GATINEAU — The CRTC announced today it has agreed to a nine-month extension of the deadline for the implementation of the STIR/SHAKEN framework for authenticating caller ID information for IP-based voice calls. The implementation deadline is now June 30, 2021.
STIR/SHAKEN stands for Secure Telephony Identity Revisited/Signature-based Handling of Asserted information using toKENs. The framework provides a suite of protocols and procedures intended to combat fraudulent caller ID spoofing by authenticating and verifying the caller ID information. It’s something upon which the federal government is focused.
In December 2019, the Commission mandated Canadian telecommunications service providers (TSPs) implement the security…
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Incumbents have already asked the CRTC for a stay of the rates
By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – In a lengthy, thorough decision, the Federal Court of Appeal on Thursday said the CRTC’s August 2019 decision setting final wholesale rates for aggregated wholesale high-speed access services, and hundreds of millions in retroactive payments, was just fine.
The decision goes through the history of wholesale rate setting, which actually dates back to 1979. The Court outlines the details of decision CRTC 2019-288 referencing productivity factors, upstream traffic growth rates, attribution of segmentation costs, speed-banding, unrecovered costs, working fill factors (WFF), coaxial cable…
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Adds there will be further pursuit of Cogeco
By Ken Kelley
NEW YORK – Following last week’s big news which saw Altice USA and Rogers team up to try and buy Cogeco (a deal which was utterly and repeatedly rejected by Louis Audet, its controlling shareholder), it was little surprise the topic was first on the agenda when Rogers executives Joe Natale and Tony Staffieri spoke Wednesday at Bank of America Securities’ virtual 2020 Media, Communications & Entertainment Conference.
“We have immense respect for Mr. Audet and his family, and for the legacy of the company,” said Rogers CEO Natale. “At…
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OTTAWA and GATINEAU — In October of last year, the vast majority of Canadian Internet service providers met or exceeded the maximum download and upload speeds they advertised, according to the second edition of the CRTC’s Measuring Broadband Canada report, released today.
The study was conducted by broadband testing firm SamKnows on behalf of the CRTC, and was based on measurement data collected from October 1 to 31, 2019. Using the data collected from 2,035 “whiteboxes” deployed to Canadian homes, the study examines download and upload speeds, latency, packet loss and web page loading time. Participating ISPs include Bell Aliant,…
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Shaw, Videotron say up to half of legit porting requests were denied
By Greg O’Brien
GATINEAU – Last month, the wireless industry launched new measures to try to stem the rising tide of wireless number porting fraud. It lasted only a week.
Complaints from Videotron and Shaw Communications filed with the CRTC on August 20th said the Canadian wireless industry’s new enhanced process to identify phone numbers which criminals were attempting to steal were far too often rejecting legitimate number porting when customers were attempting to switch from Rogers to Freedom, for example.
Wireless number porting fraud, or SIM-swapping fraud, or port-out scams,…
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WINNIPEG — Among new educational programming and new seasons of returning favourites, Indigenous broadcaster APTN’s fall lineup includes a documentary following the family of the late Colten Boushie (pictured), a young Cree man fatally shot in a Saskatchewan farmyard, as they seek justice from Canada’s legal system.
Premiering September 13 on APTN, the Boushie documentary, nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up, is directed by Tasha Hubbard and weaves a narrative encompassing the filmmaker’s own adoption, the stark history of colonialism on the Prairies and a vision of a future where Indigenous children can live safely on their homelands, says the APTN…
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NEW YORK — New York-based advertising intelligence company Standard Media Index (SMI) announced Tuesday it is growing its leadership team with its first Canadian appointment.
Jason Keown (pictured) is joining SMI as vice-president of marketing and will report to the company’s global CEO, James Fennessy. In his new role, Keown will oversee SMI’s North American marketing efforts, with a key focus on expanding the North American market.
“Standard Media Index is on an exciting growth trajectory and we are working to ensure we have the right talent in place to accelerate our business globally. Canada is our fifth global market and…
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TORONTO — Rogers Communications announced Tuesday morning its 5G network has expanded to more than 50 new cities and towns and is expected to reach a total of more than 60 markets by the end of the year.
In January, Rogers initially rolled out its 5G network in downtown Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. Coverage has now been expanded in the Greater Vancouver area and the Greater Toronto Area. In addition, other major cities now covered by the Rogers 5G network include Victoria, Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Saskatoon and Quebec City. Additional new locations range from small towns to metropolitan centres…
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By Steve Faguy
MONTREAL — Quebecor has cut funding for MAtv, Videotron’s community channel in Montreal, by 45%, prompting an anglophone member of its advisory committee to resign in protest.
Fortner Anderson, a local artist, said he can “no longer in good conscience” remain on the committee because the latest cuts “will substantially alter and reduce the benefits MAtv provides to the English language community of Montreal, and because they will diminish the vitality of that community.”
The 45% cut is the result of Quebecor’s decision to take advantage of an allowance the CRTC gave large vertically-integrated companies in 2016. As part…
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EXTON, Pa. — SCTE-ISBE today unveiled the lineup of participants for its CEO panel scheduled during the general session of the virtual Cable-Tec Expo 2020 trade show taking place in October.
Moderated by Phil McKinney, president and CEO of CableLabs, the hour-long roundtable discussion will include the following CEOs:
Dave Watson, president and CEO, Comcast Cable
Tom Rutledge, chairman and CEO, Charter Communications
Mike Fries, CEO and vice-chairman, Liberty Global
The CEO panel will feature discussions on the industry’s response to Covid-19 and the evolution to a next-generation 10G platform, as well as the potential for life-changing applications which 10G will…
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