Moore promises to outlaw ‘pay-to-pay’ billing

Hours after a meeting between telecommunications companies and CRTC officials regarding paper-billing charges that failed to end in a result satisfactory to policy-makers, Industry Minister James Moore said via social media he'll solve the issue with legislation.

“Our Government will introduce legislation to end pay-to-pay billing practices for telecom industry #ConsumersFirst,” Moore said on Twitter late Thursday evening.

Conspicuous by its absence in TV review: OTT services

In a little more than a week, the people who make and produce, broadcast and distribute, analyze and report on the Canadian television industry will gather in Gatineau, Que., to spend two weeks talking about its future.

Comwave applies to provide TV service in Ontario

A Toronto-based provider of Internet and phone service is looking to enter Ontario's television-distribution market, according documents on the CRTC's website.

Comwave Networks Inc. has applied for a broadcast distribution licence in several of the province's markets, including areas in and surrounding Toronto, Hamilton, Ottawa, Kitchener, Windsor and London, the CRTC said on its website Wednesday. It is one of the applications the commission will consider at a hearing in Gatineau, Que., on Oct. 28.

CRTC denies French channel targeting viewers 50-plus

The CRTC on Tuesday said it has denied an application for a French-language TV channel that would target viewers aged 50 and older.

The applicant was Le Groupe 50+ ltée, which was proposing a specialty Category B service called Canal 50+.

Shaw lobbying federal officials ahead of CRTC TV review

Shaw Communications Inc. is stepping up its lobbying ahead of the CRTC’s Let’s Talk TV hearing in September, meeting with various MPs in their ridings as well senior public servants in Ottawa over the last month.

Shaw reported the second-most communications with public office holders in July, the federal lobbyist registry shows, with 11, all on the subject of broadcasting, though some dealt with telecommunications as well. The cable and Internet provider trailed only the Mining Association of Canada, which reported 12 communications.

BCE, Rogers tell CRTC they don’t throttle mobile traffic

In documents submitted to the CRTC this week, BCE Inc. said it does not throttle mobile data traffic, though it’s prepared to if necessary, while Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron said it does and there is no contradiction between that and its experiment with mobile-TV plans where the data used does not count against caps.

Watchdog warns pick-and-pay would hurt economy

Friends of Canadian Broadcasting warned Friday that adopting proposals for reform of the television industry such as pick-and-pay, as put forward by the CRTC, could cost the economy tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars.

CRTC process for establishing video relay delayed

The CRTC is still trying to establish the structure and mandate for an administrator that would oversee its planned video-relay system to help hearing-impaired people make phone calls, with a deadline for a proposal and associated information pushed back more than three months from its initial date.

CRTC awards PIAC costs in paper bill proceeding

The CRTC has ordered 10 different telecommunications companies to pay $22,135.06 in costs incurred by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) during its paper bill proceeding.

CRTC gives public another chance for TV comment

The CRTC is giving the public another chance to make its views known in the review of the national television industry through an online forum, and it has also narrowed down its priorities for discussion to four general areas.

Wind lowers domestic roaming prices

Wind Mobile on Thursday announced lower prices for domestic roaming as it begins using higher-quality networks for its customers travelling outside their base.

The company said in a press release that data speeds will be up to 350 times faster for customers roaming within Canada, with speeds as fast as 42 Mbps. The price of that data has dropped to five cents per MB from $1, Wind added.

Wind said the domestic-roaming price for voice has declined to 15 cents per minute from 20 cents, and texting is down to five cents per message from 15 cents.

DiversityCanada granted fraction of costs claimed in CRTC proceeding

Vancouver station stuck with Canadian blues

A Vancouver radio station has received a renewal of its broadcast licence for the next five years, though it has been denied its request for relief on certain content requirements in the music it plays.

Non-licensed B.C. radio stations face CRTC hearing

The CRTC said Wednesday it will hold a hearing this fall that considers three radio stations it says are in violation of the Broadcasting Act by operating out of British Columbia's Lower Mainland and having their signals transmitted from the United States back into Canada without a CRTC-issued licence.

The operators in question are Radio India (2003) Ltd. and Radio Punjab Ltd. of Surrey, and Sher-E-Punjab Radio Broadcasting Inc. of Richmond.

