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Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada could launch its $1.7-billion rural broadband fund as early as this spring, according to a briefing note obtained through Access to Information. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you …
Continue reading "Potential spring launch for Universal Broadband Fund: ISED doc"
CloudWifi Inc.’s application for small internet service providers to be able to access fibre in-building wiring (IBW) until a new tariff is set is unnecessary because a system to do so already exists, the Public Interest Advocacy Centre has argued in an intervention. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in …
Continue reading "Fibre wire access scheme already exists, PIAC argues"
BCE Inc. will start building out its 5G network with equipment supplied by Nokia Corp. as it waits for the federal government to decide if Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd gear can be used, the company told investors during its fourth quarterly earnings call Thursday morning. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign …
Continue reading "Bell picks ‘first’ 5G vendor, says regulatory to affect buildout"
BCE Inc. must keep providing Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron with wholesale roaming on an ongoing basis, the CRTC said Wednesday in a decision that also took the two perennial rivals to task for not first working together to solve the issue. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot …
Continue reading "CRTC tells Bell and Quebecor to play nicer in Part 1 roaming decision"
The CRTC has upheld its decision to phase out a subsidy for landlines through 2021, and in a pair of decisions today rejected requests to maintain the subsidy for at least 10 years and to compensate providers for eliminating it. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot …
Continue reading "CRTC says no to delay, compensation for ending landline subsidy"
OTTAWA — On Monday Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault, with some help from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, walked back comments he made over the weekend to CTV News regarding licensing of online news, following the recommendations of an expert panel that news websites be brought into the CRTC’s regulatory sphere. This content is available to wirereport.ca …
Continue reading "Confusion over Guilbeault remarks on BTLR online news recs"
Canada’s telecommunications providers have united to delay the implementation of a system that would detect and flag spoof phone calls, labelling the CRTC’s timeline of Sept. 30 as “too aggressive” and “premature” in interventions to the regulator. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all …
Continue reading "Providers stirred up by ‘premature’ anti-spoofing system deadline"
OTTAWA — Whether or not CBC/Radio-Canada can move away from advertising revenue is a “political decision,” according to Monique Simard, a panelist on the blue-ribbon Broadcast and Telecommunication Legislative Review, known as BTLR. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting …
Continue reading "BTLR panelist ‘optimistic’ about CBC funding"
OTTAWA — The recommendations on passive infrastructure from the expert panel reviewing Canada’s communication laws should be enacted as soon as possible, panel chair Janet Yale said Thursday. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you …
Continue reading "Gov’t should move on passive infrastructure ‘yesterday’: Yale"
OTTAWA — Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault says his government will introduce legislation to implement some of the recommendations from the expert panel reviewing Canada’s communications legislation in the coming months, and could order the CRTC to take action on new rules for streaming services even sooner. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a …
Continue reading "Guilbeault promises BTLR legislation in ‘months’"
OTTAWA — A broadcasting and telecommunications legislative review report recommendation that would task a renamed CRTC with regulating online news sites is the “ok, boomer” approach to the internet, according to Conservative industry critic Michelle Rempel Garner. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all …
Continue reading "BTLR reaction mixed, no clarity on gov’t implementation"
The blue-ribbon panel tasked with modernizing Canada’s communications legislation is calling for “fundamental changes” to how the CRTC operates, including giving the regulator jurisdiction over online news and rules requiring large foreign digital audio and video platforms to contribute to and promote Canadian content. The long-awaited, 200-page report from the broadcasting and telecommunications legislative review …
Continue reading "CRTC should regulate foreign digital services, news sites: BTLR"
This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need. Take a free trial or subscribe to The Wire Report now. FREE TRIAL Two weeks free access to thewirereport.ca and our exlusive newsletters. Register for free …
Continue reading "CRTC to put commercial radio policy framework under the microscope"
