Digital services tax on company revenue pegged at 3%
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – The federal government is proposing a $1-billion top-up to the $1.75-billion Universal Broadband Fund as part of its mission to get high-speed internet access to all Canadians by 2030.
The additional money, outlined in Monday’s federal budget, will be allocated over six years, with $272 million in planned spending starting in 2021-2022, $344 million for the next fiscal year, $129 million afterward, and $126 million for each of the two years that follow. With the top-up, the government says it has now allocated a little more than $7…
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OTTAWA — In a letter sent today to Innovation, Science and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne, the Competitive Network Operators of Canada (CNOC) is asking for a 90-day delay to the 3500 MHz spectrum auction, which is scheduled to start on June 15.
CNOC’s main objection to having the auction proceed as currently scheduled is that the CRTC’s new wireless policy on mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) — in which it mandates the provision of wholesale facilities-based MVNO access service but only to regional wireless carriers who own spectrum at the Tier 4 level or higher — was released after…
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GATINEAU – On Friday, the CRTC agreed with Videotron’s complaint Bell has been obstructing use of its poles.
Videotron filed a complaint with the CRTC in June alleging ongoing problems gaining access to Bell’s support structures.
“The Commission determines that Bell Canada violated section 24 and subsections 25(1) and 27(2) of the Telecommunications Act and violated its National Services Tariff and the Support Structure Licence Agreement between it and Videotron Ltd (Videotron). Accordingly, the Commission determines that enforcement action regarding these violations may be taken against Bell Canada. The Commission’s preliminary view is that an administrative monetary penalty (AMP)…
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CRTC focuses on accelerating regional carrier network builds. Eyes now on Cogeco if regulatory conditions satisfy mobile entry
By Ahmad Hathout
GATINEAU – In requiring the country’s largest telecommunications companies to negotiate access to its wireless network with regional carriers, the CRTC has signaled its desire to bolster the fourth players and help accelerate the expansion and deployment of those networks, the Commission’s head Ian Scott said Thursday.
But the Regulator will not require those regional carriers to come to commercial arrangements with smaller players on that leased capacity, with Scott only saying they are permitted to do so.
In essence, Thursday’s decision…
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WATERLOO and SAN FRANCISCO – Leading MVNO provider (in the U.S.)TextNow announced today it has hired Evan Fein (above) as its new chief financial officer.
The company, whose app offers free cellular and Wi-Fi-enabled phone service, is bringing Fein on to “oversee financial activities while helping position the company for growth and offering strategic guidance as the business scales,” reads the company press release.
Prior to TextNow, Fein was CFO at Chef Software, “which he led through its successful acquisition by Progress Software in October 2020,” reads the release. He also served as CFO of Impinj from 2000 to 2018…
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TORONTO — Made|Nous, the Canadian film and TV industry’s consumer-focused initiative to promote the work of Canadian creators, launched today a new campaign designed to encourage Canadians to seek out content and creators from a wide array of racial backgrounds and lived experiences, reflecting the varied storytellers shaping TV, film and gaming in Canada.
Joining the “Seek More” campaign as ambassadors are actors Shamier Anderson (above left, Stowaway, Bruised), Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs (centre, Blood Quantum, Taika Waititi/FX’s Reservation Dogs), and Simu Liu (right, Kim’s Convenience, Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings).
Also lending their voices to the campaign…
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OTTAWA – On Monday afternoon, the federal government kicked off a national consultation effort with the goal of modernizing the Copyright Act in part so that the “revenues of web giants are shared fairly with Canadian creators,” reads the press release.
This new consultation will build on the 2019 Parliamentary Review of the Copyright Act, which did not result in Act amendments. This review will involve both the departments of Canadian Heritage and Innovation, Science and Industry as both want to ensure the copyright framework “reflects the evolving digital world” when it comes to online entities.
“As the distribution and…
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MONTREAL — Ericsson and ENCQOR 5G, a Canadian testbed initiative which provides small and medium-sized enterprises with an open platform to develop their ideas and technologies, announced today the deployment of ENCQOR 5G’s standalone end-to-end 5G network.
“The ENCQOR 5G network is now capable of serving edge-based applications with one-way latency tolerances of less than five milliseconds, a critical breakthrough for the success of future innovations such as autonomous driving, robotics, and public safety,” reads Ericsson’s press release.
The new network builds on the earlier non-standalone (NSA) 5G managed and operated network that Ericsson makes available to the ENCQOR…
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MONTREAL — Cogeco Inc. last night released its financial results for the second quarter of 2021, reporting its overall revenue increased by 6.9% to reach $653.2 million for the three months ended February 28, 2021, compared to the same quarter of 2020.
Looking at which aspects of the company’s business enjoyed revenue increases in Q2 2021, Cogeco’s Canadian broadband services revenue increased by 10.1% “as a result of the DERYtelecom acquisition completed on December 14, 2020, the cumulative effect of sustained demand for residential high speed Internet since the beginning of the pandemic, and rate increases implemented for certain…
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FREDERICTON – Former CRTC commissioner Chris MacDonald has been hired by Rogers Communications as senior manager regional delivery – Atlantic Canada.
MacDonald made the announcement on his LinkedIn page. We wondered what that job title actually means so we asked him. “Essentially, it’s part chief of staff to the regional VP, but mostly someone that can be dispatched to get projects (sales opportunities, network builds, gov’t and community engagement, etc.) back on the rails. No regulatory matters – so it will be a nice change,” he told us in a message.
For anyone wondering if such a hire so soon after…
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