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Free Satellite to Canadians Losing OTA (LTSS) - See Links In Post 1

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#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
EDIT

August 31st, 2014
The offer period for new LTSS households will end on August 31st, 2014. This is because the threshold of 31,500 households has been reached.

September 30th, 2014
Installations of LTSS subscriptions occurring up to August 31, 2014 must be completed no later than September 30, 2014. This is to ensure an orderly end to the program.

August 31st, 2019
Shaw Direct will continue to operate the LTSS service for installed households at no charge, until at least August 31, 2019, which coincides with Shaw Direct’s current Licence period.

See this post for full details:

Free Satellite to Canadians Losing OTA (LTSS) - no new applications - Page 15 - Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums


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Something interesting that the V.P said about Global switch to digital (go at 3:05 if you're impatient) is that they are going to offer free satellite, receiver and installation to clients in remote area with the base channels for free. This might mean that they are planning on distributing via FTA (hopefully they will not encrypt those base stations) the available local channels.

So for those of you loosing completely the signal, there still hope...
 
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#144 ·
Both Omni.1 and Omni.2 are broadcast OTA in Toronto, London and Ottawa. I suspect you may be right though and for whatever reason Shaw Direct doesn't carry Omni.2 (they aren't able to carry every station in every market), so they can't include it in the LTSS programme.
 
#145 ·
DSR505 group channels

Not sure if this is discussed somewhere or too obvious to someone :)

We have a SD set up with DSR505, and new with receiver anyways. Our available channels are just a dozen (thanks to their free LTSS programm).

If we press GUIDE, then there is a long list of all channels with SD satellite; we'll have a hard time to figure out which few of them are available.

Is there a way to group the available channels once, and access this group thereafter to have quick access to view-able channels.

Thanks.
 
#147 ·
Favourites list to pick the channels that you do receive or use parental locks to get rid of the channels that you don't receive. The benefit of parental locks is if new channels become available to you, you will automatically receive them since they aren't blocked. With favourites you haven't selected non existent channels when you set it up so if a new one becomes available you won't automatically receive it. With the few channels that you are able to receive this may not be an issue.
 
#153 ·
Shaw Direct my have it for paying customers, but it isn't in the LTSS package, which is based on your province, not city, so those in Ottawa get the Ontario package. Similarly, those in Gatineau, get the Quebec package, which is mainly Montreal locals.
 
#155 ·
LTSS Program issues

I am looking for feedback from anyone else having difficulty with the LTSS program. I followed the procedure outlined by Shaw direct, spoke to customer service to get validated, then they emailed me the declaration form which I promptly returned via email which was stated as the preferred method. Two weeks later I have called back several times looking for an update on whether my equipment has been shipped or where in the process it was. Each time I have been either disconnected or bounced around. When I did get a Shaw customer support person on the phone, the response is totally unhelpful and each person has a different answer. The latest was that the form goes to the government and shaw does not track any of these requests. It sure gives me the feeling they want nothing to do with this program. Very un-impressed with dealing with Shaw Direct on this. My next step may be the CRTC as this is an established program. Anyone else have any fun with this?
 
#156 ·
We had to go through a lot of gymnastics after submitting the form also. Not with the program per se, but getting the equipment and getting it installed.

Call again, be prepared to stay on hold as long as possible, don't say LTSS but say "the program so I can get free TV because I only had an antenna that doesn't work now..."

Then, once you talk to a human, get your account number. Even though you are getting "free" TV, they still have to set up an account for you in their system. If they can't give you an account number, the paper is still floating around somewhere.
 
#158 ·
I appreciated this quote on the web from an installer in BC describing Shaw's proactive contact management on LTSS ...

There aren't any instructions that come with your Purolator package which explain that you have to call Shaw to book an install (only the Declaration Form says it), consequently all across Canada there must be scores of people sitting on boxes they got in the mail, wondering if an installer will ever show up.
:)
 
#159 ·
And, it is not unusual to have an appointment where the installer doesn't show up, especially in rural areas if there is any kind of address confusion.

Shaw Direct does not seem to be able to clearly indicate mailing versus physical addresses in their system.

I was starting to write what was turning into a lengthy rant about Shaw Direct customer service. I've now deleted it and will post in the appropriate thread.
 
#160 ·
I know a lot of people like to rant and rave about how horrible the LTSS programme is, but in reality it is free, and Shaw is the only BDU offering this. Could it be better? Most definitely, but it is better than if Shaw didn't offer it at all (I am sure the CBC would have shut down their transmitters either way and they wouldn't have paid for an alternate if Shaw didn't offer it).
 
#161 ·
Agree entirely.
LTSS is a great scheme, especially for those who qualify for it!

I hope to extending my kudos to Shaw when they extend the scheme again beyond the end of next month. I am sure that they will still have some of the "tangible benefits" of the Canwest Global acquisition that they need to demonstrate spending.
 
#199 ·
I was interested to note two things:

1. From the numbers quoted above the scheme was already 82% full 4 months ago.

2. Shaw applied "to reallocate any unspent funds following the end of the eligibility period towards the maintenance of the LTSS program until August 31, 2019."

That would seem to show Shaw's intent to maintain the program for the foreseeable future, and I think it was a reasonable thing for them to ask to reapply excess funds to do that. However, I also think that it was reasonable of CRTC to decline, given that they had already stipulated what any excess funds should be used for.