Wireless code effects include higher prices, slow customer growth: analysts

More than eight months after its implementation and more than a year after it was announced, effects of CRTC's wireless code include higher prices and slower growth in mobile-service subscribers, say analysts.

"The most obvious overall effect is it's raised consumer prices by $5 per month," Canaccord Genuity telecom analyst Dvai Ghose said in a phone interview.

Wireless firms dispute implied power of CRTC

Canada's wireless firms are disputing the federal government's assertion that the Telecommunications Act implicitly gives the CRTC authority to override existing contracts, as its wireless code will do next year.

CRTC approves Starlight licence application

The CRTC has granted a category B broadcasting licence to Starlight, a Canadian movie channel.

The CRTC said the channel would “include Canadian feature films, Canadian feature documentaries, Canadian made-for-TV movies, and programs with or about Canadian creators.”

CRTC releases figures on wireless wholesale caps

On Wednesday the CRTC released average domestic retail prices for wireless carriers as part of its ongoing examination of the wholesale wireless market in Canada.

CRTC finds Rogers’ treatment of Wind Mobile ‘unjust’

The CRTC issued a decision Thursday in the first of its two reviews of wholesale wireless roaming in Canada, finding that Rogers Communications Inc. committed “unjust discrimination” in its domestic roaming agreements and banning roaming contracts that prevent smaller carriers from using other carriers’ networks.

CRTC approves Rogers licence renewals

The CRTC said on Thursday it approved a number of licence renewals for stations owned by Rogers Communications Inc. and determined that Rogers qualified for a group-based approach to the licensing of its stations, giving the company more flexibility in its Canadian content spending.

The CRTC also revoked licences for Rogers’ OMNI stations and said that it would issue new licences that would “have the effect of aligning the OMNI stations with a two-year renewal cycle along with other Rogers properties.”

CRTC says public interest ‘paramount’ in paper bill meeting

The CRTC said in a letter to the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) on Wednesday that “acting in the public interest is paramount” in the regulator's approach to companies charging for paper copies of customers’ bills.

Free cruise sales company pays $20k for unwanted calls

Travel package sales company Suitelife Vacations Club paid a $20,000 fine to the CRTC for violating the national Do Not Call List (DNCL) and promised to change its telemarketing practices in the future, the regulator said on Wednesday.

The CRTC said Suitelife used third-party telemarketing firms to make unsolicited calls to Canadians, including those who had registered on the DNCL.

According to complaints posted to an Internet phone directory forum, Suitelife would tell recipients of the calls that they had won a prize such as a free trip, hotel stay, or cruise.

Yukon looking to implement territory-wide 911 service

The Yukon government is working with Northwestel Inc. to expand the 911 emergency call service to include every community in the territory, according to a Part 1 application sent to the CRTC on July 28.

Currently 911 service is only offered in the territorial capital, Whitehorse, while those outside that region have to dial separate local 7-digit numbers to access police, fire, and paramedics.

CRTC chooses Clear Sky radio application for Cranbrook

The CRTC has approved an application by Clear Sky Radio Inc. for a new radio station in Cranbrook, B.C., and denied an application by Newcap Inc. for a radio station in the same market.

The CRTC said Clear Sky’s application “best meets the needs of the Cranbrook radio market,” and that the new station would introduce competition and diversity into the market.

PIAC asks CRTC to reconsider paper billing decision

The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) and the Consumers’ Association of Canada (CAC) have released an open letter to CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais regarding the CRTC’s decision to hold a meeting with telecommunications companies regarding paper billing.

Xplornet pledges 100% rural broadband coverage by 2017

Rural Internet provider Xplornet Communications Inc. said in a news release Monday that it will bring broadband to 100 per cent of Canada’s rural population by 2017.

The company, which claims to be the country's largest rural broadband provider, said in the release it would reach the goal by rolling out an LTE wireless network as well as two new satellites to make 25 Mbps broadband available to every home and business “outside of the big urban cities.”

TV providers divided on set-top ratings system

Canada’s biggest television providers are divided over the future of audience measurement via the next generation of set-top boxes.

As part of their submissions in the CRTC’s ongoing Let’s Talk TV consultation, BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc., Telus Corp., Quebecor Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc. all weighed in on the creation of a new audience measurement system based on set-top box (STB) data.

