Third in a three-part series
By Len St-Aubin
FOR DECADES, CANADIAN broadcasting policy, grounded in the limitations of over-the-air radio and TV, has restricted consumer choice in the name of Canadian culture.
Quietly, Canadians have resisted: with set-top “rabbit ears”, roof-top antennas, pre-regulation cable-TV, and satellite dishes big and small, we asserted our freedom of choice, pulling in foreign signals. We took to online streaming like fish to water.
If passed, Bill C-10 would apply those increasingly out of touch (OOT) policies to online streaming. Virtual private networks (VPNs) are about to flourish.
It’s not that Canadians don’t like Canadian content. Our maple-leaf hearts…
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Rogers announces 2020 Sportsnet Diversity and Gender Equity Initiative recipients
TORONTO — As part of Rogers Sports and Media’s commitment to increasing diverse voices in media, OMNI Television announced today it will award $60,000 in scholarships over the next three years to post-secondary students across Canada who are pursuing careers in ethnic and third-language journalism.
The new national scholarship program will award 10 scholarships of $2,000 each annually to students at universities and colleges. The first year of scholarships will be awarded in August 2021. More information is available here.
“The global pandemic has reinforced how critical ethnic and third-language media…
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By Lynn Greiner
THE FIRST SEVERAL WEEKS of every year are usually devoted to studying and predicting market trends, despite the fact technology is moving so fast it’s hard to predict next week, let alone the entire year. But that doesn’t stop us from trying.
We asked Rob Barton, chief architect at Cisco Canada (pictured), for his take on telecom in 2021. Here’s what he told us.
5G
“It’s good to see that everyone is excited about 5G and they want to move into it and see the benefits,” he said. “Obviously, the ability to do 10-gig throughput with low latency, like one…
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DUFFERIN COUNTY, Ont. — Rural broadband funding organization Southwestern Integrated Fibre Technology announced today Bell Canada has begun construction on a $829,000 project to increase access to broadband services in Dufferin County.
First announced in September 2020, the project will see Bell install 17 kilometres of fibre to bring improved broadband services to more than 300 homes and businesses in the community of Mansfield, about an hour’s drive north of Toronto. The joint venture between SWIFT and Bell is expected to be completed with services fully available by early 2022, says SWIFT’s press release.
“With shovels now in the ground…
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By Len St-Aubin
DEBATE ABOUT BILL C-10 thus far has focused on Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault’s goal to make big foreign online audio and video streamers, like Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime, YouTube and Spotify, contribute to the creation of Canadian content.
But Bill C-10’s scope is vast. It will impact broadcasting and the internet in Canada, and all Canadians
It’s a valid public policy goal to expect big foreign streamers which have significant market share and revenues in Canada to engage with Canadian creators in the production of Canadian stories for Canadian and global audiences. It’s a valid question whether amending the…
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CHATHAM, Ont. — Independent ISP TekSavvy has asked the Competition Bureau for a status update on a complaint it filed almost a year ago alleging Bell and Rogers have engaged in anti-competitive practices by abusing their dominant positions in wholesale and retail markets for broadband Internet services in Ontario and Quebec.
TekSavvy’s 57-page formal complaint was filed February 20, 2020, and the company issued a press release at the time, and made a public version of the complaint available here.
In a letter sent last Friday, TekSavvy is asking what the status is of the Competition Bureau’s investigation…
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TORONTO — Rogers for Business today introduced two new solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), Advantage Mobility and Advantage Security, which are designed to provide reliable connectivity and network security to SMEs as they look to digitize their business as a result of the pandemic, says Rogers.
“With these Advantage solutions, Rogers for Business is leveraging our diverse set of assets to be there for Canadian SMEs through their digital transformation,” said Dean Prevost, president, connected home and Rogers for Business, in the press release. “Providing intuitive solutions that are easy to deploy will promote technology adoption among small…
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TORONTO – CBC today announced four women who will be the broadcaster’s brand new scripted content leadership team.
They will oversee separate development and production units for comedy and drama and report directly to Trish Williams, executive director, scripted content. “The updated structure is designed to be more responsive to Canadian creators and the independent production community,” reads the announcement.
“With this new structure, we are excited to welcome fresh perspectives and recognize the shining stars of our experienced scripted team,” said Williams. “Bringing in two highly respected producers to…
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By Ahmad Hathout
GATINEAU – The CRTC has announced a second round of funding commitment from its $750-million Broadband Fund and it’s going to what the industry has often identified as a serious cost barrier to rural broadband: transport facilities.
On Thursday, the regulator announced five recipients for funds worth a total of $26.7 million, focusing on British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Ontario. Those companies are Rogers, Shaw, BH Telecom Corp., Columbia Basin Broadband Corporation, and Tough Country Communications Ltd., which are expected to connect 41 communities with 550 km of fibre transport.
The first announcement pledged $72 million for satellite and fibre…
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Data plan prices have dropped between 10% and 18% since last year
OTTAWA — With no fanfare, or even a press release, the ministry of Innovation, Science and Industry released its latest quarterly report on wireless plan prices last Friday, which shows the majority of monthly wireless plans with 2 GB to 6 GB continue to decrease in price across Canada.
ISI (formerly ISED) is tracking wireless plan pricing as part of the federal government’s public pledge to consumers to reduce the cost of wireless services by 25% by early 2022. Benchmark prices, or the prices to which the 25% reduction…
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