Investment in rural broadband infrastructure should be focused on improving areas with Canada’s slowest internet speeds, despite new minimum internet service speeds vastly increasing the amount of Canadian regions considered “underserved”, according to a CRTC submission by the Rural Municipalities of Alberta. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here …
Continue reading "Regions call for overhaul of broadband funding criteria"
The Canadian Network Operators Consortium has asked the CRTC to prevent Bragg Communications Inc.’s Eastlink from effectively requiring a number of its third-party internet access customers to remove a particular type of modem from customers’ premises and use modems from a different manufacturer. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in …
Continue reading "CNOC asks CRTC to stop Eastlink from axing modems"
When the House of Commons comes back after winter break next week, it will be to a political environment in which telecom and media issues are set to take centre stage in an unprecedented way. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian …
Continue reading "As Parliament returns, Bains promises ‘plan’ for lower wireless prices"
BCE Inc.’s push for the CRTC to remove a provision that would require wireless providers seeking funding under the $750-million Broadband Fund to make a pricing commitment has won the backing of Canada’s remaining Big Three providers. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all …
Continue reading "Big Three united in call for scrapping CRTC pricing guarantee"
Rogers Communications Inc. has warned that, depending on what regulatory decisions are made in 2020, the company may cut their capital expenditure investments below the low end of their guidance for the year. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting …
Continue reading "Rogers says further regulation could lead to capex cuts"
The CRTC has asked for information about the unauthorised porting of Canadians’ phone numbers after becoming aware that customers “have been subject to fraudulent activity”, according to a letter sent to the Canadian Wireless Telecommunication Association. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the …
Continue reading "CRTC asks for plan to combat unauthorised phone porting"
A months-long dispute between BCE Inc. and Quebecor Inc. entered yet another phase Friday, as Bell filed for judicial review of the CRTC’s Dec. 19 decision that found Bell gave undue preference to its own French-language sports channel over Quebecor’s own offering, TVA Sports. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign …
Continue reading "Bell appeals CRTC decision in fight over undue preference"
TekSavvy Solutions Inc. has launched a public campaign urging the federal government to reject petitions filed by the major telecommunications providers, calling on it to reverse a CRTC decision that would retroactively cut the rates wholesale-based providers pay for bandwidth from incumbents. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here …
Continue reading "Teksavvy calls for public support in wholesale rates battle"
The CRTC has approved BCE Inc.’s request to make available to interveners the previously redacted methods behind its plan to use artificial intelligence in a proposed 90-day call blocking test. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media …
Continue reading "Bell to reveal AI call-blocking methods to NDA-signing intervenors"
Quebecor Inc. wants CBC/Radio-Canada to shut down its subscription streaming service ICI Tou.tv Extra, and has filed a Part 1 application with the CRTC. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need. Take a free …
Continue reading "Quebecor accuses Radio-Canada of undue preference over Tou.tv"
Complaints about the national emergency alert system have prompted the CRTC to launch a smartphone testing program, as well as requiring wireless providers to report on how alerts are distributed, documents obtained through access to information show. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all …
Continue reading "CRTC launches tests, reporting rules after emergency alert glitches"
There’s no firm timeframe for when Cogeco Inc. will roll out its new IPTV service, despite the cableco previously telling investors it would become available in 2019. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need. …
Continue reading "Cogeco’s IPTV service in beta testing, but no start date"
Telecom providers both big and small have unanimously rejected a Competition Bureau proposal to allow strictly-regulated mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) access to the Big Three’s networks for five years, but for vastly different reasons. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian …
Continue reading "Incumbents, small telecoms pan Competition Bureau MVNO proposal"
The CRTC says there’s no immediate plans to change the regulations governing Canada’s emergency alert system after an Ontario –wide alert about an incident at the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station was sent in error. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, …
Continue reading "No plans to change alerts system, for now: CRTC"
The Liberal government’s minority mandate means it will have to move fast on its promised new rules for Canadian content on foreign digital platforms, Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault says. “We’re in a minority government and we have to do in months what we probably would have done in years in another context,” he said in …