Complaint filed on Telus prepaid customer policy

Two groups have filed a complaint with the CRTC against a Telus Corp. regarding its policy that requires prepaid wireless customers with a balance of over $300 to acquire 30-day plans or add-ons.

The complaint, filed July 17 and posted on the CRTC website Friday, was submitted by the National Pensioners Federation, which represents seniors, and the DiversityCanada Foundation, which works on the behalf of “the disadvantaged, the vulnerable, and the marginalized.”

Bell files another complaint about condo access

BCE Inc. has filed a complaint against Plazacorp Investments Ltd. and Rogers Communications Inc., asking for access to one of Plazacorp’s Toronto condo buildings, a month after the CRTC closed a similar complaint against a different building.

PIAC says up to $600M annually at stake in paper-billing issue

The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) says up to $600 million a year is at stake as the CRTC gets set to meet with telecommunications companies to discuss the practice of charging customers to receive paper bills.

John Lawford, PIAC’s executive director, said in a phone interview that PIAC has put together estimates for a report, which will come out in the coming weeks.

French-language Christian radio station approved for Ottawa

The CRTC has approved a broadcast licence for a French-language FM radio station in Ottawa that will play Christian music.

The commission said on its website that it has approved the application made by Fiston Kalambay on behalf of a to-be-incorporated, not-for-profit group.

A posting on the CRTC's website Tuesday said the station would target members of the French-language community in Ottawa between the ages of 13 and 55.

Northwestel allowed to charge extra for standalone Internet

The CRTC said Monday it has granted Northwestel Inc. permission to charge extra to customers who subscribe to its Internet service without its landline phone service.

The commission added that it has yet to determine whether Northwestel's proposed surcharges — $20 for residences and $30 for businesses — are appropriate.

SaskTel renews PPV licence, independent committee still required

Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. was granted a renewal of its licence to operate a national pay-per-view service, the CRTC said Friday, though it was denied a request to eliminate the requirement of using an independent programming committee for decisions related to content considered a "local expression."

SaskTel's licence for the pay-per-view service is expiring Aug. 31, the CRTC said in a posting on its website. Its renewal is in effect until Aug. 31, 2021.

Netflix-Disney deal expected to hit movie channels, BDUs

A deal between Netflix Inc. and Walt Disney Co. that will see Walt Disney Studios’ movies appear on Netflix’s Canadian streaming service as soon as eight months after they hit the theatres will affect premium movie channels most directly, though it will also have a “trickle-down” effect on the whole TV system, said broadcasting analyst Mario Mota.

CRTC denies distribution for Saudi channel

The CRTC has denied the addition of Arabic-language channel OSN Ya Hala HD to the list of non-Canadian programming services authorized for distribution.

The commission said in a decision Wednesday that there was not enough evidence on the record that the channel’s Canadian sponsor, Soundview Entertainment Inc., has the necessary rights to distribute the Saudi Arabian general-interest channel in Canada.

Lower-end telecom plans get biggest rate hikes: report

Telecommunications companies increased prices most, proportionally, over the last year for those subscribing to the lowest-end wireless, broadband-Internet and home-phone plans, according to a report released by the CRTC on Monday.

Corus gets relief on Canadian programming provisions

Corus Entertainment Inc. was granted amendments to its broadcasting licences for Teletoon, Teletoon Retro, Historia and Séries+ regarding minimum amounts to be spent on Canadian programming.

The licences state that the Teletoon channels have to devote 34 per cent of the previous year's revenue to Canadian programming and 26 per cent to programs of national interest, while the French-language Historia and Séries+ must put 30 per cent of the previous year's revenue toward Canadian programming.

Bell sponsors Ukrainian TV channel application

BCE Inc. is sponsoring an application from TV Media Planet Ltd. to have a Ukrainian television channel approved for distribution in Canada.

The application appeared on the CRTC's website Thursday. An attached letter from TV Media Planet said the channel, 1+1 International, is a version of one of the most popular channels in Ukraine called Studio 1+1. The international version, it said, is intended for Ukrainians living abroad, and is currently available across Europe, the United States and Israel, among other places.

