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Social media companies sued by school boards in Ontario

Internet and Governance | 03/28/2024 5:12 pm EDT

TikTok's logo on an iPhone.Four Ontario school boards have launched a lawsuit against three social media giants for disrupting learning and the education system. The action was announced Thursday morning. The Toronto District School Board, the Peel District School Board, the Toronto Catholic...

Bell asks CRTC to lift regulations on satellite TV distributors

telecom | 03/27/2024 4:17 pm EDT

BCE Inc. asked the CRTC to lighten licensing requirements for ExpressVu, the company’s satellite TV division, and called for all satellite relay distribution undertakings (SRDUs) to be exempt from regulation because of declines in the market.  ExpressVu’s current...

CRTC issues Indigenous broadcasting policy consult; asks about quotas

Media | 03/22/2024 6:16 pm EDT

The CRTC has issued a call for comments as part of Phase 2 of the...

CRTC releases new broadcasting fees regulations

Internet and Governance | 03/22/2024 5:52 pm EDT

After months of consultations, the CRTC has issued its Broadcasting Fees Regulations for all broadcasting...

Globe and Mail reporter digs into story of Rogers Communications 

Media | 03/21/2024 10:06 am EDT

Book cover of Rogers v. Rogers: The Battle for Control of Canada’s Telecom Empire by Alexandra Posadzki.The recent history of Rogers Communications Inc. has had more drama than anything broadcast on its CityTV network. The company poached its CEO Joe Natale from Telus Corp. only to ultimately dismiss...

Unifor demands Bell be held accountable for layoffs

Media | 03/19/2024 6:23 pm EDT

Unifor national president Lana Payne speaking at a media conference on March 19, 2024 (screenshot via CPAC).Unifor, Canada’s largest private sector union, called on BCE Inc. to answer for its recent layoff...

High spectrum costs are the villain in cellular prices, Big 3 tell INDU

telecom | 03/18/2024 3:52 pm EDT

The presidents of the Big Three telecoms told the House of Commons Industry Committee that it is the government which is one of the biggest offenders in wireless prices....

CRTC looking to add a new radio station in Calgary, Alta.

Media | 03/15/2024 1:14 pm EDT

The CRTC is issuing a call for applications from interested parties wishing...

CRTC adopts interim basic 911 features for remote regions, pushes NG911 deadlines 

telecom | 03/14/2024 5:42 pm EDT

The CRTC is delaying transition of next-generation 911 (NG911) services in...

CRTC kicks off Online News Act consultation

Internet and Governance | 03/13/2024 4:46 pm EDT

The CRTC launched its first public consultation on the Online News Act’s regulatory framework to gain...

CRTC rejects Bell’s challenge against wireless attachment jurisdiction

telecom | 03/12/2024 5:06 pm EDT

The CRTC has dismissed BCE Inc.’s application challenging the...

Ontario disability advocate seeks better service from Bell

Media | 03/08/2024 5:39 pm EST

BCE Inc. is the subject of a Part 1 application before the CRTC over access...

Class action suit granted over Rogers’ 2021 service outage

telecom | 03/06/2024 1:09 pm EST

A trio of Quebecers has been granted leave to launch a class action suit against Rogers Communications Inc. and two subsidiaries over a service disruption in April 2021. The filing was submitted last...

Court authorizes class action lawsuit for phone unlocking fees

telecom | 03/05/2024 6:40 pm EST

The Superior Court of Quebec has authorized a class action lawsuit against...

Accessible Media seeks to increase rates for mandatory carriage

Media | 03/05/2024 5:49 pm EST

Accessible Media Inc. (AMI) submitted an application to the CRTC for an...

The Wire Report is hiring an editor

Internet and Governance | 03/05/2024 10:36 am EST

The Wire Report, the leading news source covering telecom, digital communications and broadcast media in Canada, is searching for an editor to join our Ottawa office. The Wire Report is part of The Hill Times Canada’s leading political news company. This is an opportunity to be part of a dynamic and influential newsroom in a growing and vibrant company. As editor, you will lead the news team and have the opportunity to report on and analyze the latest...

