GATINEAU – Rogers Communications says the cost and effort required to implement equal access for a wireless CLECs is not worth imposing a similar regulatory requirement on other wireless service providers (WSPs).
Speaking during the second day of the CRTC’s hearing into the interconnection regimes, Rogers VP of regulatory telecommunications David Watt said it’s time for the Commission to allow WSPs to connect to local exchange carriers (LECs) on a shared-basis and benefit from bill and keep, yet not be required to implement equal access for long distance services.
This would constitute a fourth way for WSPs to connect to LECs,…
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TORONTO – It’s generally accepted among those who work in radio in Canada (and those who observe it) that the industry is still pretty strong. Despite predictions of its demise and the general weakness in the radio business south of the border, Canadian radio companies have continued to see modest growth over the years.
“Why is that?” was one of the questions asked last week during the President’s Panel at the Ontario Association of Broadcasters conference held in Toronto last Thursday.
Each of the five radio executives (Astral Radio EVP Charles Benoit, Corus Radio president Chris Pandoff, Rogers Radio CEO Paul…
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GATINEAU – Mandating Internet Protocol interconnection for voice services is unnecessary because doing so will not bring any additional benefits to consumers, three of the country’s incumbent telcos told the CRTC during its first day of hearings into the interconnection regime.
In its opening remarks, Bell Canada said that “no regulatory intervention is required to push the market towards IP interconnection” and that “the market will naturally drive this migration without any need for regulatory intervention,” explained Jonathan Daniels, VP of regulatory law at Bell.
He acknowledged that the company’s network is capable of providing IP voice to most of its…
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TORONTO – Canadian telephone companies long sought a way to deliver a TV experience to their customers.
Bell Canada opted early on for a satellite solution, having come to realize during many technical trials during the 1990s that delivering a quality TV experience on par with what cable could offer was still years away.
Other Canadian telcos continued to test the delivery of digital television signals using various technological options through the 1990s and early 2000s. Cost, inefficient compression technology, and the physical limitations of the telco plant all held back viable solutions to the telephone company’s missing link when it…
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OTTAWA – The real battle of the CRTC’s interconnection hearing that starts next week is going to be over whether the new entrant wireless service providers and long distance carriers are able to connect to incumbent and competitor networks at lower costs. In its consultation document, the Commission has asked the telecommunications industry if it would benefit from a consolidated interconnection regime rather than the current situation with three separate regimes: one for each the competitive local exchange carriers, wireless service providers and long distance or toll traffic carriers. Under the current rules, CLECs are…
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OTTAWA – The change of a single word, which the CRTC insists is a correction of a mistake, has many people in the regulatory side of the TV business wondering aloud if, in fact, the Commission caved a little to the wishes of Bell Canada.
Last Friday, October 14, the CRTC tweaked its regulatory framework relating to vertical integration, where the much ballyhooed code of conduct for vertically integrated companies was softened, with the words “shall” or “shall not” replaced with “should” or “should not” (or, in French, from “doit” or “ne doit pas” to “devrait”…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC holds dear four key principles: transparency, predictability, fairness and timeliness. As a public institution, the CRTC has a right to provide the public with the clearest possible picture of how it operates and how they can interact with the commission, said chairman Konrad von Finckenstein today.
In his opening remarks during an appearance in front of the House of Commons Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics Committee, the chair acknowledged the committee is interested in how the CRTC deals with access to information and the broadcasters, von Finckenstein said the commission takes this very seriously.
“Our…
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TORONTO – The Ontario Association of Broadcaster’s annual fall conference will take place this Thursday at On the Park Events and Conference Centre in Toronto.
This year's line-up includes sales training seminar by Sean Luce, a luncheon keynote by Cumulus Media president Lew Dickey, and the President's Panel which will include Charles Benoit from Astral Radio, Richard Costley White from Blackburn Radio, Christopher Grossman from Haliburton Broadcasting Group, and Paul Ski from Rogers Radio. It will be moderated by John Parikhal.
In addition, Target Broadcast Sales’ Richard Sienko will receive the OAB Lifetime Achievement Award at the gala awards dinner.
Conference tickets,…
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TORONTO – Rogers Media offered a glimpse at the programming that its new specialty channel FX Canada will offer when it launches on October 31st.
The psycho-sexual thriller American Horror Story headlines the lineup, which also includes the Canadian debuts for comedies The League, Wilfred and Louie; Lights Out; Terriers; and the first two seasons of the Golden Globe-winning drama Sons of Anarchy.
Rogers-owned Citytv will broadcast a special sneak preview of American Horror Story, Wilfred and The League on October 24 beginning at 9pm ET/PT.
“Showcasing world-class content, FX Canada is an example of our continued commitment to bringing Canadians the best…
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TORONTO – Rogers is adding live streaming of select Toronto Maple Leafs regular season games to its on-line portal Rogers On Demand On-line.
Starting Monday, RODO will stream Leafs games that air on Sportsnet and Leafs TV, plus additional content such as Game In Six Minutes or Game In One Hour free to its digital TV customers in Ontario to view on their computers or tablets.
Rogers On Demand Online has already experimented with live streaming of Toronto Blue Jays games, Rogers Cup matches this year, as well as FIFA 2010 content which combined, resulted in over half a million live…
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