The CRTC has opened the door for greater competition in the broadband internet market by setting interim wholesale rates for broadband internet access in Quebec and Ontario. After its initial decision in 2015, the commission promised to roll out the new architecture in phases. An in-depth review to establish final rates for what companies like Bell, Rogers, Cogeco and Videotron may sell disaggregated wholesale high-speed access to smaller ISPs for is ongoing. The commission says transition in other parts of Canada will be announced at a later date.
Rogers has improved wireless coverage in several key areas of Alberta, including expanded LTE wireless service in Lethbridge and between Banff and Calgary. The improvements include a new cell tower in West Lethbridge at the city’s ATB Centre and improved service for travellers along the Trans-Canada Highway.
Bell Mobility has launched Advanced Messaging, billing it as Canada’s first integrated Rich Communications Services (RCS) messaging experience. Available first on Samsung’s latest-generation smartphones, Advanced Messaging offers a suite of mobile messaging features previously available through specialized third-party applications, like high-res photo sharing, read receipts and group chat. Bell says more smartphones will be enabled with Advanced Messaging in future.
PEI Senator and former broadcaster Mike Duffy is suing the federal government for nearly $8-million, saying he was singled out by RCMP during the Senate spending scandal investigation because he was a high-profile target. The former CTV Newsnet host, 71, says in his statement of claim that he continues to suffer physical, emotional and financial hardship. Duffy says his acquittal last year on 31 criminal charges is evidence he was treated unfairly.
An anonymous submission to Montreal website MTLCounter-info.org entitled No face, no case: in defence of smashing corporate media cameras, warns journalists against showing showing the faces of anti-fascist protestors, even if they’re masked. The message comes following an Aug. 20 Antifa protest in Quebec City that saw Global News cameraman Jean-Vincent Verveille assaulted and his camera smashed, while reporter Mike Armstrong was pushed down a flight of stairs. The post includes guidelines for movement media and a tutorial on how to blur faces.
CBC/Radio-Canada’s Annual Public Meeting has been set for Sept. 26 at the University of Ottawa. The event will be broadcast live on Facebook and webcast, beginning at 4 p.m. ET.
MusiquePlus co-founder Pierre Marchand is facing four counts of sexual assault in connection with an incident alleged to have taken place in the early 1980s. Marchand, 59, denies the allegations involving a now 50-year-old woman, who was 13 at the time. No date has been set for a possible trial. In 1986, Marchand co-founded French-language music television channel MusiquePlus with Moses Znaimer. He also helped launch the MusiMax channel, later working for the Archambault Group until 2013.
Dave Bannerman, radio-TV-journalism instructor at Nova Scotia Community College, has been honoured by the Broadcast Educators Association of Canada (BEAC). Bannerman has received the Michael Monty Distinguished Teacher Service Award for 2017, given annually to a media instructor chosen from Canada’s BEAC member post–secondary universities and colleges. The award honours the late Michael Monty, who taught electronic media at Seneca College in Toronto. Bannerman started teaching at the NSCC Kingstec campus in 1994 and then moved with the program to the NSCC Waterfront Campus in Dartmouth in 2007.
