OTTAWA – The CRTC has launched a public proceeding to set out rules regarding the installation of a network interconnection device (NID) when the incumbent local exchange carrier’s (ILEC) network is disconnected from the inside wire at the home of a residential customer who has elected to take a cable telephone service and no longer wishes to use any services provided on the ILEC’s network (Telecom Public Notice 2007-3).
The commission is asking for comment on whether a NID should be installed at the premises of a residential customer when no such device is present; should the cableco or…
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OTTAWA – Official Languages commissioner Graham Fraser called Tuesday on the government to compel the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. to spruce up its regional programming to help build cultural connections among Francophone minorities outside Quebec and English minorities inside the province.
Appearing before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage which is in the midst of an investigation of the role of the CBC in the 21st century, Fraser said one of the shortcomings of the public broadcaster is that it has become too centralized in Toronto and Montreal.
He noted that Francophone communities outside of Quebec need to have access…
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OTTAWA – The Canadian Copyright Board has ruled that 8.8% of the price of a song that is permanently downloaded must go back to the copyright holders. It also set a minimum fee of 4.5 cents per file in a bundle and 5.9 cents per permanent music download in all other cases.
In its March 16 decision on royalties for online music services for the years 2005 to 2007 (to be paid retroactively), the board set rates of 5.9% of the month’s subscription price for limited music downloads that require an online subscription and 4.6% for on-demand streaming music….
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ONE OF THE KEY DEMOGRAPHIC differences between the U.S. and Canada is the number of Hispanics here versus there.
Stateside, there’s an entire media sector dedicated to the Hispanic consumer, of which there are 40 million or so, including several cable channels such as Univision. In Canada, there are about one million Spanish-speaking Canadians and until recently, just one place to get some Spanish language programming: Telelatino.
Of late, however, other Spanish language channels have been added and in March, two Canadian channels were launched, one by the legacy brand owner in Canada, Telelatino.
In a recent chat with Cartt.ca…
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GATINEAU – Leave it to the mavericks at Shaw Communications to best articulate how carriers feel about granting analog channels preferred status once digital migration occurs.
In its intervention, which opposes all of the applications, Shaw’s senior vice-president of corporate and regulatory affairs Ken Stein writes: "Shaw considers that the Digital Migration proceeding and the subsequent gazetting of applications for mandatory digital carriage on basic has been a colossal waste of time and energy for Shaw. Shaw’s request for packaging flexibility to serve consumers and meet unprecedented competitive challenges, all of which will strengthen the system and protect it…
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THE CLOCK CAN’T BE TURNED back on announced acquisitions (CTV/CHUM, CanWest Global-Goldman Sachs/Alliance Atlantis and Astral/Standard) but the CRTC has decided it must look into the overall affect of media consolidation on the tenets of the Broadcasting Act.
As predicted, this turned into a "locking the doors after the horses escaped" analogy in some quarters.
In an interview with Cartt.ca on Wednesday, CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein (who must be a little shell-shocked with all that’s gone on within two months of taking the job) said yes, a thorough review of the diversity of voices in…
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TORONTO – The death knell has been sounded so often for radio that many take it as gospel the oldest type of electronic media is on an irrevocable slide downwards.
But with results like these, which have been persistent for some time now, those bells must now be muted.
According to Canadian Broadcast Sales, the national radio sales company that is owned by Corus Entertainment and Rogers Communications, the Canadian radio industry continues to produce strong revenue growth with a 6.8% increase in sales over the first two quarters of 2007. Second quarter growth of 4.9% was supported by…
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TORONTO – A new mobile video clips service is now available to customers of Rogers Wireless, Telus, and Bell Mobility from Score Media.
It will also be available on Amp’d Mobile (which runs on the Telus network) upon Amp’d’s launch in Canada tomorrow, March 14th.
The new service (available by subscription or on a pay-per-clip basis, depending on the carrier) will give viewers access to Score programming, packaged specifically for mobile viewing in two-to-three minute clips.
Score Mobile Video will feature exclusive mobile coverage of the NCAA March Madness tournament, which begins today, including previews, in-game highlights, features and…
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CANADA’S BIG THREE wireless carriers have been repeatedly quick to say that they expect a minimal impact on their businesses when wireless number portability takes effect on March 14th.
The Bell-to-Bell free calling deal announced last week by Bell Canada is meant to mitigate the negative effects, as are the myriad contracts that Telus, Rogers and Bell force customers to sign for terms of up to three years.
So while they are all expecting some increased churn, on the surface Canadian wireless executives seem pretty calm about the removal of the most significant barrier preventing customers from switching providers…
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PALM BEACH, Fla. – Unless the federal government deploys some "artificial measures" there appears to be little opportunity for a fourth national wireless carrier to spring forth when Industry Canada performs its next spectrum auction, expected sometime in the first half of 2008, said Rogers Communications president and COO Nadir Mohamed on Tuesday.
Responding to a question posed during his appearance at the Bear Stearns 20th annual media conference (which was webcast) about the spectrum auction and the potential for another wireless company to start-up and compete with Rogers Wireless, Bell Mobility and Telus, Mohamed dug into the recent…
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