Cogeco partners with TiVo, ditches IPTV plans

Cogeco Cable Inc. has abandoned a multi-year project to establish an Internet protocol-based TV platform in Canada and will instead launch a service in partnership with TiVo Inc. that its CEO says gives it "all of what we want and more."

The decision to cancel plans for building out an IPTV system for Canada resulted in its third-quarter profit being cut almost in half, the company announced in a press release issued late Wednesday.

Penetration-based pricing biggest barrier to pick-and-pay: analyst

The biggest challenge standing in the way of a pick-and-pay TV system is the current penetration-based rate card regime, Scotia Capital telecom analyst Jeff Fan said in a research note.

Soundview applies to bring Haitian channel to Canada

Soundview Entertainment Inc. has asked the CRTC to make the Creole-language Haiti HD channel available for distribution in Canada.

In a letter to the regulator, it described the channel as “a niche-interest Creole-language service from the United States focusing on Haitian movies and music programming.”

TV advertising revenues fell last year: StatsCan

Canadian television broadcasters' revenues fell 1.3 per cent to $7.5 billion last  year, with the decline affecting “every segment of the industry, except specialty television,” Statistics Canada said Monday.

Advertising revenues, in particular, declined 2.3 per cent from 2012 to 2013, to $3.4 billion, the federal agency said on its website.

Conventional-TV stations saw their operating revenue decline six per cent to $3.4 billion last year, Statistics Canada's data showed.

Rogers wireless home phone not subject to local-exchange rules: CRTC

The CRTC said Wednesday that it has denied a request from Wightman Telecom Ltd. for Rogers Communications Inc.'s wireless home-phone service to be classified as a competitive local exchange carrier.

The commission said in an online notice that it "has not established a rule that a service that is a close substitute for a wireline local exchange service should be offered by a service provider only as a CLEC."

TV industry at odds on future of over-the-air

BCE Inc. wants to see over-the-air (OTA) transmitters shut down and local stations move to a model it called “local specialty,” under which they would negotiate wholesale fees with cable, IPTV and satellite-TV providers.

Bell asks CRTC to push Cogeco on customer-transfer system

BCE Inc. has asked the CRTC to force Cogeco Cable Inc. to implement an automated system for facilitating the transfer of customers between different telecommunications companies by the start of next year.

CFIB asks James Moore for help on anti-spam law

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business said in a letter to Industry Minister James Moore Monday that it wants the government to emphasize "education before enforcement" in regard to new anti-spam legislation coming into effect July 1.

Blais warns against too much competition in wireless

CRTC Chairman Jean-Pierre Blais reportedly said in an interview with the Financial Post that the commission needs to be careful not to force roaming rates that are prohibitively low or encourage too much competition.

The article quoted Blais as saying that “having too many competitors and unnaturally low prices could also mean that people aren’t investing appropriately in their networks and therefore it may be a short gain for a long-term pain.”

CRTC makes do-not-call registrations permanent

The CRTC said Wednesday that registrations on Canada's do-not-call list will now be permanent.

Previously, those that registered phone numbers with this database would have had to register again after six years.

Telemarketers are legally forbidden from calling numbers on the do-not-call list. The CRTC said since the list was introduced in 2008, it has imposed fines of almost $4 million for infractions.

CRTC delays deadline for TV-review comments till Friday

The CRTC said Monday it is extending the deadline for submitting comments in the third phase of its Let's Talk TV proceedings until Friday.

The deadline had previously been set for Wednesday.

CRTC renews B.C. radio licence with warning

The CRTC has renewed the broadcast license of a radio station in Salt Spring Island, B.C., though it warned that if the station does not comply with its regulatory requirements its license could be suspended or revoked.

On Friday, the commission said it renewed the broadcast license for CFSI-FM Salt Spring Island from Sept. 1, 2014 through Aug. 31, 2015, and at the same time issued mandatory orders requiring the station to comply with the commission’s radio regulations.

New Ontario area code delayed by a year

The CRTC said Friday that the implementation date for a new area code in southwestern Ontario has been pushed back a year as new information indicates numbers within existing area codes there will not run out as quickly as previously thought.

It said in an online notice that adding the area code 548 in areas currently covered by 519 and 226 will happen by June 4, 2016, instead of the same date in 2015. The CRTC said its latest projection shows numbers in these areas will run out in May 2018, not September 2015.