Continue reading "‘Clock ticking’ on new content rules for web giants, Guilbeault says"
CloudWifi Inc. has gone to bat for other small internet service providers as it continues to fight with BCE Inc. over access to in-building fibre wiring, arguing companies should be allowed to access it in buildings where there is no other infrastructure. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here …
Continue reading "CloudWifi says other small ISPs need access to in-building fibre"
The federal government won’t hold a formal consultation on the development of its $1.7-billion Universal Broadband Fund for rural connectivity, as it aims to wrap up the application phase of the project by the end of the year. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock …
Continue reading "$1.7B broadband fund to launch in 2020, no formal consultation: ISED"
The average Canadian home internet speed soared to 126 Mbps in 2018, a 88.9 per cent increase on 2017’s average speed of 66.7 Mbps, according to the CRTC’s Communications Monitoring Report. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital …
Continue reading "Home internet speeds nearly doubled year-over-year: CRTC"
In yet another appeal of the CRTC’s decision lowering wholesale internet rates, BCE Inc. filed a fresh review-and-vary application to the regulator the week before Christmas, arguing that that the CRTC relied on an “irrevocably broken” underlying costing process and framework. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN …
Continue reading "Bell says CRTC used bad costing process in wholesale rate decision"
BCE Inc. is asking the CRTC to remove some of the pricing stipulations on mobile wireless offerings in its November call for applications to the regulator’s $750-million Broadband Fund. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news …
Continue reading "Delete wireless price commitment in Broadband Fund: Bell"
The CRTC has asked telecoms to provide information about wireless plans aimed at Canadians who only need service occasionally or on an emergency basis, as part of its upcoming wireless policy review. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and …
Continue reading "CRTC eyeing occasional-use plans ahead of wireless review"
Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron has purchased a local cable company operating in the same area where the CRTC recently ordered Quebecor rival BCE Inc. to provide Quebecor with wholesale internet service. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media …
Continue reading "Videotron buys cable company in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Que."
The CRTC has ruled on two applications in which rivals BCE Inc. and Quebecor Inc. accused each other of an undue preference when it came to the packaging of the other company’s TV content, concluding that Bell unduly disadvantaged Quebecor’s TVA Sports. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here …
Continue reading "Bell did unduly disadvantage TVA Sports: CRTC"
The nation’s highest court has quashed a 2016 decision by the CRTC to ban the substitution of Canadian advertising on American networks for the Super Bowl, which will mean more work opportunities for Canadian performers, a labour union says. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? …
Continue reading "SCC simsub ban rejection a boon for Canadian performers: ACTRA"
Several independent broadcasters have written to the CRTC to say the regulator shouldn’t grant a request by TV providers to change a rule forcing cable and IPTV services to hand over viewership data. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting …
Continue reading "Broadcasters opposed to STB measurement system proposal"
In an ongoing dispute between BCE Inc. and CloudWifi Inc. over whether Internet service providers like CloudWifi should have access to Bell’s wiring in multi-dwelling units, the CRTC Monday upheld the principle of its decision from June, but acquiesced to part of Bell’s review-and-vary request and initiated a new tariff proceeding on ISP access to …
Continue reading "CloudWifi decision stands, but other ISPs must wait for access"
The latest portion of the CRTC’s Communications Monitoring Report, focused on the mobile retail market and released Monday, shows that wireless industry revenues have gone up, and while smaller providers’ share of that revenue also increased, the Big Three continue to dominate more than 90 per cent of the market. This content is available to …
Continue reading "Wireless revenues, ARPU up industry-wide, CRTC report says"
The CRTC has denied an application by BCE Inc. subsidiary Cablevision du Nord de Québec to eliminate its wholesale internet service, and ordered the company to sell that service to Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting …
Continue reading "Bell subsidiary must provide TPIA service to Videotron: CRTC"
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has delivered a greatly expanded set of telecom and internet-related authorities to returning Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains in this year’s mandate letter. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need. Take …
Continue reading "Telecom in the spotlight in new Bains mandate letter"
