Telecoms have said this would impact the value of the 5G frequencies
By Ahmad Hathout
Innovation Canada said last week it will stick with its proposal to place restrictions on the use of the 3.5 GHz spectrum in areas surrounding 26 major airports, which some of Canada’s telecoms want to deploy 5G wireless networks.
The exclusion areas are intended to prevent interference with aircraft altimeters, which use radio signals to guide the airplane to the runway.
The large telecoms, including Bell, Rogers and Telus, said Innovation Canada did not indicate before the 3.5 GHz auction in June that the department would prevent…
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TORONTO — Blink Studios, the Canada-based indie studio recently launched by former Entertainment One executives, announced yesterday it has made two key creative hires.
Industry veteran Carolyn Newman (above, left) has been appointed as executive vice-president of global scripted, and award-winning producer Virginia Rankin (above, right) has been hired as in-house executive producer. Both appointments were effective yesterday.
Newman is based in Los Angeles and reports to Blink Studios CEO John Morayniss. She will focus on the development of scripted content for the studio, which was launched earlier this month with Endeavor Content as its anchor investor and lead strategic…
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VANCOUVER — The Telus Pollinator Fund for Good is celebrating its one-year anniversary by announcing three new investments in early-stage North American companies focused on social innovation.
The Pollinator Fund, which was launched Nov. 24, 2020, also today highlighted its achievements and funding commitments over the last year by releasing an inaugural impact report.
“Within just 12 months, the $100-million fund has amplified Telus’ commitment to social capitalism and invested in 10 exciting companies that are making a difference in communities,” reads a press release.
The three new investments announced today include:
Goodmylk, a California-based company “that uses natural, high quality ingredients…
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NEW YORK — Kids and family entertainment company WildBrain announced today it has signed more licensees for both the new and classic Strawberry Shortcake brand in deals brokered by its consumer products licensing agency, WildBrain CPLG.
In addition, the new Strawberry Shortcake series, Berry in the Big City (above, 80 episodes x 4 minutes), as well as four new CG-animated seasonal specials (44 minutes each), produced by WildBrain’s Vancouver animation studio, will be available on Netflix worldwide, with the series launching in spring 2022 and the specials in 2023, says a press release.
Other streaming and linear TV partners are expected…
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Commission asks Rogers to further consider proposals from interveners
By Amanda OYE
GATINEAU – Rogers Communications and Shaw Communications extolled the virtue of their proposed merger on the first day of the week-long CRTC hearing into the broadcasting side of the deal while Commission panel members grilled them on safeguards and the public interest.
“Joining forces with Rogers not only makes sense for Shaw, it makes sense for Canada,” Brad Shaw, executive chair and CEO of Shaw Communications told the Commission. “Combining the complementary assets of our two companies allows Rogers and Shaw to invest so much more than the sum of…
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TORONTO – Accusations of unfair conduct, cautious optimism and a Ben Affleck meme – the Canadian Telecom Summit’s regulatory blockbuster panel, held Tuesday, had it all.
The panel (pictured above left to right) was moderated by Globe and Mail reporter Alexandra Posadzki, and featured Ceri Howes, head of regulatory at Opensignal, Dennis Béland, vice-president of regulatory affairs, telecommunications at Quebecor, Geoff White, executive director of Competitive Network Operators of Canada (CNOC), Paul Beaudry, vice-president of regulatory affairs at Cogeco, Ted Woodhead, senior vice-president of regulatory at Rogers Communications, Samer Bishay, CEO of Iristel and Stephen Schmidt, vice-president of telecom policy…
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TORONTO — Following the UN Climate Change Conference COP26 held in Glasgow earlier this month, CBC announced today it is introducing a new carbon footprint requirement for all original Canadian English-language productions to advance sustainable practices within the Canadian media industry.
As of Jan. 3, “CBC will require completion and delivery of a carbon footprint on all original Canadian productions from independent producers with budgets over $400,000 using albert, a film and television industry tool that calculates the carbon emissions of productions,” a CBC press release reads.
This new requirement builds on the Corporation’s five-year environmental sustainability strategy, Greening…
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By Lynn Greiner
There is a lot of talk these days around the digital economy, and how cloud, edge, and 5G (the three buzzwords of the year) fit in. The short answer: it’s complicated.
During his Canadian Telecom Summit keynote, Bhushan Joshi, head of sustainability and corporate responsibility for North America at Ericsson, pointed out it is a multimodal problem with several drivers – access, affordability, and digital readiness.
“This multimodal nature of the ICT of the digital divide makes it harder to close this digital divide,” he said. “We need to leverage ICT solutions including 5G to close the digital divide…
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By Ahmad Hathout
During the lunchtime keynote on the second day of the Canadian Telecom Summit, Bell Mobility president Claire Gillies (above) said spectrum costs charged by the federal government are too high.
Coming off the most expensive spectrum auction in its history – a nearly $9-billion investment in 3.5 GHz frequencies said to be crucial for 5G – Gillies said this is not sustainable because service providers like Bell need to use the money to continue investing in future technologies.
“We have to change this,” she said during her keynote Tuesday. “Because we want our money going into investment –…
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By Ahmad Hathout
TORONTO – CRTC chairman Ian Scott (above) said Monday the contested acquisition of 5G spectrum licenses by Quebecor’s Videotron in Western Canada is an example of what the regulator envisioned when it made the decision to allow regional competitors to force negotiations for wireless network space from the larger providers.
The regulator’s April decision allows regional carriers to negotiate access to the wireless facilities of the incumbents – Rogers, Bell, Telus and Sasktel – as long as they have spectrum and network facilities in the area they want to provide mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) service….
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