Ottawa company brings PVR capability to over-the-air TV

Amid the many challenges television service providers were already facing, along came an Ottawa company making devices with digital recording capabilities and electronic-guide functionality for those who rely on over-the-air signals for their TV.

Public backs heavy CRTC hand in TV service: survey

The CRTC has the backing of the general public if it decides to get into regulating the prices people pay for television service, according to a new survey.

A poll done by Forum Research, released in advance to The Wire Report, shows that 79 per cent of respondents agree with the idea of the CRTC getting back into the practice of regulating cable and satellite fees, while 60 per cent "strongly" agree.

Quebecor says it needs regulated roaming to become fourth carrier

Quebecor Inc. said explicitly Wednesday that it intends to become Canada's "fourth wireless competitor," though it needs "a fair and competitive federally regulated roaming policy."

The company made the assertion in a press release that was issued at about the same time as its CEO Pierre Dion was making the closing keynote address to the Canadian Telecom Summit in Toronto.

Has the time come to make broadband a basic service?

As the CRTC is set to reconsider what constitutes a basic telecommunications service, some voices are saying that it’s about time to include broadband Internet in that definition.

Under current rules, basic service includes a telephone line “with capability to connect via low-speed data transmission to the Internet at local rates,” according to the commission’s website — a definition set in 1999 that includes services such as “Touch-Tone dialing” and “a copy of a current local telephone directory.”

Yves Dupras returning to CRTC

Heritage Minister Shelly Glover announced Tuesday that Quebec lawyer Yves Dupras was returning as a commissioner of the CRTC.

A press release from Heritage Canada said Dupras would start a five-year term as a full-time designated Quebec member of the commission on Aug. 11.

Dupras, Heritage Canada said, was a part-time member of the CRTC in 1992 and a full-time member from 1993 to 1998.

Regulatory uncertainty could hurt innovation: experts

TORONTO — Ongoing interventions by Industry Canada, the Competition Bureau and the CRTC into Canada’s wireless industry are likely to harm future investments by telecom companies, Brookings Institute economist Robert Crandall told an audience at the Canadian Telecom Summit on Monday.

Crandall was one of four presenters at a panel on competition in telecom, in which few kind words were spoken about the government’s attempts to encourage wireless competition.

CRTC allows exception on affiliate rates

The CRTC said Monday it has allowed an exception to its rule that telecommunications service providers' affiliates must charge identical rates to the incumbent phone company that controls them when reselling its services that are subject to a tariff.

CRTC drops Bell complaint about condo access

The CRTC has closed an undue preference complaint by BCE Inc. against Rogers Communications Inc. regarding access to a Toronto condo building.

Cogeco Cable looks to enter wireless market

Internet- and television-service provider Cogeco Cable Inc. is looking to enter the wireless market if the CRTC paves the way with new rules as part of its ongoing review of the wholesale wireless sector, the company’s director of regulatory affairs said in a phone interview this week.

Michel Messier said Tuesday that Montreal-based Cogeco will not build its own wireless infrastructure but is interested in becoming a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), buying services from Canada’s incumbent carriers and re-selling them to its customers.

No registration needed for CRTC licence lobbying

Canada's lobbying commissioner says attempts to convince the CRTC to grant a broadcast licence do not have to be registered under the Lobbying Act, The Lobby Monitor reported Thursday.

Telecom Act allows retroactive code application, says government

The Telecommunications Act gives the CRTC the authority to apply its wireless code in such a way that it nullifies existing customer contracts, the federal government said in a new court filing defending parts of the code against a challenge by wireless carriers.

CRTC approves Ontario station disaffiliation from CBC

The CRTC has approved an application by a Thunday Bay, Ont., broadcaster to disaffiliate from CBC/Radio-Canada.

Thunder Bay Electronics Ltd. said in a Feb. 28 letter filed with the CRTC that it was seeking the disaffiliation “so that CKPR-DT can move forward and be an economically viable operation.” It asked for the disaffiliation agreement to become effective Aug. 31, 2014.

CRTC warns companies as rural broadband deadline looms

This week the CRTC warned three companies — Telus Corp., BCE Inc. and Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. — about missing a late-August deadline for expanding broadband service to rural communities.

