QUÉBEC CITY — For a rural broadband project costing $127.72 million, Videotron will receive a combined amount of $121 million in funding from the Canadian and Quebec governments, as part of the Canada-Quebec Operation High Speed initiative, to deploy high-speed Internet services to 13,300 households in the Abitibi-Témiscaminigue and Nord-du-Québec regions by September 2022.
The announcement was made today by the federal and provincial governments who have committed to providing $826.3 million in combined funding through the Operation High Speed program, first announced in March, to ensure connectivity for 150,000 underserved homes in rural Quebec by September of next year….
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Want faster, cheaper piracy measures
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – The country’s largest broadcasters and telecoms want new copyright legislation to include provisions that give the courts the ability to order website-blocking, prevent the CRTC from overruling blocking orders, and to expand authority over other intermediaries to choke off infringers.
Bell, Rogers, Telus, Shaw, Cogeco, Quebecor, SaskTel, Eastlink, and the Canadian Communications System Alliance also want the legislation to reflect the courts’ ability to unilaterally order search engines to de-index infringing websites, social media platforms and to force hosts, like Cloudflare, to take down infringing services and not direct users to it,…
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Auction starts today
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – The strings attached to the federal government’s 3.5 GHz spectrum, whose auction beginning today will repurpose portions of it for mobile wireless use, include a speed-to-deployment component that complements federal policy to accelerate connectivity throughout the country by the end of the decade.
Winners of the auction, which Innovation Canada said will take “several weeks,” will have to deploy the spectrum largely within the 2030 timeframe for which the federal government hopes to provide access to all Canadians to high-speed internet.
While the focus is largely on what the 3.5 GHz spectrum will do for…
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OTTAWA and QUEBEC CITY — The federal government announced today $289,000 in Universal Broadband Fund (UBF) money has been awarded to Bell Canada to bring high-speed Internet to two rural communities in eastern Ontario, while $10.4 million is being provided through the Canada-Quebec Operation High Speed program to Cogeco to deliver broadband to 12 towns in the Montmagny regional county municipality (RCM) near Quebec City.
The UBF funding, provided through the fund’s rapid response stream, will see Bell deliver high-speed broadband to 601 underserved households in the communities of Crysler and St-Albert, located southeast of Ottawa. Bell is investing an…
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QUEBEC CITY — Through the Canada-Quebec Operation High Speed initiative, $30.6 million in joint government funding is being provided to Cogeco for the deployment of high-speed Internet services in the rural Montérégie region of Quebec, the department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada announced today.
The project, with a total value of $34.7 million (including Cogeco’s contribution), will see 5,380 homes throughout the region provided with access to Cogeco’s high-speed broadband services by September 2022.
For more information, including the list of more than 40 municipalities to be covered by this broadband project, please click here.
Over the next few…
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QUEBEC CITY and BRUCE COUNTY — On Tuesday and Wednesday, the governments of Canada, Quebec and Ontario announced more rural broadband projects, funded through either the Canada-Quebec Operation High Speed program or Ontario’s Southwestern Integrated Fibre Technology (SWIFT) initiative, with a total value of $58.85 million, including $51.43 million in government funding.
The Quebec projects include:
$31.7 million in Canada-Quebec joint funding for Cogeco to deploy high-speed Internet services to 4,340 homes in 22 communities in the Haut-Saint-François regional county municipality (RCM) and the Val-Saint-François RCM in the Estrie region by September 2022. The total value of the project is…
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TORONTO — Anthem Sports and Entertainment’s AXS TV announced today the popular music-themed channel is now available on Cogeco in Ontario and Quebec, as of today.
The channel is being offered as part of Cogeco’s MyMix/Selectif packages and as a standalone option. AXS TV can be added to MyMix selections and pre-assembled channel packages for $3 a month, according to AXS TV’s press release.
However, beginning today, Cogeco customers can watch the channel for two months as a free preview. Cogeco subscribers can find AXS TV on Epico (channel 444 in both provinces), 878 (Ontario) and 709 (Quebec).
Some of the…
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MONTREAL — Cogeco Inc. announced today it has hired Caroline Paquet (above) as the new president of its radio subsidiary, Cogeco Media. Her appointment takes effect July 5.
Paquet joins Cogeco Media from Quebecor’s Videotron division, where she held the position of vice-president of marketing and content since 2017. She first joined Quebecor in 2005. Her work at Videotron included the development of the Club Illico business plan and its launch in 2013.
“We are delighted to welcome Caroline to the Cogeco family. Her extensive media and marketing expertise will help strengthen Cogeco Media’s already enviable position on Québec’s radio landscape,”…
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By Ahmad Hathout
GATINEAU – Like deja vu, the immediate impact of a major decision by the CRTC has unfurled in the days immediately following — but the reactions are the reverse of what happened in August 2019.
When the CRTC that summer decided to slash the bulk internet rates smaller providers pay for large network access – and make the rates retroactive so some serious back pay was supposed to go to those independents – the large telecoms announced cuts to investments, including in rural areas. Smaller providers, rejoicing, immediately slashed retail internet prices.
Following Thursday’s decision to go back…
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OTTAWA – The federal government announced five more rural broadband projects, all from the Universal Broadband Fund’s rapid response stream, on Thursday and Friday, valued at $11.2 million.
The projects are:
$3.2 million for Tbaytel to build broadband to 689 more homes in the communities of Lappe and Toimela, outside of Thunder Bay.
$700,000 to help Cogeco and Bell bring high-speed Internet to 1,111 more homes in Bancroft, Carrying Place and Mountain View. Cogeco will also be investing $324,000 and Bell Canada $1.7 million in filling these opportunities.
$196,000 to help Aldera Communications connect 339 more homes in the remote…
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