OTTAWA – The Canadian Network Operators Consortium (CNOC) has filed a counter submission to the Governor-in-Council (a.k.a. federal cabinet) over petitions sent by the big incumbent carriers who are protesting the CRTC’s decision to lower wholesale prices for internet.
Last August, the CRTC lowered the final prices the incumbents – Bell, Rogers, Telus, Shaw, Videotron, Cogeco, and Eastlink – can charge resellers, and made those rates retroactive to 2016, when interim rates were set. The incumbents protested to the Federal Court, the cabinet and the CRTC. The court granted the leave to appeal and has yet to…
Continue Reading
MONTREAL — Stingray is adding to its TV channel offerings with the launch announced Tuesday of its Stingray Country music video channel, featuring new country, bro-country, ’90s country hits, pop country and more. Stingray says the channel is currently the only dedicated country music channel in Canada.
“We are thrilled to introduce our latest TV channel, Stingray Country, to Canadian country music fans,” said Mathieu Péloquin, senior vice-president of marketing and communications for Stingray, in the news release. “With a growing millennial fan base including both men and women, country music’s popularity is spreading across all regions of the…
Continue Reading
GATINEAU – One of the most important CRTC hearings in some time (perhaps the most hyped since Let’s Talk TV) begins Tuesday in Gatineau. Hundreds of thousands of words have been written about the upcoming hearing, including thousands by Cartt.ca breaking down the issues (please see our extensive coverage at the bottom of this piece), but it’s important to remember the Commission is interested in a number of specific questions.
Some things to remember. The CRTC already had the wireless carriers come up with low-cost data only plans. We wonder how those are selling? Wireless wholesale roaming is different than…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA — Ahead of the CRTC’s public hearing next week to review its wireless policies, research firm Abacus Data released results Wednesday of a survey commissioned by Shaw Communications that found 95% of Canadians say regional wireless providers increase competition and provide better service to customers.
Furthermore, 66% of Canadians agree competition from regional wireless companies like Freedom Mobile, Eastlink and Vidéotron has resulted in reduced prices charged by the national carriers, says study.
“One reason Canadians value having strong regional wireless network options is because most see a direct connection between reduced prices charged by the national carriers and increased…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – The Institute of International Communications Canadian chapter conference is set for April 20 and 21, 2020 at the Shaw Centre in Ottawa and early bird registration is now open.
Delegates will be able to hear from and meet the “top communications regulators, policy makers and lawyers from Canada, the U.S. and Europe, as they debate the key issues affecting broadcasting, telecommunications and the Internet today, weighing the BTLR’s recommendations, and what they mean for consumers, content and carriage in Canada,” says the release from conference organizers.
Topics to be explored will include:
Location data: potential and pitfalls
Artist compensation…
Continue Reading
By Konrad von Finckenstein
FOR MANY YEARS, THE both the federal government and the CRTC have viewed facilities-based competition (FBC) as the only true means of ensuring Canadians receive high-quality, affordable, mobile wireless services provided over leading-edge wireless networks.
FBC basically means that only companies with their own wired or wireless transmission facilities should be allowed access to aggregated wholesale high-speed access services of large carriers, but attempts by both the CRTC and ISED to foster competition at either the national or regional level in wireless using preferential access to spectrum and wholesale wireless policies have proven unsuccessful.
The Competition Bureau…
Continue Reading
By Denis Carmel
GATINEAU – While a determination on an application to amend conditions of licence relating to the set-top box audience measurement system has not yet been announced, Cartt.ca has confirmed Videotron has rejoined the working group trying to turn the viewer data from pay-TV in-home decoders (there aren’t a lot of these things still resting atop TV sets) into ratings currency.
The company rejoined the working group last week without providing an explanation or making comments. When asked, the CRTC referred question to the Working Group itself, led by Shaw, which did not respond to our inquiry.
Videotron Continue Reading
GATINEAU – On Friday, the CRTC’s Internet Code of conduct officially came into force, which is aimed at giving Canadians additional safeguards when dealing with their internet service providers.
The code sets out that ISPs must provide:
easier-to-understand contracts, documentation and policies surrounding service calls, outages, security deposits and disconnections
clearer information about prices, including for bundles, promotions and time-limited discounts
bill shock protection, through notifications when customers approach and reach their data-usage limits
information on the new rules permitting customers to cancel a contract within 45 days, without paying early cancellation fees, if the contract differs from the…
Continue Reading
PHILADELPHIA – Comcast executives said Thursday that its subsidiary’s upcoming Peacock service, combined with the cable division’s Xfinity Flex streaming device, will make the most effective revenue-generating streaming ecosystem available anywhere.
Peacock is a streamer which will fill what the company calls a “white space” in the market: a hybrid between a subscription and ad-supported service. It will be a largely ad-supported service with three tiers: 7,500 hours of ad-supported content for free, 15,000 hours of ad-supported content for US$5 (but it, too will be free if you subscribe to a pay-TV company), and an ad-free version of the…
Continue Reading
CALGARY — Shaw Communications announced Tuesday it is introducing LTE Backup for Shaw Business customers, a simple add-on solution that ensures businesses’ critical applications stay online and operational during network disruptions.
Customers using LTE Backup identify the online systems and applications that are essential to their business operations, such as point-of-sale terminals and cloud applications. If a wireline Internet outage occurs, the essential systems and applications automatically and seamlessly switch to the LTE network with no intervention from the customer. Once the wireline connection is restored, the Internet connection will automatically switch back to the primary network, Shaw explains in…
Continue Reading
