Telecom by yum9me (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/53jSy4

Telecom by yum9me (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/53jSy4

Telecom

CRTC Rules Videotron Violated Undue Preference Rules on Video-on-Demand Service

The CRTC has ruled that Videotron violated undue preference rules when it gave its video-on-demand service exclusive rights to some of its broadcaster programs.  The Commission ordered the company to provide the programs to Telus and Bell.

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January 27, 2011 1 comment News

CRTC Endorses CCTS

The CRTC has reaffirmed its support for the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS), an agency that works to resolve disagreements between Canadians and their service providers.  I wrote about the CCTS last year.

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January 26, 2011 6 comments News

Bell Telemarketers Generate Thousands of Complaints

The Toronto Star features a stunning article on tens of thousands of complaints filed with the CRTC over Bell’s telemarketing practices.  The report includes allegations of abusive and aggressive callers, including one instance of a death threat.

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January 19, 2011 1 comment News

CRTC Says Rogers Not Complying With Net Neutrality Disclosure Requirements

CRTC concerns with Rogers and its response to net neutrality complaints escalated this week when the Commission sent a letter to the company advising that it has received a growing number of complaints and that its public disclosures have not been compliant with CRTC Internet traffic management policy requirements.  The […]

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January 14, 2011 18 comments News

Ringing Up Support for the Bell – CTV Deal

The deadline for interventions into the forthcoming CRTC hearing on the Bell – CTV merger passed earlier this week with hundreds of submissions from across the country.  Many cultural groups focused solely on the proposed benefits package associated with the transaction (e.g. Directors Guild of Canada, Alberta Motion Pictures Industry Association, the Documentary Organization of Canada) but there are many others rallying to support the deal.

Local organizations and businesses are effusive with their praise for the transaction – everyone from the Ottawa Senators to retailer Tommy & Lefebvre to the Westin Hotel in Ottawa to the Surrey Honda auto dealership to Dodd’s Furniture and Mattress in Victoria, BC to the Soho Bar and Grill in Calgary took the time to chime in with support.  Moreover, MPs from across the political spectrum write with their support including Conservative MPs Bruce Stanton, Bev Shipley, Patrick Brown, and Garry Breitkreuz, Liberal MP Marcel Proulx, NDP MPs Irene Mathyssen, Brian Masse, and Joe Comartin, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, Halifax Mayor Peter Kelly, Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie, and Ontario MPP Bob Chiarelli.

The views expressed by the politicians are remarkably consistent.  For example, Chiarelli says:

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January 13, 2011 10 comments News