TORONTO and OTTAWA – Law professor Michael Geist is standing by a blog post he wrote late last week claiming satellite Internet provider Barrett Xplore altered its Internet management policies after a complaint made to the CRTC under the Commission’s guidelines on net neutrality.
Geist, who holds the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law at the University of Ottawa, also wrote in his blog that Barrett Xplore (now known as Xplornet) “was also the source of the longest running complaint as the company took months to respond to CRTC requests to improve its disclosure practices.” This prompted a tersely…
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EVEN THE VERTICALLY integrated companies know they need a code of conduct to help guide how – as the 800-pound Canadian gorillas – they do business in a country where they own most of the content and distribution channels.
CRTC chairman Konrad von Finckenstein said repeatedly during last month’s vertical integration hearing that he wants to see some sort of code of business practices for vertically integrated media companies set out in writing in order to try and avoid new regulatory and legal battles when the new BDU regulations come into force this September. So final replies, which were due…
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GATINEAU – Independent ISPs and some of their supporters came under significant criticism on day two of the CRTC’s wholesale usage-based billing hearing for wanting to profit off the backs of the incumbent providers and not invest in their own networks because the deal is too good.
CRTC vice-chair of broadcasting Tom Pentefountas first took OpenMedia and the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC) to task in the morning session wondering whether there is actually an incentive for the independent ISPs to invest in building out networks. “Isn’t part of the issue that the deal is so…
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GATINEAU – Aggregated volume pricing (AVP) shouldn’t be seen as a penalty on independent ISPs, but as an incentive for them to manage their network congestion, Bell Canada told the CRTC during the first day of the re-hearing of the wholesale usage-based billing issue.
Bell argued its AVP approach is a better economic internet traffic management practice (ITMP) than the 95th percentile method proposed by the Canadian Network Operators Consortium (CNOC) because it provides returns on network investments and incents independent ISPs to reduce congestion in their networks.
“ ensures that incumbents receive an appropriate return on their…
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TORONTO – Rogers Media Television has named Claire Freeland as director of development and production.
Freeland (pictured) was most recently director of original programming at Corus Entertainment. In her new role, she will be responsible for original Canadian independent productions across Rogers’ broadcast assets, including securing, developing and delivering projects from inception to broadcast. She will report to EVP of programming Malcolm Dunlop.
“We are very excited to have Claire lead our talented original programming team at Rogers,” said Dunlop in the announcement. “Claire’s breadth of experience…
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OTTAWA – With the Terms of Trade deal between independent producers and five private English-language broadcasters set to come into full force on August 1st, the Canadian Media Production Association (CMPA) wants members to sign up for one its information sessions to learn how to interpret and implement the deal.
The agreement is a new tool that standardizes business practices and terms between broadcasters and producers. It applies to the entire life cycle of hundreds of independently produced shows commissioned by Astral, Bell Media (CTV), Corus, Rogers and Shaw Media. Some producers got their first glance at the “historic” deal…
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OTTAWA – Two years after establishing guidelines on net neutrality, the CRTC has fallen short on its goal to protect users, writes Michael Geist, a University of Ottawa law professor who holds the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law.
Geist’s report, which also appeared Friday in the Toronto Star, says that after filing an access to information request and reviewing “hundreds of pages of documents”, he found “that virtually all major Canadian ISPs have been the target of complaints, but there have been few, if any, consequences arising from the complaints process. In fact, the CRTC has…
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OTTAWA – Rogers flicked the switch on its new Long Term Evolution (LTE) network in the nation’s capital Thursday, and confirmed that it is on track to roll out in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal this fall.
LTE delivers higher speeds and lower latency than 4G HSPA+ which means a better experience for customers using highly interactive applications like multi-player gaming and rich multi-media communications. It also delivers more usage capacity which means more users can access the network at top speeds simultaneously.
Rogers’ LTE network coverage is available immediately in the area from Arnprior, ON in the west to Orléans in the east,…
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TORONTO – Broadcast executive Tony Burman is returning to Canada to teach at Ryerson University where he has been named as the Velma Rogers Graham Research Chair. The former editor-in-chief of CBC and head of Al Jazeera’s international English-language news channel will also write a weekly column on international affairs for the Saturday edition of The Toronto Star.
“We are honoured to have one of Canada’s most acclaimed and experienced news executives join Ryerson’s School of Journalism,” said Alan Shepard, provost and vice-president academic, in the announcement. “Tony Burman has been involved in every major news event of our time, understanding,…
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GATINEAU – An annual report commissioned by the CRTC confirms what the telecom industry has been saying for a while about their broadband and wireless plans: It ain’t so bad here…
Prepared for the Commission by Ottawa’s Wall Communications, the annual “Price Comparisons of Wireline, Wireless and Internet Services in Canada and with Foreign Jurisdictions” report combines and averages wireline, wireless, broadband and bundled rates in Canada and compares them with plans with other international jurisdictions. The report found that while Canadian rates aren’t the most expensive, they aren’t the cheapest either, that while Canadian broadband speeds aren’t the fastest,…
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