OTTAWA – The CRTC said Wednesday it will hold a hearing beginning on June 28 to consider applications by two not-for-profit indigenous television networks to add their channels to the digital basic television packages of the broadcasters.
The regulator received applications from Nunavut Independent Television Network and Inuit TV Network to add Uvagut TV and Inuit TV, respectively, to the $25 packages that consist of channels the broadcasters must carry by regulation.
Uvagut TV, which launched in January 2021, broadcasts Inuit-made children’s shows, movies, documentaries, and informational, cultural, public access and current affairs programming. Its service is currently available in basic…
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By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – Internet service provider TekSavvy is warning the CRTC that if it does not address unregulated wholesale access rates in the industry, “there may not be any independent wholesale competitors remaining.”
In January, the ISP filed a Part 1 application asking the CRTC to investigate the legality of the matter in light of Rogers’s proposed deal to provide Videotron access to its network at below CRTC regulated rates as a condition of its acquisition of Shaw. It also accused Bell of self-preferencing by providing its recently purchased affiliate Ebox with preferential rates for access…
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OTTAWA – Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne announced Monday that 23 not-for-profit organizations across the country will get funding to help address digital literacy.
The funding is part of the second phase of the federal government’s Digital Literacy Exchange Program, which is committing $17.6 million over three years to help 100,000 Canadians “gain the skills they need to participate in the digital economy,” including using computers, mobile devices and the internet.
The organizations receiving funding are ABC Life Literacy Canada, Altered Minds Inc., Brain Injury Association of Waterloo-Wellington, Burnaby Neighbourhood House, the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, Community Sector Council Newfoundland…
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Mobile wireless prices declined 2.6 per cent on average compared to 2021: Wall study
By Ahmad Hathout
The country’s lowest-priced mobile wireless plans in 2022 came from mobile virtual network operators, flanker brands of the incumbents or regional providers, which contributed to a 2.6 per cent decrease in that segment’s pricing compared to 2021, according to a new Innovation Canada price study released Friday.
The new study, which is based on eight talk and data service baskets, found the average MVNO price for unlimited talk and 2-4 GB of data, 5-6 GB of data, and 7-9 GB of data “is consistently lower…
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Buying smaller ISPs “a strategy” for getting to 100% coverage, Rogers CEO says
By Ahmad Hathout
Note: This story has been updated with comments from Bell CEO Mirko Bibic.
TORONTO – Rogers president and CEO Tony Staffieri said Tuesday that the delay in getting approval for the company’s proposed acquisition of Shaw has allowed it to refine its strategy as a consolidated entity.
“While we’re disappointed with the delay…what the time has allowed us to do is solidify our integration plans while at the same time – over the last year and a bit – we went through a bit of our own…
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By Ahmad Hathout
VANCOUVER – As the British Columbia government prepares to take bids for a new telecommunications services agreement proposal expected for this summer, the province reported in a quarterly report last year that it had saved $471 million with its existing deal with Telus.
The savings are outlined in the performance report for the period ending on March 31, 2022, which was obtained from a freedom of information request. The existing 12-year Telus deal, signed in 2011, is worth $1.6 billion with commitments from the Vancouver-based telecom to invest in the province, including building cell towers and upgrading existing…
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By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – British Columbia’s minister of transportation and infrastructure (MOTI) has filed an application to the CRTC asking it to suspend a November decision that forces it to enter agreements with third party carriers wanting to attach equipment on poles that are being moved by the province.
The November decision was triggered by a Rogers and Shaw application, which asked that they be treated similarly to the incumbent Telus when it comes to compensation to relocate their transmission lines when the province decides to move their poles. In the decision, the CRTC said the province…
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By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – Rogers has told the CRTC that there is no undue preference given to Videotron in its proposed wholesale access agreement.
The Toronto-based company was responding last week to a Part 1 application by independent internet service provider TekSavvy, which is accusing Rogers and Bell of providing to certain competitors preferable network access rates compared to others, who must follow the costs regulated by the CRTC – called off-tariff agreements (OTA).
But in response, Rogers challenged TekSavvy’s knowledge of its deal with Videotron, which has so far been hidden from public view.
“The rates in the…
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By Ahmad Hathout
MONTREAL – Quebecor CEO Pierre Karl Peladeau said on the company’s fourth quarter conference call Thursday that he is “not surprised” by the “little progress” the company has made on negotiating a deal to roam on the large carriers’ wireless networks, but said things may change with the new head at the CRTC.
The company’s Videotron subsidiary was denied last week an arbitration hearing with the regulator about a price for access to Bell’s wireless network, alleging Bell is stalling on negotiations. The CRTC, which asked about the status of those negotiations…
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By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – There have been “dozens” of agreements since 2012 that deviated from the CRTC’s established rate regime for wholesale access to the networks of the larger telecommunications companies, and they are all in-line with the Telecommunications Act, Shaw argued in a submission to the CRTC on Tuesday.
Shaw was responding to a Part 1 application by independent internet service provider TekSavvy, which asked the CRTC last month to examine the legality of these off-tariff agreements (OTA) that provided a competitor with favourable wholesale access rates not available to other providers. TekSavvy alleged that Rogers…
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