Court rejects station’s request for Rogers to disclose subscriber info

Media | 03/04/2024 3:32 pm EST

The Superior Court of Quebec has dismissed a request from RNC Media Inc. to...

Neighbourhood Connect escalates dispute with Bethlehem Housing over MDU access

Media | 02/29/2024 4:35 pm EST

Neighbourhood Connect (NHC), operating under 2621159 Ontario Inc. DBA...

INDU committee passes motion to call on Big 3 telecom CEOs to testify

telecom | 02/29/2024 4:26 pm EST

The House of Commons committee on Industry met Wednesday to discuss...

Updated: CRTC issues consult on mandatory call traceback process for TSPs

telecom | 02/28/2024 5:46 pm EST

This story has been updated to reflect changes to deadlines made by the CRTC on Monday. The CRTC is issuing a consultation on its proposal to make its voluntary call traceback process mandatory for all TSPs offering voice services in Canada to tackle the persistent issue of nuisance calls plaguing consumers. The call traceback process, initiated to curb spam calls,...

UPDATED: Quebecor files complaints to Comp. Bureau against Bell’s alleged abuse of dominance in internet market

telecom | 02/28/2024 4:22 pm EST

Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron and its subsidiary VMedia have lodged two formal complaints with the Competition Bureau, urging an investigation into BCE Inc.'s alleged abuse of...

Building owner ordered to give Execulink access to western Ontario MDUs

telecom | 02/28/2024 4:16 pm EST

The CRTC has approved Execulink Telecom Inc.’s request for access to three multi-dwelling units (MDUs) owned by JLC Homes Ltd. in western Ontario.  The buildings, located in Tillsonburg, Ont. at...

Witnesses at Heritage committee support media forum, disagree on who should pay for it

Media | 02/28/2024 4:15 pm EST

Witnesses before the House of Commons committee on Canadian Heritage all agreed Tuesday that a forum on the future of the media is required. Whether government has a role was...

Bell challenges CRTC’s jurisdictional authority in wireless deployment consultation

telecom | 02/27/2024 5:30 pm EST

The front entrance of the Bell Canada building on Albert Street in Ottawa on Nov. 2, 2021 (photo by Andrew Meade)BCE Inc. is disputing the CRTC’s preliminary...

Telecommunications sector sees strong revenue growth in 2022: CRTC report

telecom | 02/27/2024 4:51 pm EST

Revenues were robust in the telecommunications sector, a new CRTC study has...

Canada’s Bill C-63 takes aim at online hate crimes and child exploitation

Internet and Governance | 02/26/2024 9:32 pm EST

The government of Canada has unveiled its long-awaited Online Harms Act...

INDU wants to force Big 3 CEOs to appear before committee 

telecom | 02/26/2024 5:19 pm EST

With the heads of Canada’s big three telecoms threatening to boycott a...

Beyond tractors: Farmers navigating the digital transition, and broadband barriers

telecom | 02/23/2024 2:35 pm EST

By Paul Park at ppark@thewirereport.ca  Technology is changing the family...

Quebecor reports revenue increase in Q4

Media | 02/22/2024 5:52 pm EST

Quebecor Inc. reported a successful fourth-quarter as it closed out the 2023 fiscal year, which it said was largely due to the continued impact from its Freedom Mobile acquisition.  During a conference call with financial analysts on Thursday, the Montreal-based telecom...

Aggregated access to FTTP needed for independent ISPs, CRTC told

telecom | 02/20/2024 10:24 am EST

The crisis in competition when it comes to internet connectivity is...

Rogers, Cogeco, Quebecor challenge ILECs at CRTC hearings

telecom | 02/16/2024 3:02 pm EST

Representatives from Cogeco Inc. and Rogers Communications Inc. told the...

