OTTAWA – The Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS) said today it received nearly 19,300 complaints from Canadian telecom and TV customers, an all-time high in the organization’s 12-year history.
Given we’re also at an all-time high for wireless and broadband customers in Canada, not to mention how recent news and noise surrounding telecom companies in Canada have likely helped more Canadians realize the CCTS can help, such an increase is not surprising.
Canadians, said the CCTS annual report (which tallies complaints for the 12-months ended July 31), complained most often about…
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CEO hopes Ottawa is watching, listening, and will act
CORUS ENTERTAINMENT PRESIDENT and CEO Doug Murphy may have the toughest job in Canadian media. Or maybe just the least-appreciated.
Go ahead and ask anyone in the TV business (and we’ve asked a lot of them recently). They all say variations of the same thing: “I think he’s doing all he can… but I’d never want his job…”
Not only does Murphy run the biggest independent media company and broadcaster in the country (yes, it’s controlled by the Shaw family – who unloaded their equity interest in May after…
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HAMILTON – Cable 14 and Hamilton Food Share have launched the second Annual 14 Ways To Feed The Hammer campaign just in time for the holiday season.
Cable 14 has produced a series of public service announcements designed to promote Hamilton Food Share’s organizations and programs to local residents in need. The PSAs will feature how these organizations support individuals over the holidays and how they ensure vulnerable citizens have access to food all year.
This holiday season, approximately 10,000 Hamilton households will reach out to the emergency food system for assistance in providing their families with the…
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TORONTO – Tuesday marked the 10th anniversary of the Mobile Giving Foundation Canada (MGFC).
Incorporated in 2009, MGFC was established by key members of Canada's wireless industry, working in partnership with the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA), to create a means through which Canadians could make donations to registered charities through their mobile device.
This is why Canadians can, for example, text $10 to a certain number to help raise money for natural disasters or other needs and have it tacked onto their wireless bill.
"Canadians are generous and supportive of worthy causes, and they also embrace technology. Merging philanthropy with…
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TORONTO – Radioplayer Canada, the radio streaming app that delivers more than 500 radio stations to Canadian listeners across multiple platforms (loads of stations, except for Bell Media’s), has surpassed one million downloads in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, combined, the company announced this week.
“Two and a half years ago the majority of Canadian radio broadcasters joined together to collaborate on technology in order to make radio listening easy for the audience – wherever, whenever, and however they want,” said Julie Adam, board chair of Radioplayer Canada and senior vice president of Rogers Radio. “Clearly,…
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GATINEAU – After reviewing a dozen of the new submissions made at the CRTC’s latest wireless policy review submission deadline on Friday, we can confidently say: No one has yet changed their mind since the last rounds of information were filed.
The arguments, butressed by some new expert reports in some instances, mostly bolster what has been said and repeated early and often.
The incumbent carriers say mandated mobile virtual network operators riding on their networks as wireless resellers will cause them to decrease investment.
Poppycock, says the Canadian Network Operators and the Canadian Communication Systems Alliance. “Such threats have never, not…
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Says unfettered MVNOs would jeopardize regional players
GATINEAU – Friday was the deadline for the second phase of the comments in the CRTC’s Review of mobile wireless services and all eyes were on the Competition Bureau’s submission, which had the additional advantage of having access to the material filed in confidence, which we had reported on earlier this year.
The Bureau’s report determines there is not enough competition in the marketplace, and it even suggests a policy for the Commission to consider. (Does it suffer from “Commission Envy”?)
“Bell, Telus and Rogers (the Big 3) possess market power at both the retail…
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OTTAWA – On November 15, a federal court judge told internet service providers they have to start blocking unauthorized online services which provide access to programming content over the Internet to which they don’t own the rights, a violation of the Copyright Act.
Bell Media, Groupe TVA, and Rogers Media sought the decision to block various priacy sites which bore the “goldtv” moniker or similar urls.
On Monday, November 25, independent ISP TekSavvy filed an application to appeal with the Federal Court of Appeal to set aside that decision, saying the judge overstepped…
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OTTAWA – The judicial process against the CRTC’s August decision on the final rates for aggregated wholesale high-speed access (HSA) service will go forward – and the decision’s application will remain suspended pending a ruling from the Federal Court of Appeal.
This means that the rates in force today are the interim ones set in 2016 and retroactive payments set out in the summer decision are suspended, pending the court’s decision.
The FCA had already granted a temporary stay on October 1st.
Justice Richard Boivin determined “the implementation of the CRTC Order that could result in a permanent market distortion…
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NEW YORK – Saying they are looking to “unlock next generation consumer content experiences," Verizon and Snap Inc. (Snapchat) announced a 5G partnership this week.
Under the deal, Snap will develop new augmented reality (AR) features and experiences in collaboration with Verizon at Verizon’s 5G Labs, including opportunities to experience live events in new ways through Snapchat. The partnership will also see Verizon ad placements within Snap Original videos and the two companies will work together on exclusive distribution and co-marketing initiatives.
“Our strategy is to partner with the best brands to ensure our customers have exclusive access to cutting edge…
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