The deadline is part of a 2006 agreement on the use of money set aside from the companies’ telephone operations as independent local exchange carriers (ILECs) between 2002 and 2006 at the behest of the CRTC.

Canadian TV packages more flexible than in U.S.: study

A report appearing on the CRTC's website Friday indicated that Canadian television service providers are offering more choice and flexibility than ones in the United States in selected markets.

The study, done by Ottawa-based business consultant David Keeble, studied TV offerings in three markets in Canada, which he contrasted with three comparable markets in the U.S.

"On the evidence gathered in this report, Canadian BDUs offer the consumer more flexibility than their American counterparts," the report said.

Advocacy groups petition government on prepaid expirations

A pair of advocacy groups are asking to the government to overrule the CRTC's decision not to include a ban on expiration dates on prepaid wireless services in the wireless code that took effect late last year.

The DiversityCanada Foundation and the National Pensioners Federation made a petition to the federal cabinet to quash a section of the code that allow wireless providers to continue to let prepaid usage on cellphones expire, according to a blog post by Celia Sankar, executive director of the Diversity Canada group.

CRTC approves Cycle TV

The CRTC has approved a broadcasting licence for Cycle TV, a national English-language specialty TV channel.

The commission said in its decision Friday that the channel would “offer programming devoted to the world of cycling and its associated activities, including purchasing, cycling accessories, clothing options, training techniques and national/international cycling reports.”

Former CRTC vice-chair joins DHX board

David Colville, a former vice-chairman and commissioner with the CRTC, has been appointed to the board of directors for television content creator and distributor DHX Media Ltd.

The company said in a press release Tuesday that Colville and Geoffrey Machum, a senior partner with law firm Stewart McKelvey and chairman of the Halifax Port Authority, would fill two vacant seats on the board.

CRTC approves distribution of Hindi movie channel

The CRTC has approved an application from Asian Television Network International Ltd. to add UTV Movies International to its list of non-Canadian programming services authorized for distribution.

ATN described the channel as a Hindi-language channel with programming mostly from India, “devoted to movies and other interstitial programming such as movie songs, interviews related to movies as well as behind-the-scenes and other movie-related content,” the CRTC said.

Newcap asks for flexibility in local TV requirements

Newcap Inc. is asking the CRTC for more flexibility in how the company meets local programming requirements for two television stations in Lloydminster, Alta.

In an application posted to the commission’s website on Friday, Newcap said it is struggling with local programing requirements for CKSA-DT and CITL-DT that increased by 50 per cent last year, and less financial support to meet those goals.

CRTC should have more authority in telecom, PIAC lawyers say

A recent paper from the lawyers representing the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) calls for changes in government structure that would give the CRTC more uncontested authority in governing the telecommunications sector.

CRTC denies Rogers request for French radio ads

The CRTC denied two requests from the broadcasting arm of Rogers Communications Inc. to add up to a half-hour of French-language commercials per week to three English-language radio stations in northern Ontario on Thursday.

In postings on the commission’s website, the CRTC said Rogers Broadcasting Ltd. (RBL) hadn’t cited an economic need for the request and had not applied for a licence for French-language programming.

French carrier Orange, Competition Bureau intervene in wholesale review

Orange Horizons, an arm of French telecom giant Orange SA tasked with exploring new markets, said in a CRTC filing on Wednesday that it is taking a close look at the Canadian wireless market.

Mobile TV is not a broadcast distribution service: CNOC

Mobile-TV services, such as that offered by BCE Inc.'s Bell Mobility subsidiary, are not broadcast distribution services, critics said in final reply letters that were due this week in a case before the CRTC regarding the legality of exempting those services from customers’ regular data caps.

Capping wholesale roaming rates at retail level not enough: study

While the federal government’s current plan for limiting wholesale roaming rates charged within the wireless industry is a “step in the right direction,” a new study from the SeaBoard Group said the move does not go far enough.

Two non-Canadian, Greek-langage TV channels approved

The CRTC on Friday announced the approval of two separate applications for Greek-language, non-Canadian TV channels to be distributed in Canada.

Soundview Entertainment Inc. was the sponsor for both.

One channel is RIK, which the CRTC said in an online post is a 24-hour general interest service originating in Cyprus. The other is called 4E TV, which was also described as a 24-hour general interest service, though it’s based in Greece.

