OTTAWA – With re-comments re-due today on the CRTC’s reconsideration of its 2005 decision on voice over IP telephony regulation, three of the four largest Canadian MSOs came down on the side of the Commission in a joint submission filed this afternoon.
Last month, the Federal Cabinet told the CRTC it had to re-think the decision it made on VOIP telephony and have a decision – again – within 120 days of the May 7th announcement. The cabinet edict was in response to appeals filed by all but one of Canada’s incumbent telephone companies.
Cogeco Cable, Quebecor Media’s…
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OTTAWA – Cable and satellite companies can now advertise their Internet and voice offerings on CNN, A&E, SpikeTV and other American cable channels, the CRTC has ruled.
The American channels make two minutes per hour available for local ad sales – which is a multi-billion-dollar business for U.S. MSOs. However, Canadian cable companies are not allowed, by regulation, to sell the time here.
Seventy-five percent of the time has to be given – at cost – to Canadian broadcasters, while 25% of the time could be used to promote cable’s video offerings – meaning the cablecos could not advertise…
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TORONTO – The Christian Channel announced that Star Choice has begun to carry the digital channel owned by S-VOX, the same company which owns Vision TV.
Launched in October 2005 as the country’s first nationally licensed digital television service for Christian viewers, as of today the channel will be available to 850,000 Star Choice subscribers coast to coast, starting on June 1. It will be carried on channel 399 and on Star Choice’s "basic" package.
With the addition on the Star Choice platform, The Christian Channel may now be available to small cable companies as well, which get distant…
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ONE OF THE FIRST EVENTS I attended in this industry was a Christmas-timed "convergence party" at a company called Digital Renaissance in the fall of 1997.
This company and other like-thinking enterprises were about to change television as we know it. The revolution was afoot. I remember a bunch of high-ranking Bell Canada people were there, so we mostly took it seriously. There were many breathless chats about how TV as we knew it was over.
Well, as we all now know, that talk wasn’t technically wrong. It was just waaay too soon.
However, Digital Renaissance weathered the explosion…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC said Monday that it won’t be moving into the regulation of access to the inside wiring of commercial properties such as hotels and nursing homes.
The potential for such regulation arose from a dispute (what else?) between Bell ExpressVu and Rogers Cable. In February 2005, the DTH company asked for an expedited resolution on its complaint that Rogers was contravening section 10 of the Broadcast Distribution Regulations by not allowing access to its plant inside such buildings.
The Commission instead called for comments on possible regulatory amendments to section 10, which really speaks only to…
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MONTREAL – Bell and Rogers joint venture, Inukshuk Wireless, today announced the launch of its 2006 call for proposals in its 10 licensed service areas: Alberta, British Columbia, Eastern Ontario and Outaouais, New Brunswick, Newfoundland & Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Québec and Yukon.
On a national basis, the amount of funding available under this year’s call is approximately $3 million. The funding is part of Inukshuk’s commitment to invest annually to promote learning in each of its licensed regions, says the press release.
The Inukshuk Wireless Learning Plan aims to meet the needs for on-line learning…
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VICTORIA – Yachting is a notoriously difficult sport for spectators to track. Unlike auto racing, where the vehicles keep coming by every couple of minutes or so, when ships go to sea, they all but vanish.
However, thanks to sophisticated satellite positioning transponders provided by FleetPoint and Rogers Wireless, when the 63rd Swiftsure International Yacht Race — Lightship Classic gets under sail today in the waters off Victoria, B.C., competitors, officials and fans will have a bird’s-eye view of the race,
For the first time, supporters, race enthusiasts, family members and friends on shore also can watch the progress of…
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TORONTO – Rogers Communications has produced two public service announcements that aim to raise awareness for Cybertip.ca, the national tip line for reporting the on line sexual exploitation of children.
Each PSA will air across Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland on specialty channels, as well as, Rogers Television and TV Guide.
Cybertip.ca is a centralized web portal for receiving and addressing reports from the public regarding child pornography, luring, child sex tourism, and children who are exploited through prostitution. It also provides the public with information, referrals and other resources to help Canadians keep their children safe while on…
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TORONTO – Wireless technology customers are ready to move beyond voice and text messaging applications to an increasingly more sophisticated mobile user experience. That was a key message delivered by several speakers at the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) “Work.Live.Play.” conference, held this week in Toronto.
Whereas text messaging was viewed as the lowest common denominator, from a technology perspective, to attract mobile consumers two to three years ago, today’s wireless customers desire a much richer user experience, said Dean Tseretopoulos, vice-president of interactive mobile solutions at MyThum Interactive during a panel discussion.
Toronto-based MyThum Interactive…
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TORONTO – Mandarin Chinese channel ET Global has been added to the Rogers Cable channel lineup.
The general entertainment channel features programs such as the ETTV U.S. news, the "ET Worldwide" call-in program, a popular celebrity talk show about fortune tellers, made for television dramas and an English-language learning series.
It’s available in a free preview until June 15 and is $19.95 a month after that. Rogers now offers 45 ethnic channels in over 20 different languages.
www.rogers.com
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