Regulator credits Quebecor for lowering prices in market
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – Quebecor will need to use the rate proposed by Bell for access to the telco’s national wireless network, the CRTC ruled Tuesday.
The regulator selected Bell’s price per gigabyte of data after the two parties could not on their own agree to commercial terms for access by Quebecor’s mobile virtual network operator business to Bell’s national wireless network.
“That rate best meets the evaluation criteria, and will promote competition, affordability, and continued investment by both companies in their networks,” the regulator said in a statement.
“With access to larger networks, regional…
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TORONTO – Rogers Sports and Media’s Sportsnet is now available on Prime Video Channels in Canada, Amazon Canada announced Tuesday.
With a $19.99/month add-on subscription to the new Sportsnet Prime Video Channel, Prime Video users in Canada can watch all of Sportsnet’s linear programming on the Sportsnet (East, Ontario, West and Pacific), Sportsnet ONE and Sportsnet 360 channels.
Prime members can subscribe without needing to download any extra apps beyond Prime Video by visiting PrimeVideo.com/Sportsnet.
Sportsnet is the official Canadian NHL rights holder, and is the regional broadcaster for the Vancouver Canucks,…
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OTTAWA – The Cable Public Affairs Channel (CPAC) announced Tuesday a number of changes to its board of directors that include long-time board member Jim Deane assuming the role of chair.
Until his retirement from Regina-based Access Communications earlier this year, Deane had served as Access CEO since 2000. He has been a CPAC director for more than 20 years “and brings a wealth of institutional knowledge to the role” of board chair, says a press release announcing CPAC’s board changes.
Pam Dinsmore, vice-president of regulatory for cable at Rogers Communications, is joining the CPAC…
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TORONTO – Rogers Communications said Monday it has turned on 5G service in the busiest sections of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) subway system for transit riders who are customers of all major Canadian wireless carriers.
Starting Oct. 2, subway riders who subscribe to any of the country’s major wireless providers are now able to connect to 5G and talk, text and stream in the core parts of the TTC’s underground system, including all stations and tunnels in the so-called “Downtown U” plus Spadina and Dupont stations on Line 1, and 13 stations on Line 2…
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Rogers says it is fully compliant with MDU rules
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – Fibre service provider Beanfield is asking the CRTC to prohibit Rogers from signing bulk service agreements with residential buildings that it alleges serves to limit competition.
Bulk service agreements are multi-year contracts one service provider has with the developer of a building to provide default internet service to all tenants of the building, meaning the residents pay for a single provider’s internet through their rent or fees.
In a Part 1 application dated September 20, Beanfield argues that while those Rogers agreements don’t prevent other service providers from accessing…
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TORONTO – In recognition of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Sept. 30, radio broadcasters across Canada are coming together once again to elevate Indigenous voices with A Day to Listen 2023.
This special 12-hour broadcast is produced by the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund (DWF) in partnership with Orbyt Media. It will air on nearly 500 Canadian radio stations on Saturday, Sept. 30 from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. (local time).
Radio broadcasters who will carry the broadcast on some of their stations include Acadia Broadcasting, Bell Media,…
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MONTREAL – Bell Canada, Verizon, Vodafone and virtual reality app maker Matsuko recently conducted the first live transatlantic collaborative meeting connecting holograms of people in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. using 5G and multi-access edge computing (MEC) technology, Bell announced Monday.
The three telecoms came together under the auspices of the 5G Future Forum (5GFF) industry body for this first-of-its-kind demonstration, which saw holograms of employees located in three different countries connected from Toronto using Bell’s 5G network, from New York using Verizon’s 5G network and from London using Vodafone’s 5G network.
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OTTAWA – The CRTC denied TekSavvy’s application challenging the legality of specific arrangements entered into by Rogers and Bell that gave wholesale providers an internet rental rate better than that approved by the regulator.
The largest independent internet service provider filed undue preference challenges against an unpublicized rate deal Rogers is giving Videotron and a deal Bell is giving its own affiliate, the recently acquired EBOX, for access to their national internet networks.
After seeing those confidential terms, the CRTC ruled last Friday that the Rogers-Videotron discounts are “similar to those available under other existing off-tariff agreements.” The regulator noted that…
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VANCOUVER – Rogers Communications announced Thursday it is investing in industry-leading wildfire detection and prevention technology and will use its national network and technology partnerships to help fight climate change-related events in communities across Canada.
Rogers is currently testing satellite-connected IoT sensors, using SpaceX’s low-bandwidth Swarm service, to better predict wildfires in remote areas of British Columbia without wireless networks, explains a press release.
Rogers is also introducing Pano AI cameras on the Rogers 5G network that can detect smoke up to a 20-kilometre range, according to the release. The AI cameras will be located…
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Bell is currently going through “strategic review” on programming
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – Bell has revealed that WildBrain’s heavily redacted application last month accusing it of giving an undue preference to Corus on children’s programming distribution also accuses the large BDU of breaking the CRTC’s standstill rule.
Bell alleges in the reply dated September 8 that WildBrain is claiming the standstill rule – which stipulates that the BDU must continue to distribute channels on the same terms and conditions even while in a dispute – has been invoked because the parties began negotiating potential terms for a new…
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