By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – Innovation Canada has not yet delivered all money announced to certain large internet service providers from the roughly six-year-old Connect to Innovate program as of May 4.
In a tally recently released in response to a question from Conservative member of Parliament Dan Mazier, the department said it has transferred roughly $98.4 million out of an announced $110.8 million to Bell and roughly $14.3 million to Telus out of an announced $28.9 million. Shaw, now part of Rogers, had $11.4 million reserved for it, but ISED does not say if it received any of it. Rogers…
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By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – Innovation Canada has followed through on a proposal to raise the costs of certifying telecommunications equipment, despite a warning from SaskTel that it would lead to higher consumer prices.
The department said in a decision Tuesday there will be a new wireless equipment certification fee of $4,000 instead of $1,200, the wireless equipment recertification fees are now $10 more expensive per person, per hour at $160 with a minimum application of two hours, a new single $750 fee for both telecom and radio equipment, and an equipment registration amendment cost of $375 – all in line…
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By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – Two public interest groups are asking the CRTC to consolidate multiple broadcaster requests of the commission to lessen their local television regulatory obligations and consider several options to tackle the issue.
The Forum for Research and Policy in Communications and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre filed an application Friday asking the regulator to bring together the seven relief applications brought forth by Bell, Corus, Rogers and Quebecor and provide one notice of consultation on them.
The groups then ask for a preparatory conference of interested participants so that the number of issues can be kept at a…
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By Ahmad Hathout
TORONTO – Corus CEO Doug Murphy reiterated Thursday the need for the CRTC to take immediate action on lessening Canadian content requirements ahead of the implementation of a new Broadcasting Act policy to force foreign streamers to contribute to those requirements.
Praising the death of the old Broadcasting Act and the introduction of three consultations on the implementation of the Online Streaming Act, Murphy said the CRTC needs to set its sights on the now as broadcasters are being squeezed financially.
“We continue to urge the regulator through those consultations and other forums to revisit the obligations on Canadian…
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By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – The Federal Court has again denied movie studio Voltage Pictures its request for the court to allow it to group a bunch of alleged copyright infringers to sue because its litigation plan was contrary to the Copyright Act.
Voltage Pictures had to show the court how it was to deal with notifying the hundreds of anonymous alleged downloaders and sharers of its movies about its plan to sue them in a rare reverse class action lawsuit, a process that groups a basket of defendants for a mass lawsuit.
But the studio’s proposal to use the notice-and-notice system…
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By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – Bell has joined other broadcasters in requesting amendments to its Canadian content spending obligations at least until the next licence renewal period.
In a Part 1 filed this month, the broadcaster said it is seeking a reduction to its Canadian programming expenditures (CPE) from 30 per cent of previous year’s revenues to 20 per cent, a reduction from 7.5 per cent to 5 per cent of revenues for programs of national interest (PNI), and an expansion of the PNI categories to reality television, music and general entertainment in exchange for increasing their obligation from 75 per…
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By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – The Competition Bureau said in a submission to the CRTC studying the wholesale internet framework Thursday that mandating last mile fibre could have short-term price benefits but may also negatively impact investments in fibre builds.
The CRTC is seeking comments on a preliminary view it holds that third parties should have mandated access to the incumbent’s last mile fibre under the current aggregated regime, which packages the leasing of the traffic transport (middle) mile and the last mile. Under the current aggregated regime, third parties don’t have commission backing for access to the fibre going straight…
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By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – Rogers and Quebecor’s Groupe TVA have jointly filed a request asking the Federal Court to order people behind IP addresses allegedly illegally streaming live Major League Baseball games to stop and pay damages, according to court documents filed last week.
The companies, which own the exclusive Canadian broadcasting rights to the Toronto Blue Jays games, say they don’t know the people behind the operation of the addresses.
A “significant number of Canadian consumers” are turning to “unauthorized, user-friendly” websites to get access to infringing live television content, according to the complaint, including highly popular live sports. Consumers…
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TVA union asking CRTC to stop Quebecor from closing newscasts
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – Bell said if Quebecor follows through on an announcement to end two newscasts without commission approval, the CRTC has no choice but to fine the company due to repeated violations of its conditions of licence, according to an intervention in the case.
On June 2, Quebecor’s TVA made the decision to this week end the two CFCM-DT weekend newscasts in Quebec, one day after it filed a Part 1 application asking the CRTC to remove that obligation due to financial constraints. The CRTC followed up with a…
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By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – The CRTC is being asked to raise the financial threshold for registering online services with the commission and ensure transactional video services are made to contribute to the system when it implements the new Online Streaming Act.
The commission asked the public to submit comments by last week into two out of three consultations it is holding about the implementation of the new Broadcasting Act framework, including who should register with the CRTC for the purposes of collecting data and possibility requiring to contribute to the Canadian content system.
But some of the major broadcasting players are…
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