OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The idea that Canada’s signal distributors should pay conventional broadcasters fees to carry their signals is “trash” according to Rogers Communications CEO Ted Rogers.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday following his company’s appearance before the CRTC on day three of its over-the-air TV review hearings, Rogers countered the many broadcaster arguments in favour of such charges, known as fee-for-carriage (FFC), made over the hearing’s first two days. He said broadcasters should look to new technologies – not new regulations – for new revenues. “These guys should get back to high def and keep up with the new stuff.”…
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TORONTO – CTV’s hit home-grown comedy, Corner Gas, will begin airing on American superstation WGN in 2007, the company announced today, placing the residents of Dog River, Saskatchewan in over 70 million U.S. homes.
The deal was done by Arthur Hasson’s Multi-Platform Distribution Company (MPDC), which began shopping Canada’s No. 1 comedy and most-watched Canadian series in May, 2006, as reported by Cartt.ca.
Today’s announcement follows in the footsteps of several CTV original series which have gone on to premiere in the U.S. The list includes Comedy Inc., Comedy Now!, Degrassi: The Next Generation, Instant Star and Whistler.
The…
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REGINA – SaskTel is the first ILEC to announce its intention to take full advantage of deregulated access-independent VOIP with WebCall.
As reported here, access independent VoIP service, such as SaskTel’s WebCall service (which the CRTC has said qualifies), will no longer be regulated by the CRTC in terms of the approval of rates and conditions of service.
Today, days after the two largest cable operators in the province made their own voice over IP launch announcements for Saskatoon and Regina, the provincially-owned telco announced that its WebCall Basic service is now available in Regina, Prince…
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FORMER CABLE ATLANTIC OWNER, and current Newfoundland & Labrador premier Danny Williams is ticked off these days.
His government is getting strafed by daily opposition fire over the recently announced deal to bring another undersea fibre link from the mainland to The Rock. The $52-million project is backed with $15 million in provincial government money and will be built by a consortium of Persona Communications, Rogers Communications and MTS Allstream.
From what’s been published in the press out east, the opposition Liberals don’t seem to care about the project’s potential benefits – which are likely many –…
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WINNIPEG – Canada’s largest ISPs have joined forces with Cybertip.ca, Canada’s child sexual exploitation tip line, to launch a new voluntary initiative to help in the battle against online child sexual abuse.
The new initiative, named "Project Cleanfeed Canada", is the latest contribution from the multi-stakeholder Canadian Coalition Against Internet Child Exploitation (C-CAICE). It’s intended to make the Internet safer for Canadians and their families by reducing their chances of coming across images of child sexual exploitation on the Internet.
The participating ISPs – which so far include Bell Aliant, Bell Canada, MTS Allstream, Rogers, SaskTel, Shaw Communications Inc.,…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – In a decision that will may have more immediate impact on the telecom industry than last week’s voice over IP deregulation announcement by the Minister of Industry, the CRTC today approved local telephone rate ranges for incumbent telcos.
What is means is that ILECs (Bell Canada, Telus, SaskTel, MTS, Bell Aliant and the like) will now be able to submit to the Commission – confidentially – a low and high range of rates for certain services and as long as their pricing stays within that range, will not have to file for tariff approvals prior to altering…
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CALGARY – Provincial telco SaskTel will finally face some local phone competition as Shaw Communications has launched its Digital Phone service in Saskatoon while Regina’s cable co-operative Access Communications has made its intentions public for Regina and area.
"For the first time in 98 years, Saskatoon residents have the opportunity to select their local telephone service provider," said Peter Bissonnette, president of Shaw Communications, in a press release. "We are delighted to offer this choice to Saskatoon residents and expand our growing footprint across Western Canada by extending our Digital Phone service to our first major market in Saskatchewan."…
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VANCOUVER – Bell Mobility has launched a lawsuit against Telus over the latter’s recent ad campaign, saying it’s wireless plans are every bit as flexible as Telus’.
Telus launched an ad campaign this month touting its Flexible Share Plans", where more than one family member can share their wireless minutes.
Bell’s problem is the Telus line found in the ads: "only from Telus." Bell’s statement of claim decries its rival’s "exclusivity claim" as false and misleading.
"The Exclusivity Claim is calculated to give the impression, and does give the impression, that only Telus Mobility offers wireless communications services rate…
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IF CANADA’S INCUMBENT TELEPHONE companies want total deregulation quickly, they’re going to have to do it for (and to) themselves, in the marketplace.
Yesterday Industry Minister Maxime Bernier told the Economic Club of Toronto, with numerous telecom executives in the audience, that the federal government will force the CRTC to deregulate "access independent" VOIP services, no matter which company offers them or where.
The voice services offered by Primus and Vonage are prime examples. The consumer buys a special box, perhaps downloads some software and "poof", they have VOIP service in their homes –and perhaps portably, too.
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HALIFAX – Almost a year after his death at 72 of cancer, The Canadian Red Cross presented its 2006 Humanitarian Award posthumously to former Canadian cable executive Charlie Keating.
According to a story in the Halifax Daily News last week, 600 people gathered at the World Trade and Convention Centre to remember Keating and his philanthropic endeavours. Keating was the founder of Access Cable in Dartmouth before selling to Shaw Communications in 1999. He died on November 22, 2005.
"Among his biggest contributions were $5 million to his alma mater and $2 million to the QEII Health Sciences Centre,"…
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