Reseller market is healthy, incumbents tell CRTC internet hearing

telecom | 02/15/2024 1:39 pm EST

Two large incumbent telecoms told the CRTC that broadband resellers are not...

Providers debate wholesale fibre access in rural areas at CRTC hearing

telecom | 02/14/2024 4:24 pm EST

To bring affordable internet and consumer choice to rural communities, the CRTC must mandate aggregated wholesale fibre access to incumbents’ networks, stated several...

Cogeco defends infrastructure upgrade amid TekSavvy dispute

telecom | 02/13/2024 4:58 pm EST

Cogeco Inc. is adamantly defending its right to upgrade infrastructure for...

Fibre needed for viable third-party access framework, CRTC hears

telecom | 02/13/2024 2:42 pm EST

If Canada is to have a viable wholesale market, high speed access needs to...

Creative orgs call for copyright protections to be added to AI bill

Internet and Governance | 02/13/2024 11:13 am EST

Organizations representing Canada’s creative industries are calling on...

Court denies stay in Bell vs CRTC case

telecom | 02/12/2024 4:40 pm EST

The front entrance of the Bell Canada building on Albert Street in Ottawa on Nov. 2, 2021 (photo by Andrew Meade)The Federal Court of Appeal has dismissed BCE Inc.’s motion for a stay against the CRTC’s decision to...

Trudeau says Bell decision to cut jobs is “garbage”; CNOC not surprised

telecom | 02/09/2024 5:07 pm EST

Reaction has been swift and condemnatory to the announcement Thursday by...

CRTC uses forensic tools sparingly, ETHI committee told

Internet and Governance | 02/08/2024 5:37 pm EST

The CRTC has forensic investigative tools but deploys them rarely, the...

CRTC accepts Quebecor application for arbitration over MVNO with Telus

telecom | 02/07/2024 2:14 pm EST

Quebecor Inc.'s Videotron and Freedom Mobile divisions have been granted a final offer arbitration (FOA) process by the CRTC. The company is in a dispute with Telus Corp. over...

Bell asks cabinet to overturn CRTC decision on fibre network access

telecom | 02/06/2024 5:48 pm EST

BCE Inc., filed a petition to cabinet Friday urging it to reverse a ruling...

ETHI committee hears departments don’t use tools to spy on Canadians

Internet and Governance | 02/06/2024 5:14 pm EST

Federal departments have forensic diagnostic tools that can be used for...

“Godfather” of AI says Canada must start regulating now

Internet and Governance | 02/06/2024 3:53 pm EST

AI "godfather" Yoshua Bengio, University of Montreal professor and scientific Director of Mila.The government must regulate artificial intelligence (AI) quickly to...

CRTC releases consult over its jurisdiction on small cell pole attachments

telecom | 02/05/2024 5:54 pm EST

The CRTC has issued a call for comments on the attachment of wireless facilities to support structures owned or controlled by incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) due to...

Don’t fear the advent of artificial intelligence: Prime Time panelists

Media | 02/05/2024 4:40 pm EST

OTTAWA–While artificial intelligence (AI) may seem daunting to people in...

Foreign streamers a problem for all Canadian broadcasters, CMPA hears

Media | 02/05/2024 4:39 pm EST

OTTAWA–Foreign streamers will be a prickly problem for mainstream...

CRTC implements thousand-block pooling to address telephone number exhaustion

telecom | 02/05/2024 12:32 pm EST

The CRTC is implementing thousand-block pooling (TBP) as a proactive...

Bloc continues fight to counteract CBC job cuts

Media | 02/02/2024 4:25 pm EST

The Bloc Québécois is continuing to protest the job cuts at CBC/Radio-Canada announced last year. For...

Rogers announces Q4 results and completion of network slicing trial

telecom | 02/01/2024 3:49 pm EST

Rogers Communications Inc., in partnership with Ericsson AB, announced it...

Canadians won’t get consulted on new CBC mandate, St-Onge tells Prime Time conference

Media | 02/01/2024 2:50 pm EST

Canadian Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge said...

