WINNIPEG and VANCOUVER – Craig Wireless was granted broadband radio service licenses by Industry Canada for the Victoria and Kelowna regions of British Columbia.
The company said Tuesday that issuance of the BRS licenses represents the satisfaction “of another significant condition to the completion” of the sale of its Canadian spectrum assets to Inukshuk Wireless Partnership.
Upon the filing of an application to Industry Canada to transfer licenses to Inukshuk, the portion of sale proceeds payable by Inukshuk to Craig is $12.8 million of the aggregate sale proceeds of $80 million, $42.4 million of which it has already received.
The amount…
Continue Reading
EXTON, PA – Three industry veterans have been named to the electoral slate to represent Canada on the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) board of directors for 2010.
The candidates for the position of Director-At-Large Canada (representing SCTE’s Canadian members) are:
– Boris Eventov, director, digital video engineering, Cogeco Cable;– Tony Faccia, vice president, wireline access networks, Rogers Cable Communications; and– Bruce Marshall, technical director, Shaw Cablesystems.
Rogers’ Dermot O’Carroll is the current Canadian board rep. Newly elected directors will begin their two-year terms on October 19th in conjunction with the SCTE Cable-Tec Expo 2010 set for October 20…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – Fairchild TV and Talentvision raised over $179,000 in support of World Vision Canada and the Canadian Red Cross’ earthquake relief efforts in Yushu in Qinghai, a remote and mountainous province next to Tibet in the north western part of China.
A massive earthquake struck the region on April 14, and more than 2200 people have been reported killed and at least 12,000 injured.
The networks aired a special fund raising program called ‘Artistes 414 Fund Raising Campaign’ on April 27, which was organized by the Hong Kong entertainment industry. The three hour telethon raised $179,894.
www.fairchildtv.com
Continue Reading
TORONTO – Astral’s Mary-Anne Taylor will be off to Harvard in June as this year’s recipient of the CTAM Canada Fellowship Award, also know as CTAM U.
Now in its 13th year, the executive management program is a week-long intensive learning series held at the Harvard Business School (HBS). The program focuses on strategic marketing and business principles through a detailed case study curriculum administered by HBS professors and key industry leaders.
Taylor is director of affiliate relations at Teletoon, where she is responsible for subscriber growth and securing optimal carriage for Teletoon and Teletoon Retro, and new business development across multiple…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – Two acts and three regulators overseeing the Canadian communications world just don’t make sense any more, according to the chairman of the CRTC.
With the differences between what’s a cable operator and what’s a telco nearly gone, from a services provided perspective, and the trend towards distributor-content owner consolidation continuing, maintaining the legislative differences between the various communications companies in Canada no longer makes any sense, says CRTC chairman Konrad von Finckenstein.
“The current piecemeal approach is outdated and no longer up to the task,’ the chairman said Friday during the Law Society of Upper Canada’s biennial conference on…
Continue Reading
GATINEAU – The tenure of CRTC vice-chair, broadcasting, Michel Arpin draws to a close at the end of August. According to sources, Arpin has already been officially notified by the Prime Minister’s Office that he will not be offered a renewal, so the big question in Gatineau is who will fill his shoes come September 1?
Arpin, a well-respected broadcast policy veteran with a long history in the industry, was appointed August 31, 2005 and prior to that was senior regulatory and governmental affairs advisor for Astral Media. Before that he worked for Radiomutuel. He had a prior stint with…
Continue Reading
THE TRANSITION TO DIGITAL television in Canada is officially Heritage Minister James Moore’s to deal with, but Industry Minister Tony Clement doesn’t want to see the August 31, 2011 deadline moved.
That was the word we received directly from Industry Minister Tony Clement on Friday during an interview (which you’ll read below) in his Parliament Hill office.
Cartt.ca readers will know we’ve been prodding the industry and the federal government about their inaction on the transition to digital broadcast television. Using our bully pulpit here and directly with the ministers on Twitter (they are @TonyClement_MP and @mpjamesmoore).
In a…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – Industry minister Tony Clement created a tilted ice sheet when he overturned the CRTC decision on Globalive’s ownership, Public Mobile CEO Alek Krstajic told the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology earlier this week.
Krstajic used a hockey analogy to explain the impact of the minister’s decision.
“
“Had we known that we could have had a different structure with almost all our money coming from foreigners, we would have been able to bring on more capital and buy more spectrum,” Krstajic explained.
Simon Lockie, chief legal officer and secretary for Globalive Communications Corp., said that under…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – Kids Help Phone and its long-time partner Bell were honoured Tuesday night as recipients of the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association’s ‘Connected to the Community’ award, while Quebecor president and CEO Pierre Karl Peladeau handed one of the same awards out.
The award recognizes outstanding organizations that have partnered with Canada’s wireless industry to improve the lives of Canadians.
Bell has raised more than $6 million for Kids Help Phone by leading the Walk for Kids Help Phone each year. Since 1989, Kids Help Phone has worked to advance the well-being of Canadian children and youth by providing them with…
Continue Reading
Perry Hoffman
OTTAWA – It’s not very often the country’s telecommunications and cable firms agree with anything the regulator has to say, but on foreign ownership rules, they at least partially support the CRTC’s proposal to a Parliamentary committee studying the matter.
One after the other last week, they addressed the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology on the need to liberalize current foreign investment restrictions for both telecommunications and broadcasting companies. They echoed the CRTC’s position that regulations can protect Canadian content on television and radio.
“While we do not believe there is a problem today, given…
Continue Reading