The CRTC has responded to requests to divulge the methodology and confidential data in the Competition Bureau’s report on mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), giving the bureau and telecoms who had disclosed confidential information until Dec. 18 to give their input. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN …
Continue reading "Comp. Bureau, telecoms, have until Dec. 18 to defend report confidentiality"
After a November Competition Bureau report endorsed a limited version of mandated access to incumbent networks for mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), Telus Corp. is asking the CRTC to let it see the methodology of the study and submit responses, or else throw the report out altogether. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already …
Continue reading "Telus wants Competition Bureau methodology in MVNO review"
The CRTC is asking all telecoms about what barriers exist that would hinder their ability to deliver the basic service objective for internet access established three years ago. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you …
Continue reading "CRTC consulting on barriers to internet access in remote areas"
When asked who should be most responsible for monitoring the spread of fake news, the most common answer given was the CRTC. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need. Take a free trial or …
Continue reading "Plurality of Canadians think CRTC should monitor fake news"
The Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC) is teaming up with an artificial intelligence platform that it hopes will produce insights, which would otherwise be missed, from a trove of telecom- and broadcast-related documents. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the …
Continue reading "CIPPIC training AI to highlight patterns in regulatory, court docs"
The CRTC Monday announced that it will ask telecom companies to implement a particular anti-call spoofing protocol, called STIR/SHAKEN, by September 30, 2020, and they will have to develop their own technology to do so. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian …
Continue reading "CRTC asks telecoms to implement new anti-spam call protocol"
As part of its review of Canada’s wireless market, the CRTC has launched a survey to find out how Canadians feel about their service providers. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need. Take a …
Continue reading "CRTC surveying Canadians on wireless service"
BCE Inc.’s proposed acquisition of French-language Groupe V Media Inc.’s conventional TV network V would exacerbate a “crisis” in local television and especially local news programming, would negatively impact competition, and “raise serious concerns about Bell’s exercise of market power,” according to an intervention by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre. This content is available to …
Continue reading "V buy would give Bell too much market share: PIAC, Quebecor"
OTTAWA — Brian Masse, the New Democratic Party MP for Windsor, is staying on as his party’s critic for telecommunications and innovation. Masse has been in the portfolio almost consistently since he was first elected in 2002. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all …
Continue reading "Masse stays as NDP telecom critic; Boulerice to take on Heritage"
Rogers Communications Inc. is asking the CRTC if it can delay the implementation of several sections of the newly minted Internet Code, scheduled to come into effect in January of 2020. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital …
Continue reading "Rogers seeks extension for select provisions of the Internet Code"
Quebecor Inc.’s cancellation of its gigabit internet service is akin to a soccer player diving, or feigning injury to draw a penalty, TekSavvy Solutions Inc. is arguing in an intervention to the CRTC. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting …
Continue reading "Videotron ‘diving’ like a soccer player over gigabit internet: TekSavvy"
Consumer advocacy groups are urging the CRTC to require incumbent wireless providers to make low-cost data plans a condition of operation in the latest round of submissions to the regulator’s review of the mobile wireless industry. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the …
Continue reading "Consumer groups push mandated low-cost data plans in wireless review"
Internet service provider TekSavvy Solutions Inc. has appealed a Federal Court order requiring ISPs to block a pair of websites selling allegedly pirated content. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need. Take a free …
Continue reading "TekSavvy files appeal against site-blocking order"
The Competition Bureau is officially endorsing a policy that would temporarily mandate access to the incumbents’ network infrastructure by mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), the watchdog said Monday. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you …
Continue reading "Competition Bureau endorses limited MVNO model"
The CRTC’s decision to lower wholesale rates for its aggregated regime has now been suspended while the Federal Court of Appeal hears and decides on the appeals brought forward by incumbent telecoms. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital …
Continue reading "Federal Court grants leave to appeal, stay in wholesale rate cases"
