By Ahmad Hathout
COGECO CEO PHILIPPE JETTÉ (above) said today his company has been in “constant conversation” with Canada’s telecom regulator about when the industry can get the terms and conditions required for establishing a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), and is expecting something in ‘late spring, early summer.’
In April last year, the CRTC decided regional telecoms can force negotiations with the big three national telecoms for access to their mobile wireless networks, thereby allowing these smaller entities to establish services beyond their existing territory – so long as they have spectrum and infrastructure in the target area.
But the regulator has…
Continue Reading
TORONTO — Rogers Communications announced today it has extended its 5G network to reach 10 more communities throughout Eastern Ontario as part of its partnership with the Eastern Ontario Regional Network (EORN).
The 10 new communities where Rogers 5G is now available are Elizabethtown-Kitley, Greater Napanee, Hawkesbury, Mississippi Mills, Pembroke, Petawawa, Russell, Selwyn, South Glengarry and South Stormont.
“Rogers’ network expansion will give local residents access to better cell services that will help support economic growth and improve quality of life,” said J. Murray Jones, chair of EORN, in a press release. “We appreciate the support of our federal, provincial and…
Continue Reading
Recommends government ensure all conditions are enforceable if it does
OTTAWA – The merger between Rogers and Shaw should not proceed, the Standing Committee on Industry and Technology says in a report presented to the House today.
The committee recommends that if it does go through, however, the government should ensure “all conditions attached to the merger approval are fully enforceable and that resources are available to enforce them.”
According to the report, the committee, chaired by Liberal member of parliament Joël Lightbound, is unconvinced of the merger’s merits and has taken issue with the enforceability of the commitments Rogers has made…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – The CRTC today released a call for comments on the distribution of the Russian state-financed English-language news channel RT in Canada after receiving an order from the Governor in Council requesting a hearing be held on the matter.
A motion to issue the order was passed in the House of Commons this past Monday, a day after major television service providers including Bell, Telus and Rogers announced they would be dropping RT from their channel lineups.
The order, which was sent March 2, specifically asked the Commission to “hold a hearing to determine whether RT (formerly known…
Continue Reading
Rogers, Shaw continue to work with government; Quebecor CEO weighs in
OTTAWA – Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry François-Philippe Champagne will not allow Rogers Communications to acquire all of Shaw Communications’ wireless licences, he said in a statement today.
“The wholesale transfer of Shaw’s wireless licences to Rogers is fundamentally incompatible with our government’s policies for spectrum and mobile service competition, and I will simply not permit it,” the statement reads.
Champagne noted the importance of access to Internet and wireless services and said the “government is making every effort to ensure that telecommunications services are reliable, innovative, competitive…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – Two representatives from Rogers Communications appeared (virtually) before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage today to reassure committee members local news will not be worse off after Rogers merges with Shaw.
As Cartt.ca previously reported, there were concerns expressed during the CRTC’s recent hearing on the proposed merger about Rogers’s plan to redirect funding Shaw has previously allocated to Corus’s Global stations to its own City TV stations.
Colette Watson (above), president of Rogers Sports and Media, told the committee the deal will enhance City TV’s local news services.
“Our City TV news stations are located in Winnipeg, Calgary,…
Continue Reading
TORONTO — As the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games prepare to get underway on Friday, March 4, the Canadian Paralympic Media Consortium, including primary broadcaster CBC/Radio-Canada, announced today their broadcast, live streaming and digital coverage plans for the event, which runs until Sunday, March 13.
The Canadian broadcast schedule for Paralympics coverage includes almost 150 total TV hours across CBC/Radio-Canada, Accessible Media Inc.’s AMI-tv and AMI-audio, and Rogers Sports and Media’s Sportsnet, according to a press release.
“We are set for an incredible Paralympic Winter Games and are very excited for people across the country to be able to watch Canada’s Paralympians dazzle…
Continue Reading
Document filed reveals new information about 2019 meeting with Bell COO
By Amanda OYE
CHATHAM, Ont. – TekSavvy Solutions Inc. filed a disclosure of facts and circumstances today to the federal Integrity Commissioner regarding the actions of CRTC chair and CEO Ian Scott, which provides new information on the widely reported meeting between Scott and then Bell chief operating officer (now CEO) Mirko Bibic at an Ottawa bar.
According to a public version of its disclosure, TekSavvy is arguing Scott “committed a wrongdoing within the meaning of the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act.” The company is seeking further investigation into this matter.
The…
Continue Reading
By Mark Goldberg
ON TUESDAY EVENING, a Twitter thread by Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez requesting a rushed CRTC review of Russia Today (RT) caught my eye:
That’s right. Two weeks.
The Heritage Minister, the Minister responsible for the CRTC, is asking the independent, quasi-judicial regulator to collect evidence and render a decision in two weeks on whether RT should be continue to be permitted as a broadcasting service option for Canadians.
Two weeks.
The Commission regularly takes two weeks just to have a decision translated. Please tell me how the CRTC can prepare a…
Continue Reading
TORONTO — toober, a Toronto-based live television app that connects viewers to specialty TV from around the world, announced today it is making Ukrainian channels available at no charge for the foreseeable future, effective immediately.
Cartt.ca readers will be familiar with the Canadian technology company behind the toober app – video broadcast solutions provider Nextologies.
“Our mission has always been to help people worldwide stay connected to their homelands through news and entertainment,” said Sasha Zivanovic, CEO of toober and Nextologies, in a press release. “In times of crisis, nothing is more important than getting accurate reporting of events directly from…
Continue Reading
