By Steve Faguy
MONTREAL — Quebecor has cut funding for MAtv, Videotron’s community channel in Montreal, by 45%, prompting an anglophone member of its advisory committee to resign in protest.
Fortner Anderson, a local artist, said he can “no longer in good conscience” remain on the committee because the latest cuts “will substantially alter and reduce the benefits MAtv provides to the English language community of Montreal, and because they will diminish the vitality of that community.”
The 45% cut is the result of Quebecor’s decision to take advantage of an allowance the CRTC gave large vertically-integrated companies in 2016. As part…
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TORONTO — As they look to bounce back from their Game 1 loss to the Boston Celtics in the NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Toronto Raptors will resume their championship title defence in game two on Tuesday, and basketball fans can either watch the action on Sportsnet and Sportsnet Now or listen on TSN 1050 Radio, starting at 5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT.
After game two, TSN and Sportsnet will alternate TV and radio coverage of the remaining games of the series. TSN’s linear television broadcast coverage continues with game three on Thursday, September 3 beginning at 6 p.m. ET…
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EXTON, Pa. — SCTE-ISBE today unveiled the lineup of participants for its CEO panel scheduled during the general session of the virtual Cable-Tec Expo 2020 trade show taking place in October.
Moderated by Phil McKinney, president and CEO of CableLabs, the hour-long roundtable discussion will include the following CEOs:
Dave Watson, president and CEO, Comcast Cable
Tom Rutledge, chairman and CEO, Charter Communications
Mike Fries, CEO and vice-chairman, Liberty Global
The CEO panel will feature discussions on the industry’s response to Covid-19 and the evolution to a next-generation 10G platform, as well as the potential for life-changing applications which 10G will…
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Bell and cablecos argue Cabinet proves them right
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – Independent and incumbent internet service providers have filed letters to the Federal Court of Appeal explaining the impact of the Federal Cabinet’s decision last weekend on the CRTC’s decision to slash wholesale internet rates and whether it should factor into the court’s ultimate decision.
On August 15, one year following the decision by the CRTC to slash wholesale internet rates, Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) said the Regulator’s decision “do not, in all instances, appropriately balance the policy objectives of the wholesale services framework” and that in…
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ST. JOHN’S – Rogers Communications Step Up to the Plate initiative with Food Banks Canada arrived in Newfoundland and southwestern Ontario today.
The company delivered food hampers that will provide more than 197,000 meals for local food banks across the province which will help fill the plates of more than 9,300 Newfoundlanders.
In southwestern Ontario, the food hampers will provide more than 524,000 meals for local food banks, helping fill the plates of almost 25,000 Southwestern Ontarians.
The Step Up to the Plate initiative started in June at Rogers Centre in Toronto, with Rogers employee volunteers and their families filling food hampers…
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TORONTO — Rogers flanker brand chatr has launched a new way for customers to top up their account online — Top Up as a Guest.
In what the company says is a Canadian-first for the industry, the new Top Up as a Guest feature allows customers to top up online without having to sign into their account. Customers who forget their password, or who are topping up on behalf of another chatr customer, can do so easily online with no sign-in required. All they need is the chatr phone number they want to top up and the 12-digit PIN on…
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OTTAWA — In the third installment of its series of reports looking at network traffic volumes during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) says Canadians continued to use telecom services in June and July at higher rates than before Covid-19.
“The gradual relaxation of mobility restrictions across the country are reflected in the increase in mobile network traffic, with median wireless traffic exceeding pre-Covid-19 levels. Meanwhile, despite some businesses and public spaces reopening, wireline traffic volumes continue to show that many Canadians are still relying heavily on home internet services to stay connected to their workplaces, families,…
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TORONTO — Toronto-based interactive app provider Zone-tv today introduced its “Ignite Fun at Home” app which is available exclusively on Rogers Ignite TV.
Zone-tv’s new app is designed to help parents and kids stay both entertained and educated at home. The “edutainment-centric” interactive service offers learning categories which include art, math, science, life skills, geography and history, says the news release. The app also includes a selection of movies and interactive games designed to stimulate and train young minds, says the release.
Zone-tv’s Ignite Fun at Home service is managed by Zone-tv and available on Ignite TV through the Apps…
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GATINEAU — The CRTC is putting on hold a recent application by Rogers asking the Commission to provide relief in an ongoing dispute with Bell over access to utility poles in New Brunswick owned by NB Power because the larger issue of joint-use pole arrangements is likely to be addressed during another proceeding already underway, the Commission said in a recent letter.
The issue of access to poles and other infrastructure is an age-old issue and continues to be a major challenge for the industry and will only grow when 5G gains real traction when it is rolled out…
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By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – At 9 a.m. Saturday, the federal government released its ruling on the cabinet appeal of the CRTC’s August 15, 2019 decision on new wholesale rates third party internet access ISPs must pay incumbent network operators.
It required a few readings to understand.
A year ago today, the CRTC issued an order setting the final rates for wholesale internet access (including over $300 million in retroactive payments) and the large ISPs did not like it one bit. They appealed it to cabinet, consistent with section 12 of the Telecommunications Act. The Act also says that Cabinet…
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