In its comments on the petition filed by the Association des Compagnies Telephone du Quebec and Ontario Telecommunications Association (the petitioners) earlier this month, EastLink stated that the petitioners’ three recommendations to the Governor in Council would harm rural consumers by restricting competition plus establish an unnecessary degree of government intervention in the telecommunications market.
In its filing dated April 5, 2012, EastLink noted that the ACTQ/OTA has proven, by their aggressive competition, expansion of multiple services, fibre to the home builds (for some SILECs), and in some cases, below-market rates, that they do not require the same substantial government…
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MONTREAL – Profits more than doubled while revenue shot up by more than 12% during the second quarter at Cogeco Inc.
The Montreal-based company said Thursday that profits for the quarter ended February 29, 2012 reached $81.5 million, up from $22.4 million in the same period last year, which it attributed to gain on the sale of Portuguese subsidiary Cabovisao, which was partly offset by the increase of depreciation and amortization expense due to the reduction of depreciation period for certain property, plant and equipment.
Consolidated revenue increased by 12.4% to $345.6 million primarily due to gains in its cable sector. Cable revenue…
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ON APRIL 5, 2012 COGECO FILED its comments on the Association des Compagnies de Téléphone du Québec Inc. and the Ontario Telecommunications Association (the ACTQ/OTA) petition addressing the three reliefs requested by the ACTQ/OTA, as well as addressing the propaganda campaign being spearheaded by the ACTQ against Cogeco since January 2012 in Quebec.
Cogeco cannot ignore the misinformation and propaganda campaign directed against it. The David and Goliath scenario advanced by the ACTQ, where Cogeco will come into a small incumbent local exchange carrier (SILEC) territory causing its inevitable bankruptcy, is highly exaggerated and without any…
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OTTAWA – True to its word, the CRTC was quick to release its determinations from last month’s expedited hearing into dispute resolution between the Canadian Independent Distributors Group (CIDG) and Bell Media.
As Cartt.ca has reported, independent distributors Cogeco Cable, Telus, EastLink, MTS and the Canadian Cable Systems Alliance, collectively the CIDG, object to packaging, penetration, and other terms offered to them by Bell Media for its 30-some specialty channels. Bell says that its wholesale costing model, a penetration based rate card that has already been signed by a number of other distributors, rewards stable packaging with stable long-term rates for…
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MONTREAL – Cogeco has boosted its Internet speeds in Peterborough, ON with the launch of three new packages.
The new 'Turbo 20' package offers a download speed of up to 20 Mbps, upload speeds of up to 1.5 Mbps and a monthly data transfer capacity of 80 GB. For this package, bandwidth usage that exceeds the specified monthly data transfer capacity limit will be billed at $1.50 per additional GB, with a maximum of $50 per month.
Available for the promotional price of $44.95 per month for 12 months for customers who also subscribe to Cogeco's television and/or home phone services,…
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ON THURSDAY, A PANEL of seven CRTC commissioners and a dozen industry executives took part in a hearing where they all must have asked themselves repeatedly, “Geez, how often have I heard this before?” At least, that’s the question that popped into my head as I listened in.
Bell Media faced off against the Canadian Independent Distributors Group during an expedited hearing concerning the parties’ fight over Bell Media’s 2011 wholesale carriage agreement, as we have already covered extensively. The CIDG (Telus, Cogeco, EastLink, Canadian Cable Systems Alliance and MTS) say the dispute isn’t primarily about…
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GATINEAU – There was little love for the CRTC when, on the day before St. Valentine’s Day, Videotron filed its appeal of the wholesale Internet billing decision (more popularly known as the usage-based-billing issue). However, the Quebec cableco wasn’t the only provider to let its feelings be known regarding the matter, other network owners as well as the independent ISPs have taken the Commission to task over the appropriate rates for wholesale network access and use.
The issue that never seems to go away is not focused on the capacity-based billing framework, which most agree is a good idea, but…
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IN NOVEMBER, THEN-MACLEAN’S magazine national columnist Andrew Coyne added his voice to the cacophony of critics carping about the CBC, saying the TV portion should become a pay channel, a-la HBO.
Oy, where to begin with that one? How about starting with the Broadcasting Act, a law which mandates the CBC’s existence, carriage and programming goals. According to the Part 1 of the Act, section 3(1)(l & m), the overall programming provided by the Corp. should be that which “informs, enlightens and entertains” and should:
(i) be predominantly and distinctively Canadian, (ii) reflect Canada and its regions…
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EXTON, PA – Arris’ Christopher Skarica has been named as the 2012 recipient of the SCTE Canadian Engineering Professional of the Year Award.
The annual award honors an engineering professional who resides in Canada, who is an SCTE member, and who has displayed outstanding technical achievements and contributions to the advancement of the cable telecommunications industry.
Skarica, who is account vice-president, strategic sales, Canada, will be presented with the award at SCTE Canadian Summit 2012 in Toronto during the event’s luncheon on March 27. Cartt.ca is the media partner for the event.
A 23-year industry veteran, Skarica has held various engineering and…
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TORONTO – Canadian Network Operators Consortium Inc. (CNOC) is appealing two CRTC decisions around wholesale Internet rates plus wants greater transparency in the regulatory process going forward.
Referring to the Commission’s usage-based billing decision which adopted a capacity-based rate structure alongside the traditional flat rate model for wholesale Internet services, CNOC called the capacity-based rates approved for incumbents Bell, Cogeco, Rogers and Videotron “inflated”, which therefore makes it difficult for independent Internet service providers to compete.
“The rates struck under the two decisions were made by the CRTC using a considerable amount of information filed in confidence by incumbents that interested parties, such…
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