Quebecor said it welcomes the decision
By Ahmad Hathout
The Federal Court of Appeal ruled Wednesday that the CRTC did not err when it chose Quebecor’s rate to access Rogers’s wireless facilities as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) during final offer arbitration (FOA).
The court rejected all three arguments the cable giant put forth for why it believed the regulator erred when it chose the lower rate, which it argued was unjust and unreasonable per the Telecommunications Act.
Rogers argued that the CRTC erred by ruling in July 2023 that just and reasonable rates can “include rates that may…
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Asian Television Network International Limited (ATN), Canada’s largest South Asian broadcaster, announced Tuesday the expansion of its channel offerings on Rogers (formerly Shaw) in Western Canada.
“With this expansion, ATN now has increased the channel count from 12 to 54, reinforcing ATN’s position as the largest South Asian broadcaster in North America and enhances accessibility to premium multicultural content for viewers across the country,” reads an ATN press release.
The newly launched channels include a mix of general entertainment, movies, music, news and spiritual programming in multiple languages such as Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil,…
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By Peter Menzies, former newspaper executive, past vice chair of the CRTC, and a Macdonald-Laurier Institute Senior Fellow
On June 1, the Vancouver Whitecaps will play one of the most important games a Canadian club sports team has ever played.
In most countries – in fact in almost any country – broadcasters would be clamouring over each other for the ability to show it. The national public broadcaster might be claiming it as a program of national interest and politicians would be weighing in to play a little hero ball of their own and grab the spotlight.
The Whitecaps’ Concacaf Champions League…
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Public interest groups say the consultation is overdue
By Ahmad Hathout
Citing a broader portfolio of regulatory obligations, the CRTC on Monday launched its consultation on how to support and sustain public interest participation in its proceedings.
The commission wants to know, by September 10, whether it should create one funding system for both telecom and broadcasting matters to support that end; whether that single fund should be managed by an independent third party, such as the existing Broadcasting Participation Fund (BPF); whether more parties should be eligible for funding; and who should be obligated to fund it.
The CRTC currently has two…
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Northwestel announced Monday it is investing $3 million to upgrade its infrastructure in the Whitehorse neighbourhood of Granger to full fibre-to-the-home internet.
Fully funded by Northwestel, construction on this project is set to begin this summer. Once completed, Granger residents will have access to faster, more reliable internet with download and upload speeds up to 1 Gbps, Northwestel said in a press release.
The northern telecom is hosting a community meeting at Elijah Smith Elementary School on May 7 starting at 6:30 p.m. local time to share more details about the project.
“Using the latest innovations and minimally invasive…
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Telus says report “represents a snapshot in time”
For the first time, Vancouver-based telecom Telus has accounted for the highest number of complaints to the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-Television Services (CCTS), with 19.7 per cent of all complaints accepted by the CCTS during the six-month period from Aug. 1, 2024 to Jan. 31, 2025.
That’s according to the CCTS’s Mid-Year Report 2024-25, published early Wednesday morning, which examines complaints received from Canadian phone, TV and internet customers.
Rogers accounted for 18.7 per cent of all complaints accepted by the CCTS during the reporting period, followed by Bell…
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By Ahmad Hathout
OUTtv is arguing that Rogers cannot have a choice in how it distributes its service if that choice means putting the channel in a television package with less penetration.
The LGBTQ+ service, which must be offered by broadcasters, said in a response filing provided to Cartt that Rogers’s interpretation of section 9 of the Wholesale Code – which appears to offer the cable giant the option of putting the discretionary service in either the “best available pre-assembled or theme package” – cannot be read without the full scope of the CRTC’s objectives when it comes to independent services,…
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Corus announced Thursday that Heather Shaw is retiring as executive chair, a position she held since the company was spun off from Shaw in 1999. She will remain on the board as a non-executive chair.
“Heather has been an important part of Corus’ history, helping to steward the company through significant milestones and an ever-changing industry,” Co-CEO Troy Reeb said in a press release. “We are appreciative of her commitment to Corus and of her long career in media leadership.”
Shaw was a director of Shaw Communications Inc. and Shawcor Ltd. She is a director of several private companies as well…
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No details yet as to what the alleged breaches are
By Ahmad Hathout
Videotron is suing Rogers for $91 million over alleged breaches of contract in the sale of Freedom Mobile.
The six-page notice of action, which mentions only the claimed breaches without detail, was filed in Ontario Superior Court last Thursday — the two-year anniversary of the closing of Rogers’s acquisition of Shaw and Videotron’s purchase of Freedom.
Videotron is asking the court to order Rogers to “perform their obligations under the Share Purchase Agreement dated August 12, 2022,” which lays out the terms for Videotron buying the outstanding shares of…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Rogers announced Friday it has finalized an agreement to sell for $7 billion a 49.9 per cent stake in a portion of its wireless traffic transport infrastructure through a subsidiary to pay down debt.
The investors will be led by American asset manager Blackstone and include the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, the Public Sector Pension Investment Board, and the British Columbia Investment Management Corporation. Blackstone will also hold a 20 per cent voting stake.
Rogers, which will hold the rest of the shares including voting control, will continue to have full…
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