Attacks on CBC are concerning, says CMPA president at Prime Time conference

Media | 02/01/2024 12:35 pm EST

OTTAWA, Ont. – No public institution, including Canada’s public...

Bell and Rogers accuse Quebecor of abusing procedure in disaggregated FTTP rates application

telecom | 01/31/2024 4:38 pm EST

Quebecor Inc.’s request for the CRTC to set new interim disaggregated high-speed access (HSA) rates equal to the interim aggregated rates is out of line, according to BCE...

Tait won’t rule out bonus pay for CBC’s top brass despite job cuts

Media | 01/30/2024 6:42 pm EST

CBC-Radio Canada CEO Catherine Tait won’t say if she, or the public...

CRTC receives final replies on service to Far North

telecom | 01/25/2024 3:26 pm EST

Stakeholders have sent their final replies on telecom service in the Far North to the CRTC. The incumbent telecoms are at odds with most other applicants when it comes to the remedy for competition in the region. BCE Inc....

CRTC to investigate lack of French 911 service

telecom | 01/23/2024 5:30 pm EST

The CRTC has sent letters on Jan. 22 to interested parties to try to get to the bottom of two incidents where people in distress could not get 911 service in French. The stories were first reported in the Montreal news outlet La Presse. “The Canadian public and the...

Rogers sisters leave board of directors in private settlement

telecom | 01/17/2024 3:07 pm EST

Melinda and Edward Rogers (photos via Rogers).Melinda Rogers-Hixon and Martha Rogers are retiring from the telecom...

CCTS: Rogers received the most complaints about telecom services last year

telecom | 01/17/2024 11:13 am EST

Rogers Communications Inc. has become Canada’s most complained-about service provider, according to the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services’ (CCTS) annual report released on...

INDU debates study of mobile plan price hikes

telecom | 01/15/2024 5:46 pm EST

After almost two hours of deliberation last Thursday, the House industry and technology committee failed...

Bell seeks CRTC clarity amid class action alleging unreasonable prison call rates

telecom | 01/15/2024 4:56 pm EST

BCE Inc. filed a Part 1 application with the CRTC seeking clarity on three...

Numbers down as Corus Entertainment release Q1 figures

telecom | 01/12/2024 4:52 pm EST

The lingering effects of the pandemic and the labour disputes in Hollywood...

Kitchener MDU pushes for upgrades to Bell’s legacy facilities in access dispute

telecom | 01/12/2024 1:17 pm EST

The front entrance of the Bell Canada building on Albert Street in Ottawa on Nov. 2, 2021 (photo by Andrew Meade)The owner of a multi-dwelling unit (MDU) in Kitchener, Ontario denies BCE...

Revenue and profit down for Cogeco Q1 as guidance continues

telecom | 01/11/2024 4:42 pm EST

Revenue and profits declined at Cogeco  Inc. as the Quebec firm released its first quarter results on Thursday. The company said its guidance issued last November would remain in place. Revenue dropped by 1.9 per cent to $747 million. While Canadian operations were...

TekSavvy challenges Cogeco’s network changes 

telecom | 01/10/2024 4:57 pm EST

TekSavvy Solutions Inc. lodged a formal Part 1 complaint with the CRTC against Cogeco Inc., to address...

Nuisance calls still plaguing 911 system, fining abusers proposed

telecom | 01/10/2024 4:46 pm EST

Misuse of 911 continues to be a problem for emergency service providers...

Consortium seeks contingency for NG911 rollout in B.C. amid tight timelines

telecom | 01/09/2024 5:46 pm EST

A consortium working toward the successful implementation of...

UPDATED: Quebecor alleges Bell breaching agreement on MVNO wholesale access

telecom | 12/21/2023 2:20 pm EST

This story has been updated with comment from BCE Inc. Quebecor Inc., representing Videotron and Freedom Mobile, has lodged a formal complaint with the CRTC against BCE Inc., alleging...

