GATINEAU – Last week Corus Entertainment filed an application informing the CRTC that it will shut down 44 transmitters and requested an amendment to their station licences.
Twenty of those stations had not been converted to digital and Corus was required to do so, according to the conditions of the acquisition imposed by the CRTC when then CanWest Global stations were acquired by Shaw Communications back in 2010.
In the November 8th application, Corus is requesting permission to shift the remainder of the benefits money meant to upgrade the transmitters to other endeavours, and therefore not convert them to digital as it…
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IQALUIT, NU – Northwestel has expanded its new new high-speed broadband satellite network to three additional Nunavut communities.
The new 15 Mbps service, known as Katittuq 15, is available now in Cambridge Bay, Arviat and Rankin Inlet for $129 per month and includes 100 GB of monthly usage. The service launched in Iqaluit last month and is scheduled to rollout in all Nunavut communities in 2019.
“Northwestel is pleased to begin connecting customers in Rankin Inlet, Cambridge Bay, and Arviat to our new Tamarmik Nunaliit network in Nunavut”, said Northwestel president Curtis Shaw, in the news release. “Now, customers in…
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From Right Hand Man: How Phil Lind Guided the Genius of Ted Rogers
By Phil Lind with Robert Brehl
IN 2013, HALFWAY THROUGH its mandate, Stephen Harper’s government was looking tired and bereft of captivating political ideas for the next election. It was then that the Conservative PM wrapped himself in his “Captain Consumer” cape and launched an assault upon Canada’s big three wireless phone companies: Rogers, Bell, and Telus.
He and his government were going to lower monthly wireless bills for consumers by cracking the cartel. Harper painted us as Russian-style oligopolists who feared increased competition, which was unfair and…
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CALGARY – Shaw Communications is offering $500 million principal amount of 3.80% senior notes due 2023 and $500 million of 4.40% senior notes due 2028.
The net proceeds of this offering will be used for general corporate purposes, which may include the repayment of outstanding indebtedness.
Pending any such use of net proceeds, Shaw may invest the net proceeds in bank deposits and short-term marketable securities. Closing is scheduled to occur on November 2, 2018.
www.shaw.ca
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OTTAWA – While the main governmental expert panel reviewing the Telecom, Broadcasting and Radiocommunication Acts is only now getting under way, some of the most interesting conversations on the matter are happening now in front of the Senate (who knew?!).
While CRTC chairman Ian Scott appeared today (October 30) in front of the Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications, to talk about the Regulator’s needs, last week Canadian Communications Systems Alliance CEO Jay Thomson told the senators about his members’ (115 independent carriers who serve more than 1,200 communities – lots rural – with broadband,…
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MONTREAL – Videotron has unveiled the name of its new IPTV platform based on Comcast’s Xfinity X1 platform, à la Rogers and Shaw.
Speaking at the Canadian Club of Montreal on Monday, outgoing Videotron president and CEO Manon Brouillette said that the platform will be called Helix and will hit the market in 2019.
Helix will deliver smarter and more powerful Wi-Fi, an enhanced TV experience thanks to IP technology and seamless integration of Web content platforms, as well as home automation services, she added.
"Helix is revolutionary. It is a fast-changing, adaptive ecosystem that is ready to compete with the international…
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The TV tax battle
By Phil Lind with Robert Brehl
FEW THINGS GET ME SEETHING like the Canadian television networks’ attempted fee-for-carriage cash grab, the so-called “TV tax.” After everything cable did to increase their TV licences’ value over the years, in 2006 the broadcasters ignited a six-year battle to get us to pay them for carrying their signals. It went all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada, and they came very close to winning.
Just writing this raises my hackles. Ken Engelhart and Jan Innes would joke that fee-for-carriage was my “Wullerton.” I had no idea what they meant…
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Cable technologists embrace DAA as a complement to DOCSIS 3.1, fibre deep and other technologies
ATLANTA – Believing their industry's hybrid fibre-coax (HFC) networks have plenty of life left in them, cablecos are pushing forward with distributed access architectures (DAA) designed to enable them to boost capacity for gigabit and other advanced services.
Speaking here at the annual SCTE Cable-Tec Expo show last week, top cable technologists from North America and Europe said they are turning to on DAA and new versions of the industry's DOCSIS broadband specs to meet the bandwidth demand with their existing networks. Rather than junk their…
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GATINEAU – With the large Canadian telecom players reading the writing on the wall (where it appears the Commission is seriously considering some sort of new code of conduct for telecom sales practices) a few of the larger carriers last week set out some ideas for commissioners to consider while they deliberate.
Each company last week essentially told the CRTC during its hearing into telecom sales practices the same thing: “There’s no problem with us when it comes to selling wired or wireless products and services to Canadians.” If there is, added most of the intervenors, the problem stems mainly…
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GATINEAU – Back in August, when the CRTC and researcher Ipsos launched a survey on what Canadians think of the sales practices of Canadian telecom companies, much private (and some public) hue and cry arose from the carriers across the country.
The tight timeline for Ipsos to finish the survey and the weak overall structure and wording of the questions could only lead to negative answers, they said. They were right. The results came back substantially negative, but does that mean they have a point? Does the survey’s supposedly skewed queries mean the results should be tossed out?
Consumers and consumer…
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