SO MANY OF US who are worried about the coming consequences of the “post-truth” age, whether we’re journalists or not, wonder aloud why people don’t trust the hardworking, mainstream media, and are genuinely puzzled when citizens can no longer identify the truth.
What happened this week when it came to the reporting of the ratings for the Super Bowl in Canada revealed there are reasons behind this confusion and mistrust. Slipshod journalism and a rush to be first has left everyone confused how many Canadians watched the game – and on what channels – since the CRTC removed Bell’s simultaneous…
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GATINEAU – Freedom Mobile has called on the CRTC to “take the bold step and completely do away with unlocking fees altogether and that unlock codes be provided by carriers free of charge on request.”
The upstart operator owned by Shaw Communications made the recommendation on Wednesday during its opening remarks to the Commission’s three-year review of the Wireless Code of Conduct.
The company added that there is no reason domestic carriers can’t offer unlocked devices at the point of sale. After consulting several large handset suppliers, “they have indicated that they would be happy to sell unlocked phones,” said Bob…
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TORONTO – Music industry veteran executive and Bell Media brass Randy Lennox has been named as the recipient of the 2017 Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS).
Named after famed Canadian publisher and trailblazer Walt Grealis, the award recognizes industry leaders who have vastly contributed to the growth and development of the Canadian music industry.
Lennox began his music career at Universal Music Canada, working in various positions until becoming president in 1998 when the company merged with Polygram Canada, and then became CEO in 2001. In 2015, he took on the…
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GATINEAU – As Telus said last Monday during the CRTC’s N911 hearing, incumbent telcos believe that they are the logical choice as providers of next-generation 911 (NG911) services.
MTS noted in its opening remarks Wednesday that given the complexities involved with transitioning to NG911 from the current systems, it’s best to stick with what is known. Besides, the telcos have the PSAP (public safety access point) relationships, infrastructure and processes already in place for 911.
“There is no reason to believe that this existing framework would not work for NG911. In fact, retaining the same model would expedite a reliable, resilient…
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GATINEAU – Canada’s cable companies say now is the time to wrest control of the 911 emergency system away from the incumbent telcos and hand it over to a new consortium charged with implementing next-generation emergency services.
Just as the telecom market has evolved from a monopoly environment to one based on competitive dynamics, so too should NG911.
While the cable operators believe the telcos have done a good job of running the existing 911 system over the last four decades, the CRTC shouldn’t simply renew their mandate to oversee a new NG911 system. As Shaw Communications noted in its…
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OTTAWA – Five of Canada’s biggest TV service providers and two set-top box manufacturers have signed a voluntary agreement to improve the energy efficiency of set-top boxes.
According to a Canadian GreenTech report, the agreement was signed by Bell Canada, Cogeco Communications, Rogers Communications, Shaw Communications, Videotron, ARRIS and EchoStar Technologies.
The Canadian Energy Efficiency Voluntary Agreement for Set-Top Boxes (CEEVA), along with complementary measures such as the Energy Star program, is expected to reduce the total annual energy consumption of Canadian set-top boxes from 3.4 terawatt hours (TWh) in 2016 to 2.7 TWh in 2021. The energy expected to be saved…
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MONTREAL – Cogeco Inc. is actively looking at more acquisitions in cable companies in the United States, but has ruled out acquisitions in the data services sector over the next year after a 2016 in which “our results have been disappointing” at subsidiary Peer 1, president Louis Audet said on Thursday at the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Montreal.
The company’s year-end financial results were mostly positive, with earnings increasing and a higher dividend to shareholders, both from Cogeco Inc. and subsidiary Cogeco Communications Inc. But a $450-million writedown at Peer 1 technically put the company in the red…
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LAS VEGAS – It’s taken nearly 30 years of development but artificial intelligence (AI), in the form of voice-enabled digital assistants, are poised to be the talk of the town when CES opens on Wednesday.
“Applications for hub devices are set to grow by 50% over the next four days,” says Dr. Shawn DuBravac, chief economist of the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), speaking to journalists. Leading that growth is Amazon’s Alexa digital assistant platform, which debuted in November 2014 when Amazon unveiled its “smart speaker” called Echo. DuBravac says devices like the Echo are creating a new era of “faceless…
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GATINEU – The CRTC today declared that broadband access is now considered a basic telecommunications service for all Canadians, that it is setting new speed targets while also creating a new fund that will invest up to $750 million over and above existing government programs.
Further to its legislative mandate, the Commission has set the following targets for the basic telecommunications services that Canadians need to participate in the digital economy:
speeds of 50 megabits per second (Mbps) download/10 Mbps upload for fixed broadband Internet access services. In 2015, 82% of Canadians already had access to speeds of 50 Mbps download/10…
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OTTAWA – Support for community TV and media has been on the agenda in the House of Commons, with nearly a dozen MPs presenting a petition calling for the creation and ongoing support of community media centres in Canada.
According to Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS), the petition says that community media centres will ensure that Canadians have access to adequate news and information that reflects their communities, as well as offer skill development for Canadians' participation in the digital economy.
Liberal MP Will Amos, who represents the riding of Pontiac, north of Ottawa, said in a CACTUS statement that he supported…
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