Eastlink says competitors’ claims of reputational and economic harm caused by service outage response are unfounded

telecom | 12/21/2023 2:18 pm EST

Eastlink store on South Park St., Halifax, N.S.Bragg Communications Inc.'s Eastlink is vehemently disputing allegations of negligence during its July service outage and calls for the dismissal of the claims made by...

Election overhaul must include AI advertising, politicos say

Internet and Governance | 12/18/2023 2:45 pm EST

Canada must revise its election rules and the use of artificial...

Government unveils final provisions of Online News Act

Internet and Governance | 12/15/2023 5:30 pm EST

The federal government released the details of the implementation of the...

Rogers completes Canada’s first satellite-to-mobile call

telecom | 12/14/2023 7:00 am EST

Rogers Communications Inc. and satellite-to-phone telecom provider Lynk...

Tait attacked for taking trip to Australia as CBC cutbacks loom

Media | 12/13/2023 5:30 pm EST

CBC/Radio-Canada continued to come under fire in Parliament Tuesday with...

Telus asks CRTC to go easy on vBDUs for initial base contributions into broadcasting system

Internet and Governance | 12/08/2023 9:34 am EST

Gatineau, Que. – Telus Corp. asked the CRTC to go easy on virtual broadcasting distribution undertakings (vBDUs) during the commission’s hearings regarding contributions...

Supreme Court to hear Telus’ appeal of CRTC access to public infrastructure decision

telecom | 12/07/2023 6:16 pm EST

The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) will hear Telus...

St-Onge faces questioning on portfolio during Senate appearance

Media | 12/07/2023 5:03 pm EST

Canadian Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge faced a barrage of questions...

Blanchet says CBC cuts at worst possible time

Internet and Governance | 12/06/2023 1:48 pm EST

The Bloc Québécois is continuing its fight against cutbacks at CBC/Radio-Canada. Tuesday in Question...

Job cuts reason enough for access to online platform contributions: CBC tells CRTC

Internet and Governance | 12/06/2023 9:18 am EST

Gatineau, Que. - CBC/Radio-Canada's decision to slash 600 jobs and leave 200 vacancies unfilled has ignited a heated discussion about the broadcaster's plea for access to base...

Rogers fires back at Competition Bureau over wireless plan investigation

telecom | 12/05/2023 5:47 pm EST

Rogers Communications Inc. is responding vehemently to the Competition...

CBC announces 600 jobs cut, decrease in programming

Media | 12/04/2023 6:48 pm EST

Canada's public broadcaster is cutting 10 per cent of its workforce and slashing some programming to deal...

Blue Ant says contribution regime should be flexible

Internet and Governance | 12/04/2023 3:32 pm EST

Foreign streamers must pay their fair share of contributions to the Canadian broadcasting system, but...

Netflix urges contribution limit be set at two per cent at CRTC hearings

Media | 12/01/2023 11:21 am EST

Netflix Services Canada ULC says it has invested large amounts of money...

3,800 MHz auction nets $2.2B in preliminary results

telecom | 11/30/2023 6:14 pm EST

A cell tower with a blue sky in the background.Canada’s telecom industry have spent some $2.16 billion on the 3,800 MHz band of spectrum, according to...

Telecom workers union and NDP call for anti-scab legislation

telecom | 11/30/2023 6:00 pm EST

Members of the NDP and the United Steelworkers (USW) Local 1944 union, representing over 225,000 Canadian workers, held a joint news conference on Wednesday urging the government to improve...

Google and federal government reach deal over Online News Act

Internet and Governance | 11/29/2023 7:51 pm EST

Alphabet Inc.’s Google and the federal government have resolved their...

Only foreign streamers should be paying contribution, CRTC told

Internet and Governance | 11/29/2023 10:48 am EST

Major broadcasters think that there should be a flexible contribution regime for Canadian programming – just so long as they don’t have to pay into it. The CRTC is continuing its hearings into the ramifications of the Online Streaming Act. Tuesday’s session began...