GATINEAU – The CRTC wants to know more about account stacking before it renders a ruling in a dispute between cable, broadcasters and satellite companies and has called for comments on the issue.
Account stacking is where a BDU treats two (or more, as the complaint mentioned below contends) residences as a single subscription. So, for example, if a Star Choice customer has a dish at his home and cottage, he pays just one monthly fee.
In a complaint filed with the Commission in December and reported on only by cartt.ca here. Videotron has asked the CRTC to…
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TORONTO – By the end of 2006 Canadian cable companies will have 12% (1.57 million) of residential telephone subscribers in Canada and 27% by year-end 2009 (3.35 million), says a new report released today.
This is up from 6% at the end of ’05 (835,000), says the latest installment of The Convergence Consulting Group’s "Battle for the North American Couch Potato: Bundling, Internet, TV, Telephone."
While the inroads traditional cable companies are making in voice are strong, the report doesn’t have a similar forecast when it comes to the traditional ILEC’s push into video. Telcos will have 2% (220,000)…
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GATINEAU – Country music fans in Toronto will have a clearer new choice later this year.
On Wednesday, the CRTC approved an application by Durham Radio to build a new repeater transmitter in Toronto for 95.9 CJKX-FM Ajax (New Country).
The transmitter will be located in downtown Toronto and operate at 85 watts. Durham Radio told the Commission that many of its listeners, from Ajax, Oshawa, east Toronto and York Region, commute to downtown Toronto for work or other reasons and are unable to receive a good quality signal from CJKX-FM in downtown Toronto because of interference caused by…
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CALGARY – Cybersurf, an independent Canadian ISP, announced Monday it would offer free high speed Internet access to customers choosing its voice product.
The company is near completion of its national VOIP and cable high speed service and will use the Shaw, Rogers and Videotron backbones to provide its service.
To BR: branded CIA Local Phone in the Toronto market, Cybersurf’s service is offered as a competitive alternative to Bell and Rogers’ local phone service, and includes E911, 411, free unlimited local calling in the 416 area code, free call features and low domestic and international long distance rates….
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By Greg O’Brien
I REMEMBER WHEN THEN-CRTC broadcasting vice-chair Andrée Wylie told the 1999 CCTA convention in Vancouver that the Commission had no intention of trying to regulate the Internet.
Because of it’s very nature, it’s impossible to regulate the Internet itself (unless you’re China or some other repressive government that deploys some painful cyber-clamps and doesn’t mind tossing people in jail for reading the New York Times or somesuch online), which the CRTC recognized early on. Plus, 1999 was pre tech-bubble and the opportunities of the ‘net seemed endless. Why toss up regulations in front of such potential?
That Commission…
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OTTAWA – In a submission which generally backs a cable company’s request to use the local avail ad time to market its telephony and high speed Internet products along with programming services, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters has also asked the CRTC for more cost clarity.
An intervention filed with the Commission last week mostly supports an application made by Halifax-based MSO EastLink to expand what the broadcast distribution regulations say can be promoted during the so-called "local availability" time on American cable channels. Those channels (like CNN, A&E and The Golf Channel) make two minutes per hour of…
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OTTAWA – It didn’t take long for the Canadian Association of Broadcasters to find someone who knows the ins and outs of the new federal Conservative leadership.
It was announced Friday that Elizabeth Roscoe is joining the CAB as senior vice-president policy and public affairs as of April 10th.
Roscoe’s most recent job in communications and media was as senior vice-president external affairs for the Canadian Cable Television Association, a position she left in 2003 to join Carleton University as executive director, partnership development. Prior to her last stint at the CCTA, she was VP government relations for Shaw…
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TORONTO – Ad revenue growth among its specialty channels and the continued strong performance by the CSI franchise ensured Alliance Atlantis would finish 2005 strongly.
Consolidated EBITDA increased 42% for Q4 to $72.1 million, and 21% for the full year to $192.9 million Free cash flow of $63.6 million for Q4 and $120.1 million for the full year compares to $32.7 million and an outflow of $23.1 million in the same periods in the prior year, respectively. The company’s digital channels delivered positive contributions to EBITDA in Q4
During this morning’s conference call with financial analysts, CEO Phyllis Yaffe…
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QUISPAMSIS, N.B. – Members of the Canadian Cable Systems Alliance have not yet decided how it will deal with the demise this week of the Canadian Cable Telecommunications Association.
As first reported by www.cartt.ca, the board of the CCTA voted to close down the association less than two months after Shaw Communications resigned its membership. The association will shut its doors forever on Wednesday.
The loss of the CCTA can be overcome by the larger companies with big regulatory arms and more resources. However, for the smaller operators, the loss of the CCTA is devastating and leaves independent cablecos…
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WHISTLER, B.C, – There was precious little new information doled out today by some of the participants at RBC Capital Markets annual telecom and media conference in the B.C. ski town.
However, one key parallel was drawn during the afternoon session featuring Shaw Communications president Peter Bissonnette, Rogers Cable president Edward Rogers, Bell Canada’s consumer solutions president Kevin Crull and Bell Nordiq CEO Roch Dubé.
When talking about the potential for cable telephony market penetration, Rogers said that a 15% to 20% local market share gain by cable companies was probably too conservative when saying it could be done…
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