GATINEAU – In its submission to the CRTC’s review of mobile services, Cogeco – which already offers cable, Internet and local phone in various markets in Quebec and Ontario – has proposed another way to get into wireless without losing its shirt.
With less than 800,000 wired subscribers, the company can hardly afford the cost of entry in the wireless club but definitely wants to add mobile so it can provide the entire bundle of services to customers. For years, Cogeco has been advocating a mandated Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) regime to piggyback on larger wireless operators at cost…
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OTTAWA – Canadians who live in areas without a strong regional wireless competitor pay more for their mobile plans, according to the Competition Bureau.
In its comments for the CRTC’s mobile wireless services review, the Bureau said that 10GB plans, for example, can be priced as low as $60-$75 per month in Quebec, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan (i.e where Bell, Rogers and Telus compete with regional players Videotron, Bell MTS and SaskTel). By comparison, the same 10GB plans in other provinces and territories can be as much as 80% higher, priced at $105-$110 per month.
Factors such as network quality, coverage,…
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We’re not sure where the MPs get some of their facts
OTTAWA – Since January when Nova Scotia MP Bernadette Jordan was appointed Canada’s first Minister of Rural Economic Development, she has met and spoken with Canadians from all walks of life, including those in rural and remote communities from coast to coast to coast.
Speaking before the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology on Thursday, Jordan said the number one concern expressed almost unanimously by the people she visited was their need for better internet connectivity. This was the first committee meeting studying private member’s…
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GATINEAU – Would you rather fight a horse-sized duck, or 100 duck-sized horses?
That was the unusual, if creative, way SaskTel chose to demonstrate how, if the CRTC is going to mandate third party wireless resellers, we can expect a much worse competitive market that causes serious damage to regional independent mobile wireless operators.
“Mandated MVNOs will harm 4th carriers more than the National Wireless Carriers. In any market, there is a portion of the customer base which is most likely to move to a new competitor, a portion which is quite unlikely to change, and a portion somewhere between these…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC needs to be “split up in terms of the kinds of people making broadcasting decisions and the kinds of personnel making telecom decisions,” said Tim Denton, chairman of the Internet Society Canada Chapter (ISCC) at the two-day Policy 3.0 Communications Law conference organized by the Forum for Research and Policy in Communications last week.
Denton, a former CRTC commissioner who now works as a consultant on Internet and telecom policy, also called for the creation of a chief technology officer within the Commission to provide advice on current technology-related issues. He said the CRTC needs to…
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Independent broadcasters want their HD added to satellite services
MONTREAL — The licence renewal applications of Bell and Shaw’s satellite TV distribution services prompted 156 replies, the vast majority of which were comments from individuals upset Shaw Communications plans to discontinue a free basic TV service it set up for people who lost access to over-the-air stations during the digital transition.
The Local Television Satellite Solution was promised and provided by Shaw in 2010 as a tangible benefit during its acquisition of CanWest’s television assets, including Global TV. The company proposed spending $15 million to send free…
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We're "well positioned" to do it
OTTAWA – During this time of major upheaval in broadcasting, which has seen the ascension of Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video, and The Walt Disney Company’s acquisition of FOX in March, Canadian content producers and distributors need to accelerate a move outside the box rather than feel overwhelmed by the rapid and consequential changes to programming, according to the head of Canada’s national LGBTQ television network, which is doing just that.
Brad Danks, CEO of OUTtv told the Policy 3.0 communications law conference at the University of Ottawa on May 10, about the network’s…
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TORONTO – RTDNA Canada also announced its national RTDNA Awards of Excellence winners, honouring the best journalists, programs, stations and newsgathering organizations in radio, television and digital.
“Congratulations to all the 2019 RTDNA award winners – we saw the best of the best in journalism and storytelling from across Canada. Every nominee and winner should be proud of their accomplishments,” said RTDNA Canada president Fiona Conway, in the news release.
The 2019 National winners are:
Digital
Best Podcast
CBC Saskatchewan – Boushie
Breaking News – Charlie Edwards Award
CBC Saskatchewan – Humboldt Broncos Bus Crash
Continuing Coverage – Ron Laidlaw Award
CBC Toronto – Toronto Van Attack
Data…
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TORONTO – RTDNA Canada recognized journalistic excellence over the weekend, announcing the winners of its Network RTDNA Awards of Excellence.
The 2019 winners are:
Digital
Best News App
CBC News – CBC News App
Best Podcast
CBC News – Missing and Murdered: Finding Cleo
Best Sports App
Sportsnet – Sportsnet Sports App
Breaking News – Charlie Edwards Award
Global News – Toronto Van Attack
Continuing Coverage – Ron Laidlaw Award
TSN – CTE Coverage on tsn.ca
Data Storytelling
HuffPost Canada / The Discourse / APTN – #TrackingTransMountain
Digital Media Award
CBC News – Cannabis and Legalization in Canada
Diversity – Adrienne Clarkson Award
Global News – GenZED: Canada’s Untapped Generation
Social Media Award
Global News – First…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has ordered a bevy of broadcasters to get it the information that it asked for so that it may move forward with its plan to update the policy on Canadian programming expenditures (CPE).
The Commission on Friday issued a direction to comply with a request for information to 14 broadcasters for their data on revenues and expenditures associated with their digital media broadcasting activities, specifically in the context of CPE. While some of the 20 broadcasters who received the request for information letter in March have complied, the Regulator received joint reply from 14…
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