Most don’t recall government’s wireless ads: survey

Polling done for Industry Canada suggests most Canadians have not noticed the government's advertising campaign about the wireless industry.

CRTC dismisses complaints against Hindi women’s channels

The CRTC dismissed one challenge and overruled another on Thursday against Ethnic Channels Group Ltd., the operator of a channel aimed at Hindi-speaking women, allowing them to add a second channel of the same type to their offerings.

Asian Television Network International Ltd. (ATN) had complained to the CRTC that the Zee TV Canada channel, Ethnic Channels Group’s first channel for Hindi-speaking women, was operating as a general-interest service rather than a niche third-language channel as required by its licence.

VMedia plans could ‘undermine’ broadcast system: Ethnic Channels

Granting VMedia Inc. licences to operate a national video-on-demand (VOD) service and expand its broadcast distribution service would mean approving a distribution structure that would “undermine the entire broadcasting system,” according to Ethnic Channels Group Ltd.

Federal government’s approach to wireless has failed: study

The federal government’s meddling in the wireless market over the past seven years and its focus on bringing a fourth carrier into every region has failed to bring about meaningful competition, according to a new study from the Montreal Economic Institute.

The report’s authors, Martin Masse and Paul Beaudry, wrote that, in trying to promote competition, Industry Canada and the CRTC have ignored market realities and “lost sight of the ultimate goal of promoting the development of a dynamic, efficient industry.”

Uncertain future for targeted TV ads in Canada

One of television’s strengths as a vehicle for advertising has always been its ability to reach a lot of people with the same message at the same time. The industry has the technological capability to move in a different direction now and already has, to some degree, in the United States.

Possibilities exist that can allow TV advertisers to reach smaller groups of individuals with their commercials that target households in specific locations and in particular demographic groups.

CBC conventional-TV financial performance improves: CRTC

CBC/Radio-Canada’s conventional-television operations improved their financial performance in the 12 months ended last August while private-sector, over-the-air TV stations collectively recorded their first loss before interest and taxes since the recession of 2009, according to the CRTC.

Numbers released by the commission on Tuesday showed that CBC’s conventional-TV stations recorded a profit before interest and taxes of $11.9 million in the broadcast year ended Aug. 31, 2013, up from $3.5 million a year earlier.

Vermont radio station protests Concordia FM application

Vermont Public Radio is appealing to its listeners in Montreal to pressure the CRTC to not allow a Concordia University students group to launch a new FM signal that would be on the same frequency.

Price hikes for sports in pick-and-pay ‘big concern’: CMPA lawyer

OTTAWA — The CRTC would be unlikely to intervene if a move to pick-and-pay television caused price increases, said Reynolds Martin, chief negotiator and chief legal officer at the Canadian Media Production Association.

“I wonder what remedies would be available to the commission, because my supposition is that it’s going to be extremely reluctant to engage in any kind of rate regulation exercise over and above what’s been contemplated [and] done in the past,” he said during a panel discussion at a communication law conference in Ottawa on Thursday.

Bell defends targeted ad program as ‘transparent’

BCE Inc.’s chief legal and regulatory officer told a Senate hearing on Wednesday night that his company’s targeted advertising program respects Canada’s current privacy laws.

Mirko Bibic repeatedly compared his company to Facebook Inc. and Google Inc., which he said have access to richer and more personal data than Bell, and said his company needs the targeted advertising program to compete with those “global players.”

Court strikes out parts of CRTC filing on wireless code

The Federal Court of Appeal has struck out parts of a memorandum the CRTC filed in response to the case in which wireless carriers are challenging the commission’s authority to make the wireless code apply to all contracts, regardless of when they were signed, as of June 2015.

CRTC postpones application for radio frequency change

The CRTC said Tuesday that an application that was to be heard May 13 from a radio station seeking to change its frequency has been delayed due to an advisory from Industry Canada that its request “is not technically acceptable.”

Tangible benefits spending dropped 39% last year: report

Television broadcasters’ spending on tangible benefits related to acquisitions dropped 39 per cent for the 12 months ended last August, according to a new report.

Boon Dog Professional Services, an Ottawa-based research group, said in a press release that spending on tangible benefits amounted to $108.8 million in 2012-13, down from a record $177.1 million in 2011-12.