SASKATOON – Saskatchewan educational broadcaster SCN announced today that former marketing and communications director Ranjan Thakre has been appointed to the new position of executive director of content, effective immediately.
"SCN spent several months consulting with various stakeholders, and recognized it was time to evolve our organizational structure in response to changes in the film and television industry," said Twyla MacDougall, president and CEO of SCN, in the press release.
"To ensure SCN adapts and evolves in this competitive industry, we have taken a positive step forward to merge two senior executive positions into one, and integrate our programming…
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OTTAWA — Canada’s high-tech sector says the federal government is taking the right step by reaching for economic stimulus, but asserts that the amount of stimulation should be double what’s in the current budget, and needs to be invested in "jobs for the future", in transformation, not bail-outs.
The 33,000-member Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance (CATA) estimates that at least $60-billion needs to be spent “to match the intensity of the American response to what is clearly perceived by the American President Obama as an emerging depression,” says a CATA press release.
"While we are pleased to see the government…
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OTTAWA – The Federal government today reconfirmed funding for the Canadian Television Fund, the Canadian New Media Fund and committed to $225 million in new spending to bring broadband connectivity to unserved communities.
The initiatives, tiny among the billions being spent in total, were all a part of Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s 2009 budget announced today in Ottawa.
“The Government is committed to closing the broadband gap in Canada by encouraging the private development of rural broadband infrastructure. Budget 2009 provides $225 million over three years to Industry Canada to develop and implement a strategy on extending broadband coverage…
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BURLINGTON – Cable, telecom and broadcast supplier White Radio has signed an agreement to become master distributor of Alcatel-Lucent products in Canada, the company announced this week.
"This partnership is strategic for White Radio," said Jack Van Kessel, president of White Radio, in a press release. "As we focus on taking White Radio through this year and beyond 2009, this partnership fits our requirements to develop relationships with industry leaders such as Alcatel-Lucent."
Alcatel-Lucent is one of the largest manufacturers in the communications industry, with a portfolio of more than 25,000 active patents.
www.whiteradio.com www.alcatel-lucent.com
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TORONTO – There were a spasm of news stories just after the holidays that highlighted the need for better emergency 911 service for wireless phones in Canada.
There have been a few accidents, and in one case, a fatality, that might have been averted if emergency personnel had been better able to pinpoint where a wireless caller was at the time they called.
And there is no doubt that better 911 service for wireless phones is, of course, a necessity here in Canada.
However, the stories in the consumer press centred on how the wireless industry in Canada hasn’t…
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MONTREAL – There is just over one week left to register for Telefilm Canada’s professional development initiative ‘Multiplatform, Multi-success!’.
Registration closes on January 29 for the three-day workshops which promise to “explore the creation and exploitation of content in a multiplatform environment.” French-speaking creators living in Canada, outside of Quebec, can attend sessions from February 24-26, and sessions fro English-speaking creators in Quebec are March 9-11, all in Montreal.
Aimed at producers, directors and writers of feature films, television, or new media programs, the workshops will study alternate content platforms such as Web 2.0 and social networks, online video distribution and…
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HALIFAX – Canada’s wireless telecommunications industry has launched an initiative for Canadians to recycle their old cell phones and other wireless devices called ‘Recycle My Cell’.
The free, national program lets users find out where and how to properly dispose of their cell phones, smart phones, pagers, aircards, batteries, chargers and other accessories, regardless of carrier, brand or condition.
To locate a list of the 10 closest recycling drop-off sites, consumers can enter their postal code at www.RecycleMyCell.ca or call 1-888-797-1740. Equipment can also be mailed in after printing a postage-paid label from the website.
Organized by the…
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MILVERTON, ON – Jonathan Holmes has been named executive director of the Ontario Telecommunications Association (OTA) by its board of directors, effective immediately.
Holmes was most recently director of regulatory affairs at Primus Telecommunications Canada, and has an extensive regulatory background gained through positions with AT&T Canada LDS, London Telecom Network and FCI Broadband.
The OTA is a non-profit organization representing 19 independent local exchange carriers in Ontario to government and industry associates.
www.ota.on.ca
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PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE, MB – MTS will use Microsoft Mediaroom to drive its IPTV services for customers in Portage La Prairie, making it the first Canadian company to offer the platform.
As reported by Cartt.ca, the Microsoft Mediaroom multimedia and IPTV platform was showcased at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this month. It allows subscribers greater control over programming, an enhanced on-screen guide, and the ability to watch up to six channels at one time, all with digital video recorder-like control.
"This is another example of how we are partnering with other technology leaders to enhance our overall…
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Exton, PA – Boris Culum from Rogers Cable has won the inaugural Young Canadian Engineering Professional of the Year Award by The Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE).
Culum will accept the award at a luncheon at the SCTE Canadian Summit held February 3-4 at the Toronto Congress Centre.
The SCTE, along with Aurora Networks as the primary sponsor and Cartt.ca as the publishing partner, last month announced the new award that recognizes a young cable telecommunications engineering professional in Canada who has demonstrated outstanding achievement within the Canadian cable telecommunications industry.
“Boris has been the driver behind the successful…
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