OTTAWA – Bell Mobility, SaskTel and Rogers Communications were on the list of applicants intending to participate in the auction for Advanced Wireless Services that was released Friday by Industry Canada.
Earlier in the week, Shaw Communications, Quebecor Media, Eastlink and a consortium that includes Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. (MTS Allstream) indicated they would also be participating.
Shaw appears to have applied under the numbered company 1380057 Alberta Ltd, as it announced Friday that it had filed a $400 million financial deposit with Industry Canada in connection with the auction. That is the same amount listed by 1380057 Alberta…
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MONTREAL – Quebecor Media has filed an application to bid as an new entrant in Industry Canada’s spectrum auction for Advanced Wireless Services. Quebecor Media said Thursday it has submitted a deposit of $317 million, in the form of letters of credit, to Industry Canada.
About 40 megahertz of spectrum is expected to go to new entrants in the wireless market.
Quebecor indicated it intended to bid for spectrum across Canada.
“We have always stated clearly that our Videotron subsidiary planned to build its own wireless network to serve the Quebec market. However, exceptionally favourable conditions for new entrants, which may…
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HALIFAX – EastLink announced Thursday it has submitted an application to participate in Industry Canada’s Auction for Spectrum Licences for Advanced Wireless Services (AWS).
EastLink along with Shaw Communications, a consortium that includes MTS, and Quebecor Media have already announced that they plan to participate in the auction.
Industry Canada is expected to release the names of all of the parties who have applied to participate either today or Friday. The auction is scheduled to begin on May 27, 2008.
If successful in acquiring spectrum, Eastlink said it will expand the range of products and services to its customers in…
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TORONTO – Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. (MTS Allstream) has joined with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and The Blackstone Group L.P. to jointly submit an application to bid as a new entrant in the Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) spectrum auction, it was announced Monday.
The consortium stated it had made a $340 million deposit in letters of credit to Industry Canada. MTS Allstream, CPPIB and Blackstone will each own one-third of the new entity.
If the consortium is successful in acquiring spectrum licences, it is anticipated that Andre Tremblay, founding CEO of Microcell, will lead a team…
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CALGARY — Shaw Communications Inc. announced Monday it has submitted an application to participate in Industry Canada’s auction for spectrum licences for Advanced Wireless Services (AWS).
“There can be no assurance that Shaw’s bid will be successful in acquiring AWS spectrum in the auction. In addition, participation in the auction should not necessarily be interpreted as an indication that Shaw intends to build out a wireless network,” the TV distributor said in a statement. “If successful, the ownership of spectrum will provide strategic flexibility as it may be utilized in a variety of ways and in a timeframe yet…
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GATINEAU – Reply comments filed with the CRTC on Friday on its broadcasting distribution undertakings and specialty services policy review don’t show anyone has changed their minds. They’ve mostly dug right in, as expected.
(And, we’ll set aside the fee for carriage debate right away for this particular piece. Over-the-air broadcasters and producers who look to see more funds flow their way want consumers to pay a fee for conventional TV stations. Cable and satellite companies do not. We’ll dive deeper into the issue in a later story.)
This story, however, is a tale of two extremes. We looked…
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OTTAWA – The answer to the question of what’s going to happen to the Canadian Television Fund won’t be coming from the CRTC after all.
Less than two weeks after hearings into the fund and a CRTC task force report written on it late last year, the federal government announced late Wednesday it will decide what to do.
In her speech marking the opening of the Canadian Film and Television Producers Association 2008 Conference, “Prime Time” Minister of Canadian Heritage, Status of Women and Official Languages, Josee Verner said that while it wants recommendations from the CRTC, which took…
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CALGARY – Shaw Cable said this week it has added Speed HD and will soon add NASCAR Hotpass to its available content.
Until June 1st, all Shaw HD customers will enjoy a free preview of Speed HD on channel 222. Speed HD programs include the Daytona Speedweeks, Gatorade Duel 150’s, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race, and many other NASCAR events.
In addition, Shaw is also launching NASCAR Hotpass on February 17 with the 50th running of the Daytona 500. NASCAR Hotpass will be available as a free preview to all digital subscribers on February 17. The Hotpass season…
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GATINEAU – “The CTF is gratified that the great majority of interveners strongly support the Canadian Television Fund and emphasize that one of the Fund’s greatest strengths is its adaptability to new challenges faced by the industry,” said Douglas Barrett, chairman of the board of the Canadian Television Fund, in closing the week-long hearing on the future of the fund today.
“When considering changes to the industry’s funding system, the most critical objective is ensuring that, given that the competing demands of stakeholders in the production, broadcast, and distribution system, the interests of the Canadian public, including both taxpayers…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein tells Shaw Communications CEO Jim Shaw in a letter that the three commissioners overseeing the public hearing on the Canadian Television Fund (CTF) “have the most experience in the broadcasting industry.”
“Their in-depth understanding of television production is essential to achieve the above-mentioned goal ,” states his February 4 letter to Shaw.
Von Finckenstein’s response comes after Shaw sent a letter to the CRTC…
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