OTTAWA-GATINEAU –The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) today announced that it has approved the application by Radio de la communauté francophone d’Ottawa (RCFO). The station plans to offer 126 hours of programming each week, most of which will be produced by Franco-Ontarian volunteers, including 94 hours of local programming.
“The Commission is convinced that RCFO will meet the specific needs of the Franco-Ontarian community by offering it a range of local programming,” said Konrad von Finckenstein, Q.C., Chairman of the CRTC.
RCFO will have to submit to the Commission an amendment to its application for the use of a frequency other than the one it had initially applied for, 101.7 MHz. At public hearings held earlier this year, the use of another frequency, 94.5 MHz, was proposed by certain applicants and intervenors. Testing proved that this frequency could indeed be used under certain conditions. RCFO indicated an interest in using this frequency.
The CRTC also confirmed, with some changes, its approval of the applications by Astral Media Radio Inc. (Astral) and Torres Media Ottawa Inc. (Torres), to which are allocated the 99.7 MHz and 101.9 MHz frequencies, respectively. On August 26, 2008, the Commission approved the applications submitted by Astral and Torres because it believed that they best met the needs of the Ottawa-Gatineau radio market. On November 20, 2008, the governor-in-council referred this decision back to the Commission for reconsideration and a new hearing.
Astral and Torres have agreed to help with the support and development of RCFO, since the operating costs related to the use of the 94.5 MHz frequency would be higher than these anticipated in its initial proposal.
The CRTC is an independent public authority that regulates and supervises broadcasting and telecommunications in Canada.
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