THE 2006 POLICY DIRECTIVE to the CRTC (which came under then-PM Stephen Harper and then-Industry Minister Maxime Bernier) said the Commission must regulate based on market forces to the maximum extent feasible and reinforced that facilities-based competition (Canadian-owned, built, networks) was to be the backbone of the Canadian telecom marketplace.
It said a bunch of other things, too, but didn’t mention consumers at all. However, the Conservative government of the day insisted as long as the CRTC followed its directive, that should spur competition and lower retail prices.
Last week’s Liberal government proposed…
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Applications due by April 10
TORONTO – The Canada Media Fund (CMF) and Shaw Rocket Fund (SRF) are teaming up to fund the production of Canadian digital animated series for children and youth audiences that encourages the use of new technology.
The CMF-SRF Kids Digital Animated Series Program will have a total budget of $3.3M. The maximum contribution provided to a project funded through the program shall be the lesser of $525,000 or 75% of the project’s eligible costs, with the CMF contributing two-thirds of funding and the Shaw Rocket Fund providing one-third of the funds.
An eligible project must be an…
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CALGARY – The Shaw Rocket Fund is celebrating 20 years of fuelling high-quality, Canadian-made media.
Since 1999, Shaw Rocket Fund has invested more than $220 million in 865 audio-visual programs and associated digital media content for children, youth and families. It supports creative programming in both of Canada's official languages, as well as Indigenous and various languages, on all platforms that air Canadian children's and youth programming.
When it was first established, the Fund provided top-up equity funding for Canadian children's television programs based on investment applications from the independent production sector. In 2004, it shifted its approach and became a…
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OTTAWA – In something of a surprising move, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, Navdeep Bains announced Tuesday during Question Period he planned to issue a Policy direction to the CRTC requiring it to improve the affordability of Internet and cellphone services for Canadians.
If this is truly a shift away from market forces and facilities based competition (hard to tell for sure with the legalese), then this could be the most significant shift in the federal government's thinking on telecom in decades.
Even though the CRTC is independent, the government can, according to the Telecommunications Act “issue directions…
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SALMON ARM, BC – Shaw Communications has extended the naming rights for the Shaw Centre in Salmon Arm through 2035.
The arena has received significant upgrades as part of the partnership extension, including a new sound system and video wall, which will contribute to enhanced user and fan experience with state-of-the-art equipment, according to Friday’s press release. Shaw will also provide operational contributions annually for the term of the contract.
“Whether it’s to cheer on the Silverbacks, practice their skating skills or celebrate a birthday, the people of Salmon Arm have been drawn to Shaw Centre for nearly 20 years,” said Shaw’s…
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CALGARY – Freedom Mobile has launched in Victoria, B.C. and Red Deer, AB as it continues to build and expand network coverage.
The Shaw-owned service said Friday that residents in these markets can now take advantage of low introductory pricing for 10GB of data and unlimited Canada-wide talk and text, as well as access to Freedom Wi-Fi at over 100,000 hotspots across Western Canada.
Freedom Mobile added that it will expand to 15 new communities in B.C., Alberta and Ontario this year, in markets including Nanaimo, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Cornwall, Brockville, Belleville and Cobourg, which will provide 1.3 million more Canadians…
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TORONTO – Former Corus Entertainment exec Barbara Williams is joining the CBC as its executive vice-president effective May 1st.
In a memo to employees on Wednesday, CBC CEO Catherine Tait described Williams (pictured) as a “veteran media executive with deep knowledge of Canada's ever-changing media landscape”, noting her past roles as EVP and COO at Corus Entertainment, as well as senior positions at Shaw Media and CanWest Broadcasting.
This had been a widely rumoured landing spot since she left Corus at the end of October.
“A visionary leader, Barbara brings with her a wealth of experience with…
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CALGARY – Shaw Communications is crediting technology from Fujitsu Network Communications for helping to boost the capacity and scalability of its fibre-optic network.
Shaw said Tuesday that it has completed its work with the Fujitsu 1FINITY platform and Virtuora software. The Fujitsu 1FINITY T310 Transport and 1FINITY L100 Lambda series blades combined with the Virtuora Network Control Solution provided Shaw with a modular, programmable, optical networking solution to enhance network utilization, capacity and performance, and were well suited to help Shaw achieve its connectivity goals, reads the news release. The Virtuora solution offers software-defined network control capability,…
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OTTAWA – As talk of Canadian broadcasters battling Netflix and needing online scale dominated last week’s Prime Time conference, spare a thought for kids TV producers also struggling to reach audiences on tablets, smartphones and TV Everywhere.
It turns out a combination of streaming VOD services buying up high end kids fare to entice new subscribers and reduce churn, and the global explosion of YouTube and user-generated content is putting the squeeze on kids content creators.
"The trend is the middle is going away. You're either producing something very high cost, industrial, or entering the space by doing something low cost…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has waded in to an ongoing dispute between the city of Calgary and a group of big telco carriers over a municipal rights-of-way bylaw and a proposed municipal consent and access agreement (MCAA).
The Commission said Friday that it was turning down an application by the city seeking a declaration and determination that certain telecommunications carriers may rely upon Calgary’s rights-of-way bylaw for the performance of their obligations under section 43 of the Telecommunications Act, which deals with access to infrastructure.
The decision also approved certain terms and conditions of an MCAA between Calgary and…
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