The estimated "maintenance" costs of the scheme at $50,000 per month seems very creative. The satellites are already up there broadcasting and being paid for by their many more paying customers, there are zero monthly billing and debt collection costs from LTSS subscribers, and those end users are responsible to buy replacement equipment as and when it fails. If the equipment were to last on average 10 years, that would imply that in the long term an average of of 3150 customers would call in in a year to have the registration of their receivers changed. What else is there to call in about? I would happily take $600,000 a year to field the phone calls for them - especially in the early years when all the receivers ought to still be working. :cool:

Overall though, kudos again to Shaw for obtaining an extension to the scheme! I hope the full 31,500 places are taken up.

I hope to extending my kudos to Shaw when they extend the scheme again beyond the end of next month. I am sure that they will still have some of the "tangible benefits" of the Canwest Global acquisition that they need to demonstrate spending.
:)
 
#162 ·
roger1818, as you are probably aware, the LTSS program is part of Shaw’s $180.1 million tangible benefits package that they proposed in exchange for the CRTC approving the Canwest Global TV purchase. Shaw allocated $15 million for about 31,500 households (about $475 per household), so every time Shaw Direct connects an LTSS household, they get a credit for that household. So not only is it free to the user, it's also "free" to Shaw Direct, since the money has already been allocated under tangible benefits. The Shaw Direct division may even be making a "profit" on LTSS.

Shaw isn't doing this out of the goodness of their heart. If the $15 million isn't fully spent on LTSS, it will have to be spent on "development, creation and promotion of incremental, independently-produced programming of national interest".

Source: http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2010/2010-782.htm, paragraphs 35, 61.
 
#165 ·
Shaw isn't doing this out of the goodness of their heart.
I never said they were doing this out of the goodness of their heart. However, they are doing it, it is still better than what is being offered by the other BDUs.

For me it isn't worth it as I would get 0 of 3 local English stations and pretty much everything they give I can get an equivalent with an antenna. It is good for those who lost broadcasts though.
 
#163 ·
Just to be clear, my complaints regarding ShawDirect are specific to customer service. The issues I have run into with them as a former paying customer and what we just went through trying to get a dish installed under the LTSS would drive any customer crazy.

If we were not getting LTSS for free I would likely have cancelled the order part way through the runaround we had dealing with the front line staff. I will post in the rant thread.

PS to any admins or mods reading this...

If I have to watch Koodo ads just so I can prove I am not a Spambot this will not help drive more traffic to this site.
 
#164 ·
I find it hard to believe that the LTSS scheme has reached 31,500 people due to a distinct absence of promotion of the scheme.

Also worth observing that the 31,500 figure reflected only those who would lose transmissions solely due to the closure of channels 52 to 69. In the event, the wholesale closure of literally hundreds of transmitters for CBC, SRC, TVO went far beyond this and there must now be hundreds of thousands who are denied free access to information from basic network coverage. Obviously it is not Shaw's responsibility to fill the wider gap - but I do hope they fill up the full 31,500 pot.

I therefore hope the CRTC / Shaw agree to extend the scheme again to 30 Nov 2014, rather than supplement the $79.1MM for development, creation and promotion of incremental, independently-produced programming of national interest.

Note to Shaw: please let us know how many have taken up the scheme.
 
#166 ·
Obed, here is the last letter summarizing the progress:

http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2011/lb111129.htm

As you can see, there are significant marketing and admin expenses, so it's questionable if they will continue it. If the funds are almost exhausted, they will just transfer the balance to programming. If there is a lot of money left, they will probably conclude that LTSS has attracted all the households that it can, especially since it's now 2 years after the official digital transition.

If the status is somewhere in the middle, they may decide to let it run for 1 more year.
 
#167 ·
I agree with your likely outcomes Dr Dave, and thanks for digging out the letter. It also looks like it is time for an update.

So as of Nov 2011, there was at least $1m + $1.5m + $10m = $12.5m of the $15m left unspent. Even with increased take up following the demise of CBC, SRC and TVO's commitment to broadcasting it is hard to see how Shaw could have spent anywhere near the full amount yet.

I was intrigued by this line in the 2011 letter:

Shaw further noted that public awareness of the program has been limited by the absence of a marketing campaign, and proposed to allocate an additional $1 million to marketing of the LTSS service in local media in affected markets.
I have never seen ANY marketing conducted for LTSS by Shaw (aside from that one page on its website that needs the right button to be pressed to reveal the scheme). If they ever did do any marketing it must have been 100% targeted in the qualifying areas, as I never saw a hint of it in TV, online, radio or print media from the OTA Utopia of Scarborough.

I think this forum did much more to market LTSS than Shaw ever did. Perhaps the CRTC should make Shaw pay the 2011 forum owner the money?
 
#171 ·
It's not a matter of thinking this is funded by Shaw. As classicsat pointed out, this is part of Shaw's "tangible benefits" package that they offered when they applied to buy Global from CanWest. All license takeovers in Canada are subject to such a tangible benefits requirement.

Shaw's commitment to convert ALL of Global's OTA transmitters to digital by 2016 is also part of the tangible benefits commitment they made when they applied to buy Global.

None of this is funded by the taxpayer.
 
#173 · (Edited)
"The LTSS Program is offered through Shaw Direct and funded by the CRTC (Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission). "
"CRTC reimburses Shaw Direct for every install, so Shaw is covered for the work. "
Incorrect! Shaw is paying for the LTSS program out of their own pocket as part of the tangible benefits program they have agreed to provide as a condition of license in being allowed to acquire the Global television network from Canwest Global.

The website you saw this posted on is from a local satellite installer in rural BC and contains incorrect information. I have sent an email asking them to revise their website.
 
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