OTTAWA – Seven out of 10 Canadians don’t want the incumbent telephone companies to set their own prices for local phone service, according to a new survey conducted by a consumer watchdog group opposing telephone deregulation.
The survey asked 1,200 Canadians if they agreed with the statement, “My local telephone company should be able to charge what it wants for monthly local telephone rates without having them approved as reasonable by the CRTC.” Four percent strongly agreed, and 16% agreed. But 36% disagreed and another 36% strongly disagreed. (Seven percent had no opinion, and 2% either didn’t know or…
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TORONTO – Broadcasting veteran Kevin Shea has been named chair of the Ontario Media Development Corporation, a provincial agency that promotes investment and employment in six cultural industries.
Shea was most recently the president and CEO of Sirius Satellite Radio, but recently started a consulting firm, SheaChez Inc., with clients including the CBC, Standard Broadcasting, and Telus Communications. He’s also been president and CEO of YTV Canada, president and COO of the Global Television Network, and executive VP at Bell Globemedia.
“I am thrilled to become the OMDC’s new chair at such an exciting and pivotal time in its…
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OTTAWA – If the CRTC allowed BDUs such as Telus to carry the Canadian satellite radio services, it could “fundamentally” change the sat rad business plans, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters says in a submission.
In commenting on Telus’ proposal to air either or both of XM and Sirius Canada on its digital cable services in British Columbia, Alberta, and Quebec, the CAB noted that the commission had originally licensed the satellite radio services to be carried via satellite directly to consumers. “BDU distribution was not contemplated in the applications and the Commission, in licensing these services, imposed obligations on…
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OTTAWA – The VOIP decision will stand, with a "but".
Today the CRTC re-affirmed its May 2005 decision on voice over Internet protocol. Federal cabinet told the Commission in May of this year to reconsider that decision after all but one of Canada’s ILEC’s filed an appeal.
However, because of the sheer speed in which Canada’s incumbent local exchange carriers are losing customers, the Commission did signal it’s prepared to alter course when it deems necessary and will already re-examine its March 2006 decision on local forbearance.
Specifically, it "declared that competition in local telephone service is…
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OTTAWA – While three Commissioners dissented with the majority in today’s renewed VOIP decision, not all balked for the same reasons.
While commissioners Stuart Langford and Barbara Cram agreed with the confirmation of the 2005 VOIP ruling but not the announced review of the local forbearance decision, Andrée Noel simply reaffirmed her opposition to the first VOIP decision.
"I agree with the majority that the regulatory regime for local voice over internet protocol (VoIP) services decision is correct and should be reaffirmed," wrote Langford. "I disagree absolutely, however, with the majority’s determination… to reconsider the suitability of one of…
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OTTAWA – The VOIP decision will stand, with a "but".
Today the CRTC re-affirmed its May 2005 decision on voice over Internet protocol. Federal cabinet told the Commission in May of this year to reconsider that decision after all but one of Canada’s ILEC’s filed an appeal.
However, the Commission did signal it’s prepared to alter course when it deems necessary. Specifically, it "declared that competition in local telephone service is taking hold more firmly than anticipated," said this morning’s press release. "As a result, the CRTC is taking steps to reassess certain aspects of its…
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OTTAWA – Broadcasters’ requests to be paid for their signal by cable and satellite companies will remain a part of the TV Policy Review, the Commission told Telus this week.
As exclusively reported by Cartt.ca last week, the western telco petitioned the CRTC to drop discussion of fee-for-carriage due to the changing nature of the broadcast industry both globally (WIPO) and at home (BGM’s proposed CHUM purchase). That and the fact the Commission ruled in 1993 that such fees were beyond its scope of influence.
Broadcasters look at specialty services and the wholesale fees they collect and would like…
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WHO COULD BLAME CANADIAN lawyer Richard Warman for taking a shot with the CRTC last week? What would you do if someone used the web to threaten to kill you, or urge others to do it? Use as many tools as might be at your disposal to protect yourself, I should think.
As you may have read in a number of media reports over the past few days, an Virginia man, Bill White, has called for the Ottawa man’s death (and the death of all Jews, for that matter) and even posted his home address, too, in case someone…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC told Canadians the rights when it comes to telephone service today.
The Commission issued a edict telling all incumbent local exchange companies (ILECs: Bell, Telus, SaskTel, etc.) that they must include this statement of consumer rights on their web sites and in their printed directories. New local competitors do not have to print the document but the Commission encouraged them to do so.
The 4,700-word Commission document "restates key consumer rights with respect to local home phone service, in a clear and comprehensible manner," says the CRTC press release.
"The CRTC has, in the past,…
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SIGNIFICANT. MARKET. POWER.
Those three words appear all through the Telecom Policy Review Report, which Cartt.ca has covered at length. According to my search of that document, the three words appear together 62 times, and a further 65 as its SMP acronym.
When reading that huge report, it’s easy to see how SMP was and is a very big deal to its authors. The Telecom Policy Review Panel was very conscious of the concept and how the companies with SMP might still have to be watched. It’s a key concept of the report.
But you wouldn’t know it from…
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