TAGGED AS COVID-19
‘Task force’ assembled for Canadian screen industry
Media | 03/20/2020 4:48 pm EDT
The COVID-19 global pandemic represents "an unprecedented challenge for all involved in the screen-based industry across Canada," according to the Canadian Media Fund. As such, the CMF has joined a “task force” made up of some 11 agencies that represent Canadian media producers that will seek to guide the industry through the economic fallout of the global public health crisis, according to a Friday press release. The group, the release says, will "collectively work together to assess the impact on the industry," and will "inform governments at the federal, provincial and...
Broadband Fund deadline extended to April 30, others remain suspended
telecom | 03/20/2020 3:47 pm EDT
The CRTC has extended the deadline for telecommunication service providers to apply to the regulator’s $750 million Broadband Fund to April 30, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The initial deadline for the second call for applications was March 27, but the CRTC on Tuesday suspended all deadlines between then and April 10. It’s yet to set new timeframes for other deadlines, including for the final submissions to the regulator’s wireless service review. In a notice of...
Canada could track COVID-19 through cellphones: experts
telecom | 03/20/2020 3:25 pm EDT
As reports emerge of countries around the world using cellphone location...
Northwestel ordered to redo temporary relief application
telecom | 03/19/2020 4:46 pm EDT
The CRTC has ordered BCE Inc.’s Northwestel to resubmit its “urgent” application for temporary relief in order to waive overage fees in response to the COVID-19 pandemic because the application...
CBC suspends local newscasts during COVID-19 pandemic
Media | 03/19/2020 4:28 pm EDT
CBC/Radio-Canada has temporarily suspended its English-language local TV newscasts in all locations bar the North, as it opts to consolidate programming into one national news program during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a...
Carriers to text consular information to Canadians abroad
telecom | 03/18/2020 5:30 pm EDT
Canada's wireless service providers will send out text messages to their...
Financial analysts say telecoms ‘resilient’ to impact of COVID-19
telecom | 03/18/2020 5:24 pm EDT
Canada’s telecommunications sector is a “constructive place to hide” for financial investors as markets continue to feel the impact of COVID-19, RBC Capital Markets analyst Drew McReynolds says. In a briefing note to investors on Wednesday, McReynolds said he believed telecom stocks currently ranked well on “relative earnings resilience and valuation.” “In addition to the sector’s reasonable leverage and defensive dividend-paying characteristics in an exceptionally low...
Federal prisons waiving inmate phone fees
telecom | 03/18/2020 9:42 am EDT
The Correctional Service of Canada is temporarily making calls free of charge for prisoners in Canada's...
CRTC deadlines suspended due to COVID-19
Media | 03/17/2020 4:41 pm EDT
The CRTC has suspended all deadlines on proceedings open for public comment that were set to close before April 10, due to the impact of COVID-19. In a post to Twitter on Tuesday, the CRTC said the deadlines suspended included...
COVID-19 won’t have ‘very large impact’ on Cogeco: CFO
telecom | 03/17/2020 3:54 pm EDT
Cogeco Inc. chief financial officer Patrice Ouimet has told an investor...
Telecoms close stores, offer free channels in response to COVID-19
Media | 03/16/2020 5:56 pm EDT
Telecommunication providers are closing retail stores, offering complimentary TV channels and continuing to waive overage fees on home internet plans as they respond to COVID-19. Xplornet...
COVID-19 prompts multiple ISPs to suspend data caps
telecom | 03/13/2020 5:46 pm EDT
Multiple Canadian internet providers have suspended caps on data usage as they prepare for a huge...
Quebecor ‘not worried’ about COVID-19 impact on capacity
Media | 03/12/2020 5:09 pm EDT
Quebecor Inc. says COVID-19 is not expected to have a “material financial...