A group representing independent broadcasters is telling the CRTC it should maintain the rules forcing BCE Inc. into a dispute resolution process over affiliation agreements for its FibeTV. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you …
Continue reading "Keep dispute resolution rule in place for FibeTV, CRTC hears"
NORTH BAY, Ont. — Higher rates telecom providers must pay to connect to hydro poles in Ontario are especially onerous in rural areas, Angela Lawrence, vice-chair at Canadian Communication Systems Alliance (CCSA) and general manager at Hay Communications Co-operative Ltd., said at a rural broadband conference this week. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers …
Continue reading "Hydro pole rates a problem for rural connectivity: CCSA vice-chair"
NORTH BAY Ont. — The CRTC announced on Wednesday that it is now accepting a second round of applications for its Broadband Fund, as those in attendance at a conference focusing on rural connectivity heard about the need for more funding and more intergovernmental cooperation to ease bureaucratic barriers. This content is available to wirereport.ca …
Continue reading "Not enough money for rural broadband, conference hears"
Wednesday saw a flurry of legal moves to overturn a CRTC decision that cut the rates wholesale internet resellers pay for bandwidth from the incumbents, as BCE Inc., Telus Corp. and the country’s major cable companies filed three separate petitions to the governor-in-council asking it to reverse the decision, and Telus doubled up by also filing …
Continue reading "Cablecos, Telus join Bell in petition to government on wholesale rate cut"
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has ruled against BCE Inc. in favour of Internet service provider CloudWifi Inc. in a dispute over whether the issue of the ISP accessing Bell wires in multi-dwelling units is a property dispute or a regulatory matter. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in …
Continue reading "CRTC has sole jurisdiction over in-building wire: Ontario court"
The forthcoming Internet code from the CRTC would make it far too hard for Xplornet Communications Inc. to disconnect customers that haven’t paid, the company argues in a filing to the regulator from October 29. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian …
Continue reading "Internet code will make it too hard to cut off non-payers: Xplornet "
A few months ahead of the introduction of the CRTC’s Internet Code, scheduled for Jan. 31,, a grouping of the largest telecom companies in the country are asking the regulator to make the code apply to smaller internet service providers as well. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here …
Continue reading "Large telecoms say small ISPs should be subject to Internet Code too"
TORONTO — The aggressive way incumbent telecom companies reacted to the CRTC’s lowering of wholesale rates in August was a message that they plan to fight any moves to decrease wholesale rates for fibre-to-the-home networks, Laura Tribe, executive director for internet advocacy group OpenMedia told an industry conference Wednesday. This content is available to wirereport.ca …
Continue reading "Incumbent reaction to wholesale rates warning shot for fibre, conference hears"
Rogers Communications Inc., BCE Inc., and Quebecor Inc. have all told the CRTC that if the regulator allows Corus Entertainment Inc. to shift some of its CanCon requirements from one broadcast year into the next, then the regulator should let them do it to, according to interventions filed with the regulator this week. This content …
Continue reading "If Corus gets to defer CanCon obligations, we should too: Rogers, Bell, Quebecor"
GATINEAU — Either Allarco Entertainment 2008 Inc. is an essential part of the independent Canadian broadcasting landscape, critical to Canadian content producers, or it chronically falters on its Canadian programming expenditures, while short changing Canadian content producers through its financial difficulties, amounting to a consistent violation of the conditions of its broadcasting license. This content …
Continue reading "Allarco’s Super Channel asked to justify its license renewal before the CRTC"
TORONTO — Smaller, wholesale-based internet service providers may be facing a whole new era next year, president of the Canadian Network Operators Consortium (CNOC) Matt Stein told an industry conference. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media …
Continue reading "Wholesale-based ISPs at a ‘critical’ crossroads: CNOC’s Stein"
The objection to the new phone financing plans from the likes of the Competition Bureau is based on an incorrect understanding of device financing arrangements, according to Rogers Communications Inc.’s reply in the CRTC’s ongoing examination of the 36-month phone financing plans that hit the Canadian wireless market over the summer. This content is available …
Continue reading "Rogers further defends 36-month financing"
The CRTC has told six small telecoms who have refused to join the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS) they have until Dec. 16 to explain why. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you …
Continue reading "CRTC orders CCTS-avoiding telecoms to explain themselves"
Cogeco Inc. is looking forward to the upcoming spectrum auctions in 2020, especially since Innovation, Science, and Economic Development put in place new tier 5 spectrum licensing rules this past summer. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital …
