GATINEAU – On Friday, the CRTC launched the review it said was coming over the 36-month device financing plans certain service wireless providers recently launched, which it told those carriers to stop doing in early August.
The Commission wants to ensure the provisions of its Wireless Code, which effectively make any sort of carrier service contract longer than two years illegal (there can be no break fee beyond 24 months for a customer to pay when they leave a carrier), are upheld. The carriers which launched the new 36-month plans, first from Rogers this summer, say…
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LONDON – Non-profit regional broadband project SWIFT has issued its first round of RFPs for the design and construction of high-speed broadband networks within the 20 municipalities it covers.
Prequalified Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have been invited to submit network proposals aimed at connecting business facilities, public buildings and residences within the counties underserviced areas, says the company.
Actual construction dates and network designs will be provided by the ISPs in their proposals and SWIFT says it anticipates releasing implementation plans later this Fall, including detailed construction timelines.
SWIFT also announced 13 new additions to its Vendor of Record (VOR) list…
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TORONTO – Broadcaster Asian Television Network says it is continuing to feel the sting of piracy as its revenue continues to decline, but that it is hopeful the Broadcast and Telecom Legislative Review Panel might have a lifeline for it come January.
For the second quarter, ended June 30, operating revenue came in at $2.9 million, down from $3.9 million in the second quarter of 2018. Net loss for the period came in at $941,000, more than double Q2 2018’s $426,000.
“Declining revenues are predominantly as a result of increased internet piracy and consumers shifting towards illegal digital IPTV set-top…
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CEO Pruneau wants it to be the in-home hub for Quebecers
MONTREAL — Vidéotron has officially joined the IPTV family, announcing Tuesday its Helix platform is available to the general public as of now.
Using Comcast's X1 technology, which is also deployed by Rogers (Ignite) and Shaw (BlueSky), it includes features like cloud-based DVR, restart of missed live TV programs, voice-controlled remote, intelligent Wi-Fi and combined search of live TV, video-on-demand and three streaming apps: YouTube, Netflix and Videotron's own Club Illico.
But those three apps are it for now. No Amazon Prime Video, or Bell's Crave, or DAZN, or Radio-Canada's Tou.tv,…
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OTTAWA – The Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS) and the Fédération des télévisions communautaires autonomes du Québec are now taking applications from community television organizations to hire a journalist under the Local Journalism Initiative.
The LJI was announced by Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez on May 22 (when he announced the government bailout of large newspapers) and is meant to fund “civic journalism” in “underserved communities”, to address the gaps in local news coverage that have arisen in the wake of community newspaper closures, and the outflow of local ad dollars onto international platforms such…
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OTTAWA – The Federal Court of Canada has granted Bell Media, Groupe TVA, and Rogers Media an interim injunction against GoldTV.biz and GoldTV.ca, ordering GoldTV to disable its IPTV services pending a final decision on what is gearing up to be a test case for the big broadcasters efforts to require all Internet service providers (ISPs) to block unlicenced web sites they say are pirating their content.
In addition, the injunction forbids the as yet unknown individuals or entities operating the services, called John Doe 1 and John Doe 2 in the documents filed with the court, from transferring "access,…
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OTTAWA – “The Governor in Council, having considered the petitions, is satisfied that the decision does not derogate from the attainment of the objectives of the broadcasting policy for Canada," reads the Order-in-Council on the appeals to cabinet over the CRTC’s decision to grant Rogers Media a 9(1)(h) licence for its national ethnic TV channel.
The decision was made Saturday, but made public Wednesday, and there was as little explanation as possible. TLN Media, ECG, Corrcan, and ICTV, all rejected applicants, had filed appeals to cabinet over the…
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MONCTON – Rogers announced Wednesday its IPTV service, Ignite TV, is now available across New Brunswick, in English and French.
Initially an English-only service in Canada, Rogers customers can now search for their favourite content and navigate the platform in both French and English using their voice, says the company, saying it has been uniquely designed for the region as more than 500 employees across the province helped Rogers perfect voice technology in both northern and southern Acadian accents.
“We’re excited to bring Ignite TV to our New Brunswick customers in the language of their choice,” said Eric Bruno, SVP 5G,…
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Eastlink says it'll slow network spending because of CRTC. Videotron, Shaw to review network investments; estimated costs now over $300M
WHILE LARGE INCUMBENT network operators mull their legal options in the wake of last week’s CRTC decision to decrease the wholesale rates third party ISPs must pay them, three more have said the decision not only costs them millions, but will cause them to rein in network expansion, which will affect rural broadband builds.
The Commission’s decision to retroactively impose the rates with the decision that took more than three years to complete also threw…
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New mega-streamer to launch here on same day and date as U.S.
BURBANK, Calif. – The Walt Disney Company announced Monday its direct-to-consumer streaming platform Disney+ will launch in Canada and The Netherlands on November 12th, the same day as its much-anticipated U.S. launch.
It will then debut in Australia and New Zealand one week after that.
However, with the Canadian rights to certain Disney content still owned by Canadian companies, we wondered what the Disney+ offer will actually look like here, because it will be a different. Netflix subscribers and CBS All Access subscribers, for example, know the content libraries found…
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