TORONTO – Independent ISP and TV service provider VMedia Thursday announced the launch of RiverTV, Canada’s first live TV and on-demand streaming channel platform.
Such services are known as virtual multichannel video programming distributors in the United States (such as Sling TV, PlayStation Vue, AT&T TV Now and others) but in Canada, the company is sticking with our own vernacular, so RiverTV is a vBDU, or virtual broadcast distribution undertaking.
Like conventional BDUs, and VMedia TV is one of those, RiverTV packages top specialty channels Canadian programming groups including Corus, Blue Ant Media, Channel Zero and Wildbrain, as well as…
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By Denis Carmel
GATINEAU – On May 15, the CRTC sent a request for information to parties involved in its wireless policy review asking: Does the ongoing situation with respect to the Covid-19 pandemic change the views you have previously put forward on any of the issues being examined in this proceeding? Explain why or why not with supporting rationale and evidence, as necessary.”
We expected few minds to have changed and the responses filed on May 29, were almost unanimous. We’re paraphrasing here, but the answers are: “The current crisis reinforces what we’ve been saying.” The anti mobile virtual network…
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TORONTO — The Ontario government today reconfirmed its commitment to invest $150 million to improve broadband and cellular service in rural, remote and underserved areas of the province.
The funding was previously announced in July 2019 as part of the province’s $315-million initiative called Up to Speed: Ontario’s Broadband and Cellular Action Plan.
“As we carefully restart the economic engine of Canada, every region and every community will play a role in bringing jobs and prosperity back to our province,” said Ontario Premier Doug Ford, in today’s news release. “By investing in reliable broadband and cellular service, we are…
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GATINEAU — As part of the CRTC’s ongoing wireless policy review, the Commission has directed Bell Mobility to disclose information previously designated as confidential regarding cost estimates related to the implementation of seamless roaming.
The order comes in a procedural letter dated May 29, in which the CRTC says Bell Mobility must “disclose its estimate of the per-border initial setup and ongoing maintenance costs associated with seamless roaming.” Bell is to provide the information to the Commission by June 5.
The request for disclosure came from Cogeco Communications in an April 30th letter submitted to the CRTC.
The Commission notes in…
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OTTAWA — The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) and the National Pensioners Federation (NPF) filed Monday a petition to the Governor in Council (i.e., cabinet) to reverse the CRTC’s decision in March denying PIAC-NPF’s request to require Telus’s flanker brand Koodo Mobile to provide paper bills to customers upon request.
Starting in April 2018, Koodo Mobile began changing most of its existing customers’ monthly bills from paper to electronic format.
“Canadian consumers deserve a paper bill if they want or need one,” said John Lawford, executive director and general counsel of PIAC, in the news release. “The CRTC and…
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By Denis Carmel
GATINEAU – While a National Post consumer reporter shared his story of having his phone number ported against his will last week, the next day, coincidentally, the CRTC sent a request for information to wireless providers asking them further information on that very subject.
At the beginning of this “process” (although it’s not an official CRTC proceeding at this point) the Public Interest Advocacy Centre had voiced its reservations about the nature of this exercise, asking for a public hearing.
In effect, this started in January 2020 with a CRTC staff letter (not a notice initiating a…
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By Denis Carmel
GATINEAU – Saying it is suffering from an asymmetrical marketplace, Shaw filed an application to the CRTC on May 27th, requesting interim relief from having to offer access to its network to resellers, at mandated rates while Telus and Bell/MTS have no such obligations for their higher speed offerings.
The application was filed the same day the company launched its Fibre+ Gig service, across 99% of their network.
“Five years have now passed since the last review of the Commission’s wholesale wireline framework and ILECs’ fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) services continue to enjoy a regulatory holiday from mandated HSA requirements….
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GATINEAU — On Monday, the CRTC initiated a proceeding to examine the offer and promotion of accessible wireless plans by wireless service providers and the extent to which these plans meet the needs of Canadians with various disabilities.
All retail wireless service providers are required to offer accessible wireless plans and to promote those plans in ways that are accessible, including through stores, websites and customer service representatives.
The aim of the proceeding, however, is to look at how wireless service providers are complying with these requirements, whether differences exist between primary and flanker brands, whether the plans currently offered and…
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MONTREAL — In an all-cash transaction valued at $1.04 billion, BCE announced Monday it is selling 25 data centre facilities located at 13 sites to global interconnection services provider and data centre company Equinix Inc.
“This transaction reinforces Bell’s strategy to focus investment on the network infrastructure, content and services necessary to advance how Canadians connect with each other and the world. Equinix, with its expanding platform of data centres here in Canada and worldwide, is well-positioned to maximize the opportunities these facilities represent for Canadian businesses in an increasingly global and interconnected data sector,” said Mirko Bibic, president and…
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Regional carriers acknowledge opportunity exists, though
By Greg O’Brien
TORONTO – It was heartening to hear from a handful of the top Canadian telecom executives on Wednesday when they detailed how their companies have, admirably, responded to the Covid-19 crisis.
Suspensions of overage fees, no disconnects, working with businesses and consumers to defer payments or re-do packages to help as they struggle financially, serious progress on remote health (especially by Telus), self-installs, employees working from home, networks which have remained robust and resilient, and charitable contributions too numerous to count, it has been an 11-week stretch like none of us have ever…
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