PIAC supports it and Cogeco remains silent
By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – On May 4, 2021, Data on Tap (dotmobile) filed an appeal to Cabinet of the CRTC’s review of mobile wireless services, which dealt with access by Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO) to facilities of the three large wireless operators.
In a nutshell, the CRTC gave access only to players that already had facilities.
To that extent Québecor directly benefited from the policy and subsequently acquired more facilities at the last 3500 MHz auction, as did 11 other regional competitors.
And in their Sept. 22 comments on dotmobile’s petition, written in…
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TORONTO — Corus Entertainment announced today the Peacock Original series Frogger, a new game show based on the iconic 1980s video game, will premiere on its kids’ channel YTV on Sunday, Oct. 3 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
“The new game show promises to test skill, strategy and strength as contestants go through incredible obstacle courses in hope of bringing home $100,000!” reads a Corus press release.
The competition series is hosted by Damon Wayans Jr. (above, left) and Kyle Brandt (right) and invites contestants from across the U.S. “to test their physical prowess and problem-solving skills on a variety of epic…
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While “deeply interested” in launching wireless services, will only proceed under the right circumstances
By Amanda Oye
It is no secret Cogeco wants to offer its customers wireless services. The question yet to be answered is when?
Cogeco has been trying to get into wireless since 2018. The company has made advancements towards this goal, including its recent purchase of 38 licences for $295 million in the 3500 MHz spectrum auction that closed in July.
Another step forward came a couple of years prior, in 2019, when Cogeco proposed a Hybrid Mobile Network Operator (HMNO) model to the CRTC…
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By Denis Carmel
Several Internet service providers and related groups have now officially weighed in on TekSavvy and the Competitive Network Operators of Canada’s (CNOC) petitions to the Governor in Council, requesting cabinet overturn CRTC Decision 2021-181.
Unsurprisingly, competitive high-speed access (HSA) providers appealed CRTC Decision 2021-181, which reversed the Commission’s own Decision 2019-288, setting final rates on HSA. The rates had been interim ones since 2016.
This reversal came after the Federal Court of Appeal confirmed the CRTC’s 2019 decision and the Supreme Court denied the incumbents’ appeal to the Highest Court. It also came after the government refused to send…
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MONTREAL — On Saturday, Cogeco held its first-ever 1Cogeco Community Involvement Day, which saw 740 company employees plant trees in 46 local communities across regions in Ontario and Quebec served by Cogeco and multiple U.S. states served by its Atlantic Broadband business unit.
With the theme “Planting Roots in Our Communities”, the first year of this Cogeco employee initiative resulted in the planting of 1,879 trees or seeds, which Cogeco says over the next decade will “absorb approximately 109 tons of greenhouse gas emissions,” according to a press release.
The tree planting supports several local non-profit organizations including Conservation Halton,…
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COGECO AND CBC both announced yesterday plans to broadcast special programming to honour the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Sept. 30.
Cogeco announced “YourTV stations throughout Ontario will be airing special programming produced by Indigenous Peoples for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation,” a company press release says.
The programming, which will air from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and again from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., includes Cultural Mindfulness, directed by George Couchie, We Are Still Here, directed by Dwayne Cloes and Wawahte: Residential School Survivors, directed by John Sanfilippo.
“Wawahte was originally written by Kingston…
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GATINEAU – Major concerns have been raised about the broadcasting side of the proposed Rogers/Shaw deal, which is currently being reviewed by the CRTC.
Individuals and organizations had until last Monday to send in their submissions in response to the Commission’s call for comments on Rogers’ application to the CRTC on behalf of Shaw to acquire Shaw’s licensed broadcasting distribution undertakings (BDUs), Shaw Direct, Shaw Broadcast Services and Shaw Pay-Per-View.
Bell, Telus, Independent Broadcasters Group (IBG), Cogeco, Corus, Ethnic Channels Group (ECG) and TLN, Forum for Research and Policy in Communications (FRPC) and Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) are…
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By Ken Kelley
Evoking the name of founder Ted Rogers, Rogers CEO Joe Natale said he sees a certain irony in Bell Canada filing its opposition to his company’s impending tie-up with Shaw on broadcast grounds.
“In Rogers’ 60-year history, we’ve always been the challenger, and in many ways, kind of standing up against the larger players in the market, the challenger to Bell on many fronts,” Natale said, speaking at BMO’s virtual Media and Telecom Conference on Tuesday.
“And there’s a high degree of irony in Bell looking at us as being a bigger player. Ted Rogers is probably smiling…
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By Ken Kelley
Cogeco president and CEO Philippe Jetté insists his company will not be restrained by borders.
While the company boasts significant business operations south of the border via Atlantic Broadband, the U.S.-based Cogeco subsidiary scored a blockbuster deal this past June when it acquired WideOpenWest’s broadband systems in Ohio for $1 billion. Passing approximately 688,000 homes and businesses in the Cleveland and Columbus areas, WOW Ohio serves approximately 196,000 Internet, 61,000 video and 35,000 telephony customers.
“We’re very excited about this acquisition,” Jetté told BMO’s Tim Casey, who served as the moderator for the bank’s 22nd annual Media…
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By Ken Kelley
Has media streaming reached peak oversaturation? It is a question Corus president and CEO Doug Murphy pondered during his appearance at BMO’s 22nd annual Media & Telecom Conference on Tuesday.
While discussing the similarities between linear and digital advertising with moderator Tim Casey, Murphy acknowledged that regardless of how the public consumes television content – whether via a traditional cable television subscription or by an offering such as Corus’ wildly popular StackTV, which he said continues adding upwards of 100,000 subs per quarter – channel surfing appears to be an underrated, and arguably underappreciated, phenomenon.
“StackTV has demonstrated…
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