TORONTO – Wireless upstart Data On Tap (dotmobile), filed a petition to federal cabinet Tuesday asking the federal government to overturn the portion of the CRTC’s recent wireless policy decision which excluded a mandate for full mobile virtual network operators to participate in the wireless market in Canada.
Dotmobile is Canada’s first full MVNO but has yet been unable to come to a wholesale agreement with any Canadian wireless network operator (company owners say none of the carriers even return their calls seeking a meeting). The CRTC’s much-ballyhooed wireless decision, however, didn’t mandate access for full MVNOs like…
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CCSA, Distributel, Novus want application process reopened to allow more telecoms to participate in auction
TORONTO — Independent telecom service providers Distributel Communications, Novus Entertainment and the Canadian Communication Systems Alliance (CCSA), which has over 100 member companies, have written to Innovation, Science and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne in support of a request last week by the Competitive Network Operators of Canada (CNOC) for a 90-day delay to the start of the 3500 MHz spectrum auction currently scheduled to begin June 15.
In a letter today shared by Distributel CEO Matt Stein (who also chairs CNOC), the independent telecom company Continue Reading
VANCOUVER — Digital marketing and audience analytics company Magnify Digital announced Tuesday morning Bell Fund, Shaw Rocket Fund and Telus Fund are joining together to support a pilot project designed to drive discoverability of Canadian content and to provide content producers with tools and insights to help build audiences for their projects.
Vancouver-based Magnify Digital says its new audience analytics platform, ViewerCentric, is a cornerstone of its so-called Audience Development Pilot Project, which aims to standardize audience development requirements and reporting periods across the three funders.
ViewerCentric aggregates and visualizes audience data from multiple sources in one dynamic platform to help…
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TORONTO – CTAM Canada will hose a “lunch and learn” on Wednesday, April 28th featuring guest speaker David Shaw, senior vice-president international and content for the UFC, moderated by TSN’s mixed martial arts reporter Aaron Bronsteter.
The two will discuss how the UFC weathered – and thrived – during the Covid pandemic. The virtual event is free to CTAM members and will happen Wednesday, April 28 from noon to 1 p.m. ET.
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$10 million not enough of a deterrent, Péladeau says
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – The maximum fine of $10 million for a first offence available to the CRTC to impose on violators of its rules is not enough for Bell Canada, Quebecor president and CEO Pierre-Karl Péladeau said Tuesday.
“I’m sorry to say this, it’s like a drop of water in the ocean,” he said Tuesday evening in an appearance in front of the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, which is studying spending on large projects. “It doesn’t amount to much for a company like them…to delay the competition, it…
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Company chair Edward Rogers lays out Shaw purchase positives for investors
By Greg O’Brien
TORONTO — Despite the challenges of the pandemic, Rogers Communications today reported good results from its first quarter ended March 31, with revenue gains in its cable and media business units, although wireless service revenue was down compared to the same quarter last year.
Of course, there is more news than that orbiting the wireless, broadband, cable and media giant. While the company had so far been mostly mum on the recent new wireless policies announced by the CRTC (where the headline was mandated, regional, facilities-based MVNOs…
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EXTON, PA — The Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE), a subsidiary of CableLabs, announced today the appointment of a newly formed board of directors, which includes two Canadian executives.
The new board was approved on April 9 and is led by chairwoman Stephanie Mitchko-Beale, executive vice-president and chief technology officer of Charter Communications. The new board members start their two-year term effective today.
Appointed as secretary of the board is Ron McKenzie, senior vice-president of technical operations at Rogers Communications. The other Canadian board member is Damian Poltz, senior vice-president of wireline technologies and strategy at Shaw Communications.
The 14-member board…
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OTTAWA — In a letter sent today to Innovation, Science and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne, the Competitive Network Operators of Canada (CNOC) is asking for a 90-day delay to the 3500 MHz spectrum auction, which is scheduled to start on June 15.
CNOC’s main objection to having the auction proceed as currently scheduled is that the CRTC’s new wireless policy on mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) — in which it mandates the provision of wholesale facilities-based MVNO access service but only to regional wireless carriers who own spectrum at the Tier 4 level or higher — was released after…
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VANCOUVER – Shaw Communications is teaming up with three talented local artists to create sidewalk murals that will celebrate the first-ever virtual Vancouver Sun Run.
The event supports Arts Umbrella, a local organization which aims to inspires the next generation of artists and creators.
Commissioned by Shaw, artists Carrielynn Victor (she and her mural is above), Grace Gihm, and Andrew Tavukciyan are producing three inspiring murals that reflect the Sun Run’s community spirit and evoke a sense of unity and belonging when we are physically unable to come together to celebrate, says the press release.
From April 18-30, the original artworks can…
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CRTC focuses on accelerating regional carrier network builds. Eyes now on Cogeco if regulatory conditions satisfy mobile entry
By Ahmad Hathout
GATINEAU – In requiring the country’s largest telecommunications companies to negotiate access to its wireless network with regional carriers, the CRTC has signaled its desire to bolster the fourth players and help accelerate the expansion and deployment of those networks, the Commission’s head Ian Scott said Thursday.
But the Regulator will not require those regional carriers to come to commercial arrangements with smaller players on that leased capacity, with Scott only saying they are permitted to do so.
In essence, Thursday’s decision…
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