Continue reading "Cogeco ‘very optimistic on wireless’: CEO"
Ahead of the CRTC’s wireless review early next year, and on the heels of a report showing Canada is among the highest-priced jurisdictions in the world for data, BCE Inc. executives on Thursday focused on the declining cost of data to push the point that regulatory intervention is unnecessary for competition. This content is available …
Continue reading "Bell to focus on declining mobile service prices in MVNO review"
The CRTC has granted a new broadcasting licence for an FM radio station in Saint-Raymond-de-Portneuf, Quebec. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need. Take a free trial or subscribe to The Wire Report now. …
Continue reading "CRTC approves new radio station in Que. town"
The CRTC said Thursday that companies and organizations which offer free WiFi on their premises and providers of some Internet of Things connections don’t need to register with the regulator. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media …
Continue reading "CRTC clarifies rules for reseller registration"
The CRTC has told Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron it can’t withdraw its gigabit internet offering from the market, after the company did exactly that earlier this month. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need. Take …
Continue reading "CRTC orders Videotron to keep offering gigabit internet"
Some groups are calling for the CRTC to put the brakes on a request by BCE Inc. to test out an artificial intelligence system for blocking nuisance calls, saying not enough is known about the way the program would collect data from users and that it raises privacy concerns. This content is available to wirereport.ca …
Continue reading "Don’t let Bell use AI to block calls, CRTC hears"
In its intervention to the CRTC’s consultation on the emergence of three-year device financing plans, the Competition Bureau has cautioned the regulator against the new financing schemes. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need. …
Continue reading "Bureau says three-year device financing will harm competition"
Despite Conservative leader Andrew Scheer indicating throughout this fall’s election campaign that he would make sure Netflix Inc. pays its “fair share,” his party is refusing to clarify whether he actually plans to introduce any new obligations on the streaming giant. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN …
Continue reading "CPC plans for Netflix, rural broadband still unclear days ahead of vote"
The Federal Court of Appeal has decided it will not hear a case brought by Quebecor Inc. on handing over set-top-box (STB) data to the CRTC. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need. Take …
Continue reading "Federal Court rejects Quebecor’s leave to appeal on STB data"
The CRTC is within its jurisdiction to order companies to keep carrying each other’s TV signals even in the middle of a dispute, Telus Corp. told Federal Court, but the company also argued BCE Inc. isn’t the right entity to defend such an argument. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign …
Continue reading "Telus says Bell in no position to defend CRTC jurisdiction on standstill rule"
The Canadian Network Operators Consortium has filed its arguments in Federal Court against Telus Corp.’s appeal of a CRTC decision that would temporarily suspend a speed cap affecting wholesale-based service providers. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital …
Continue reading "CNOC challenging Telus appeal in speed cap case"
The Centre for Digital Rights, the non-profit founded by former BlackBerry Ltd. co-CEO Jim Balsillie, is asking the CRTC to agree that political parties engage in what is effectively commercial activity, and that a piece of Facebook Inc. software used by the three main political parties is effectively malware and violates Canada’s anti-spam legislation, known …
Continue reading "Political parties’ use of Facebook Pixel violates CASL, CDR says"
GATINEAU — Conservative leader Andrew Scheer refused to say whether he has any intent to tackle telecom affordability in the ongoing federal election campaign, following the English-language debate Monday evening. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here LOGIN Forgot password? Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news …
Continue reading "Scheer refuses to specify if he’ll take action on wireless prices"
As politicians take aim at telecom affordability in this fall’s election campaign, they join a perennial dispute in which industry has taken issue with various reports showing high Canadian prices — and which played a part in why one telecom research firm is, for now, quietly phasing Canada out of its study. This content is …
Continue reading "With telecom affordability, political parties wade into fierce debate"
In 2012, the CRTC released a broadcasting decision that required Sirius XM Holdings Inc. to allocate, as a condition of licence, 20 per cent of some of its revenues to an English-language music fund and 10 per cent to its French-language counterpart. This content is available to wirereport.ca subscribers Already a subscriber? Sign in here …
Continue reading "French music group suing CRTC over 2012 funding decision"
