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Public Notice
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Ottawa, 29 May 1989
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Public Notice CRTC 1989-54
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CALL FOR APPLICATIONS FOR A LICENCE TO CARRY ON A BROADCASTING RECEIVING UNDERTAKING FOR THE EXTENSION OF SERVICES TO UNLICENSED LOCALITIES IN SASKATCHEWAN AND ALBERTA
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The Commission announces that it is prepared to consider applications for licences to carry on broadcasting receiving undertakings to provide service to unlicensed localities in Saskatchewan and Alberta.
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Persons interested in submitting such an application are invited to file their application with the Commission by 15 August 1989 and to submit all necessary technical documentation to the Department of Communications by the same date.
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It should be noted that, in making this call, the Commission has not reached any conclusion with respect to the viability of such a service. Nor should it necessarily be construed that the Commission will, by virtue of having called for applications, authorize such a service at this time.
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In light of rapidly evolving industry conditions, the Commission will be concerned with the financial capability of the applicants and the viability of the proposed service.
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Applicants will therefore be required to provide evidence of their financial ability to carry out the proposal and to demonstrate that there is a clear demand and market for their services.
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The Commission would remind applicants that the Commission has a preference for cable-delivered services at this time. This position was stated in Public Notice CRTC 1985-60 and reaffirmed in Public Notice CRTC 1987-254 as follows:
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"The Commission remains convinced that cable television technology represents the preferred method of extending service, due to its ability to deliver a large number of services and to meet future needs. It recognizes, however, that in certain circumstances, for reasons of limited population size and/or low density, over-the-air transmitters represent the only viable means of providing service to the particular area".
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Notwithstanding its expressed preference for cable-delivered systems, the Commission recognizes that the often fragile economics of service extension to small and remote communities in Canada requires considerable flexibility on its part in assessing competitive applications, particularly if these applications involve overlapping geographic areas and different delivery methods. In assessing these applications, therefore, the Commission would remind applicants of its primary goal in licensing new systems as was previously set forth in Decision 87-382:
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"As noted in a number of previous decisions and as reiterated at the hearing, the Commission's primary goal in assessing applications of this sort is to arrive at a licensing approach that will ensure the establishment of viable operations for the provision of an attractive package of broadcasting services to the greatest number of underserved communities, at an affordable cost and at the earliest possible date."
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Applicants will be expected to bear each of these considerations in mind in preparing their applications and to clearly demonstrate why they believe their application(s) to best satisfy this primary goal.
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Applicants proposing to receive and distribute distant signals as part of the basic service should address the guidelines set out in Public Notice CRTC 1985-61 with respect to the cable distribution of distant Canadian television signals. They should also provide the Commission with full particulars of the costs involved and any contractual or affiliation agreements entered into for the delivery of such signals, including the costs on a per signal per subscriber basis if applicable.
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The Commission also reminds applicants that they should conform with the eligibility requirements set out in the Consolidated Regulations of Canada, 1978, chapter 376 (Eligible Canadian Corporations) and in P.C. 1985-2108 dated 27 June 1985 (Ineligibility to hold broadcasting licences).
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The Commission will announce at a later date the time and place of the public hearings where applications received pursuant to this call will be considered and where they may be examined by the public.
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A résumé of each application will also be published in newspapers of general circulation within the area to be served.
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The public will be given the opportunity to comment on any application by submitting written intervention(s) to the undersigned and by serving a true copy of the intervention(s) on the applicant(s) at least twenty (20) days before the date of the hearing.
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Fernand Bélisle Secretary General
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