from the commercial component since domestic box office… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Government upholds CRTC ruling to end SILEC monopoly on phone service

OTTAWA – As first reported by Cartt.ca this past April, the worst fears of small rural telephone companies operating in Ontario and Quebec have come to pass with today’s announcement that the Harper Government is upholding a CRTC ruling to eliminate monopoly phone services in Canada. The Ontario Telecommunications Association (OTA) and the Association des Compagnies de Téléphone du Québec Inc. (ACTQ) have maintained that if their markets are fully opened to competition, they would suffer severe financial impacts that could put them out of business (as they noted on Cartt.ca). Small Incumbent Local Exchange… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

Canada is MIPCOM 2012 Country of Honor

PARIS, France – Canada will take center stage at MIPCOM 2012 as the official Country of Honor when the entertainment content market opens for business in Cannes this fall. MIPCOM will pay tribute to Canada’s TV, film and digital industries, as well as its success in international co-productions, scripted dramas, animation, documentaries, films and experimental media. The Canuck celebration will run through MIPJunior on Oct. 6 and 7, then at MIPCOM from Oct. 8 – 11. MIPCOM, in partnership with the Canada Media Fund (CMF) and Telefilm Canada, will also organize a dedicated Focus on Canada featuring a wide-ranging programme of… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Globalive continues quest for Telus’s Canadian credentials

GATINEAU – On Wednesday, July 4, Globalive Wireless Management (Wind Mobile) asked the CRTC to add a new piece of evidence to its file which says Telus is currently off-side when it comes to Canada’s telecom regulations on foreign ownership. As we reported previously, Globalive wants the CRTC to launch a public proceeding to examine whether or not the number of foreign investors in Telus is too great. On June 20th in a submission to the Commission, Globalive said that Telus’s recent aborted attempt to convert to a single share structure exposed… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

TOWERS AND ROAMING: Incumbents, new entrants, continue to slam each other

OTTAWA – Mandated tower/site sharing and roaming is still a wreck, say the newer entrants into the Canadian wireless market. In its reply comments to Industry Canada on “Proposed Revisions to the Frameworks for Mandatory Roaming and Antenna Tower and Site Sharing”, Bell Canada argues that reopening the Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) conditions of licence (COLs) less than halfway through the 10-year licence terms creates considerable uncertainty with respect to Industry Canada’s auction policies. “To maintain the integrity of the department's spectrum auction process, it is equally important that bidders can rely on the knowledge that the applicable COLs, developed pursuant… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

New copyright law a triumph – or a cave…

OTTAWA – The Copyright Modernization Act received Royal Assent last week and is expected to become law this fall, once its regulations have been published. Parliament will review the law every five years. "We never doubted that we would see this day but it has been a long road, in particular for creators, whose livelihoods have been deeply eroded by piracy. We commend the government and Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore in particular, for their tenacity in pursuing a modern copyright framework and legislation that will enable Canada to ratify the World Intellectual Property Organization Internet Treaties," says Graham Henderson,… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

No copyright fees on memory cards – Paradis

TORONTO – Finally, some good news for RIM. Canada will introduce regulations this fall that will explicitly exclude microSD memory cards from a levy charged to consumers to compensate copyright holders. "Our government is committed to building a strong and vibrant Canadian digital economy, the cornerstone of which must be the widespread adoption of cutting-edge digital technologies," says Industry Minister Christian Paradis. "Placing a new fee on devices with removable memory cards, such as BlackBerrys and smartphones, would increase costs for Canadian families and impact the adoption of the latest technologies." In 2011, the Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC) urged the… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Slow adoption of cloud computing could threaten economic competitiveness: study

TORONTO – Concerns over data security and a limited knowledge of cloud computing are putting Canada's economic competitiveness at risk, according to a Telus and IDC Canada study released Thursday. The study, commissioned by Telus, found that 71% of Canadian businesses are not open to alternative IT delivery models that may bring new levels of productivity and enhanced customer service to their organizations.  Security was found to be the top concern and barrier to cloud deployment, with business leaders saying that their own organizations do a better job of securing data than cloud providers. In addition, when it comes to their… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

RIM delays BB 10, to cut 5,000 employees, posts first loss

WATERLOO – The company is still selling millions of BlackBerrys and has $2.2 billion in the bank, but Canada’s tech darling for so many years, Research In Motion, is in deep, telling the world today it will let 5,000 employees go and delay, again, the launch of its new phones and operating system, BlackBerry 10, to 2013. As for the highlights from the corporate release: • Cash, cash equivalents, short-term and long-term investments increased to $2.2 billion at the end of the first quarter • Cash flow from operations was approximately $710 million in the first quarter • Shipments of BlackBerry… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

Rogers unites TV, radio news under Hinnen

TORONTO – Industry veteran John Hinnen has been promoted to vice-president of news for Rogers Media Television and Radio, effective immediately. Hinnen (pictured) will continue to oversee 680News and all news content for Rogers’ 55 radio stations, including the four all-news radio stations and four news-talk stations, and will now also oversee CityNews and CityNews Channel.  CityNews and Rogers Radio will continue to operate as separate newsrooms, but will now be aligned under Hinnen’s leadership. 
“John is one of the industry’s most well-respected news… Continue Reading