CRTC postpones CBC licence renewal, sets new deadlines in other proceedings

The CRTC said Wednesday that, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it is postponing CBC/Radio-Canada’s licence renewal hearing to an undetermined later date. The hearing to consider the renewal for the public broadcaster’s licences was originally scheduled for May 25. The regulator also gave BCE Inc. an extension on a previous order to install trunk connections to carry toll-free traffic from Rogers Communications Inc.’s network to Bell customers, which it originally ordered to be installed by 150 days of the December 2019 decision. In an April 3 letter, the CRTC told Bell that it was extending the deadline by 90 days. “Since the record of this proceeding closed on 14 February 2020, Canada has been engulfed by the global COVID-19 pandemic which is having a profound effect on all Canadians, who have been directed by their governments to practice social distancing and to remain at home in order to help contain the spread of this virus,” the CRTC said. That has resulted in millions of Canadians making the move to stay in and work from home, meaning that the volume of traffic on telecom networks has “dramatically increased.” The CRTC said that it recognizes telecoms, including Bell and Rogers, “are rightly focused on ensuring that their networks continue to function at peak efficiency to meet the unique and heavy demands being placed on them at this time.” “The Commission considers that the COVID-19 pandemic represents an unprecedented force majeure situation during which it would not be appropriate for the Commission to expect Bell to make these non-essential changes to their networks.” Also on Wednesday, the CRTC set new deadlines in two proceedings. In its consultation on tariffs for access to incumbent infrastructure in multi-unit dwellings, interventions are now due on May 7. Interventions in its show cause proceeding on residential and wholesale internet services, launched on March 3, are now due on May 4th. The CRTC is asking for comments on why “it is necessary for the wholesale high-speed access (HSA) service providers to differentiate between wholesale HSA services for residential end-users and those for business end-users within the aggregated and disaggregated wholesale HSA service regimes.” In mid-March, the CRTC suspended all deadlines on proceedings open for public comment that were set to close before April 10.

CRTC postpones CBC licence renewal, sets new deadlines in other proceedings

Brief | April 8, 2020

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CRTC postpones CBC licence renewal, sets new deadlines in other proceedings

Brief | April 8, 2020

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