GATINEAU – Cartt.ca reporter Perry Hoffman will be in the media lockup this afternoon at 2:30 prior to the CRTC release of its latest decision on wholesale Internet usage-based billing.
Whatever the decision, brace yourselves for waves of misinformation on what the decision means, especially since the decision will likely take time and a lot of number crunching to figure out what it all means. The decision is the result of a re-think of the Commission’s prior wholesale UBB decision, which federal cabinet made many noises about forcing the Regulator to re-visit after enduring a substantial public outcry.
However, in the end, the…
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OTTAWA – Some of the country’s biggest broadcasters must pay out a combined $618 million in tangible public benefits by August 31, 2017 associated with their recent acquisitions of English-language television assets, according to new research by Boon Dog Professional Services Inc.
The Ottawa-based research and consulting firm released a new annual syndicated research study on Monday called the ‘Canadian Television Benefits Monitor: Tracking Spending on English-Language Television Benefits Packages’.
The report, which uses 2010 data, tracks spending for 15 current English-language TV benefits packages using data contained in reports filed with the CRTC. The CRTC generally requires broadcasters to pay…
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READERS MIGHT HAVE sensed with my column Thursday that I am taking the issue of getting broadband to low-income families very seriously. I called the fact that we have nothing in Canada to help the poor get broadband in their homes embarrassing, especially when compared to the ambitious and comprehensive Connect 2 Compete program that was launched in the United States this week by the Federal Communications Commission, numerous cable companies and other firms.
Then, reporter Peter Nowak reports today that Canada is the ONLY country in the G8 with no assistance…
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TORONTO – In a company-wide memo leaked to the popular Canadian wireless blog Mobile Syrup, Public Mobile CEO Alek Krstajic outlined his company’s “very successful quarter”, noting the Canadian wireless upstart now has over 150,000 subscribers.
(A Public Mobile spokesperson confirmed to Cartt.ca that the memo was the genuine article.)
“We finished the quarter with more than 150k customers, with September being the best month for growth in the history of Public Mobile,” wrote Krstajic. “More importantly, when we look at the results of the incumbents, our importance to…
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OTTAWA – Industry Canada should avoid prescriptive and burdensome licensing of high-capacity spectrum in the 70 GHz, 80 GHz and 90 GHz ranges, according to comments filed in response to Gazette Notice SMSE-010-11, the ministry’s request for comments on the spectrum utilization.
Companies submitting comments to the public notice suggest the department take a more light-handed approach to licensing the bandwidth and point to the “light licensing” method adopted in the U.K. and the U.S. as preferable. The comments come as Industry Canada continues to consider the best way to license spectrum in the 71-76 GHz,…
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OTTAWA – With more Canadians than ever connected to all manner of devices in so many ways, complaints about wireless services, Internet access and VoIP providers more than doubled in the past year, according to the 2010-2011 annual report for the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS).
The CCTS said that it received 8,007 complaints, up 114% over last year, which Commissioner Howard Maker noted was the largest year-over-year increase in complaints in the organization’s four year history.
Wireless complaints accounted for 62.3% of all complaints, up from 51.7% last year, which Maker said reflected the increasing availability of…
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GATINEAU – The chairmanship of the CRTC is often said to be a thankless job, so, many of the leading regulatory folks in Canadian telecom set about to change that this week, getting together to thank outgoing CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein for his yeoman’s work these past five years.
When he came on board as chair in 2007, von Finckenstein promised an open, accountable and transparent Commission. With dozens of public proceedings and many new ways to include the public in the debate launched under his watch, we got that in spades under von Finckenstein, who oversaw his final…
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TORONTO – The distribution of Canadian documentaries on broadcaster portals is only slightly disrupting traditional audience consumption patterns, according to new research conducted by the Documentary Organization of Canada / Association des documentaristes du Canada (DOC).
The organization’s first Digital Distribution Report, released Thursday, establishes benchmarks for the on-line distribution of Canadian documentaries, charts how they perform on iTunes, plus tracks how many views NFB.ca receives worldwide and the number of views they draw on mobile devices with their apps.
While more Canadians are accessing documentaries on digital platforms, the viewership of individual titles is in stark contrast with the performance…
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NEW ORLEANS – Seeking to move boldly into a potentially hot new area, Verizon Communications plans to begin selling its new home control and security service throughout the U.S. sometime next year, not just within its wired DSL and FiOS footprint.
Speaking at the TelcoTV conference here last week, Eric Bruno, VP of Product Management for Verizon, explained that the telco made a calculated decision to offer its home control service in a "broadband agnostic" way. The new service, which allows subscribers to control everything from lighting, temperature and energy consumption to home security and door locks, costs $9.95 per…
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TORONTO – Rogers Communications said Tuesday that it will try out a leaner basic programming package that it claims will provide its cable customers with the choice and flexibility that they have been asking for.
Available November 8 as a trial in London, ON, the Rogers Digital Starter Pack will offer a standard set of 86 core TV channels, including government mandated channels, for a base price of $20.29/month excluding taxes. Customers can order the Digital Starter Pack and may then choose any additional 15, 20 or 30 channels from more than 100 options, starting at $26.38/month, plus taxes. The Digital Starter…
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