And what still stands in their way
By Greg O’Brien
THE PURCHASE OF SHAW by Rogers has been a steady recurrent rumour which would crop up from time to time over the past 23-plus years this reporter has been tracking the industry, meaning Monday’s $26 billion purchase deal by Rogers was a long, long time coming.
In fact, when I first spoke with former Shaw president Peter Bissonnette in late 1997 (so long ago I don’t think he had yet been appointed president), I asked him then about the rumour I heard Rogers would buy Shaw. Too soon. Much too soon,…
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ESTÉREL and LAC-DES-SEIZE-ÎLES, Que. — The federal ministry of Innovation, Science and Industry announced today 774 households and 12 businesses in the Laurentides Region of Quebec now have access to high-speed Internet, made possible by a combined investment of more than $1.5 million from the government of Canada, the government of Quebec and Cogeco.
Government funding for the project was provided through the Connect to Innovate and Quebec branché programs, with the federal and provincial governments each investing $57,160 in this backbone network. Project partner Cogeco Connexion, which also invested in building a last-mile network, contributed more than $1.4 million.
With…
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CALGARY and TORONTO — Rogers Communications and Shaw Communications announced today they have reached an agreement for Rogers to acquire all of Shaw’s issued and outstanding Class A and Class B shares in a transaction valued at approximately $26 billion.
The deal agreement will see Rogers pay $40.50 per share in cash, amounting to approximately $20 billion. The transaction total includes approximately $6 billion of Shaw debt.
The Shaw Family Living Trust has already agreed to vote in favour of the transaction, which still requires the approval of two thirds of votes cast by Class A and Class B shareholders at…
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Lobbying, new energy board, sees province take action
By Ahmad Hathout
TORONTO – The Ontario government has made good on a pledge to tackle broadband roadblocks in the province by proposing in new legislation to reduce hydro pole attachment costs, a move that is receiving praise across the board and that has been many months in the making.
The legislation, called Building Broadband Faster Act, proposes timely access by telecommunications companies to infrastructure owned by utilities and municipalities, including underground facilities, and requires utilities to better prepare their poles for new wire attachments, which require weighting assessments – the cost of which…
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TORONTO — The federal government “must dramatically reduce the regulatory burden on the telecommunications industry to accelerate 5G deployment,” says the newest report from the C.D. Howe Institute’s telecommunications policy working group – which includes top regulatory experts and executives from Canada’s biggest telecom companies, including Bell, Rogers, Telus, Shaw, Cogeco and Eastlink.
“Telecommunications providers face obstacles in gaining access rights to infrastructure for installing telecommunications facilities. These barriers, alongside difficulty navigating government incentive programs for expanded connectivity, could stall the federal government’s aim of extending high-speed internet coverage to 98 percent of households by 2026,” reads a press…
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GATINEAU – On January 19, 2021, WildBrain Television, which owns kids and family-focused specialty services aimed at children filed an application with the CRTC against Cogeco Cable, claiming the BDU did not follow the principles of the TV Wholesale Code and the standstill obligations which forbids the discontinuation of service carriage during negotiations.
However, an intervention filed in support of Wildbrain’s complaint explores a deeper issue: The code is broken because large distributors like Cogeco hold too much power over smaller broadcasters like Wildbrain, which owns Family Channel, Family CHRGD, Family Junior and Telemagino.
Wildbrain’s complaint is a central…
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Working group includes members from Bell, Rogers, Telus, Shaw, Cogeco, Eastlink and CWTA
TORONTO — Investment in the telecommunications sector is key to Canada’s future prosperity and governments must focus on regulatory clarity, timeliness and stability to help drive greater investments in critically needed infrastructure, says a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute.
The think tank today issued the first communiqué from its telecommunications policy working group which includes among its 19 members the chief regulatory experts from Bell, Rogers and Telus, as well as executives from Cogeco, Eastlink and Shaw Communications, and CWTA president and CEO Robert Ghiz. The…
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By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – Bill C-10 passed second reading unanimously last Tuesday and was officially referred to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage for study, which of course, has already begun.
The prior two meetings on the bill to amend the Broadcasting Act were, for all intents and purposes, labelled a pre-study of the legislation, in order to get a heard start hearing witnesses before the bill was approved in second reading.
So, officially, the meeting last Friday was the first meeting to officially look at the legislation.
However, the committee chair informed members and witnesses at the start of the meeting…
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DUFFERIN COUNTY, Ont. — Rural broadband funding organization Southwestern Integrated Fibre Technology announced today Bell Canada has begun construction on a $829,000 project to increase access to broadband services in Dufferin County.
First announced in September 2020, the project will see Bell install 17 kilometres of fibre to bring improved broadband services to more than 300 homes and businesses in the community of Mansfield, about an hour’s drive north of Toronto. The joint venture between SWIFT and Bell is expected to be completed with services fully available by early 2022, says SWIFT’s press release.
“With shovels now in the ground…
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Cogeco, TekSavvy, to build
CHATHAM – Southwestern Integrated Fibre Technology today announced it has awarded $19.3 million in contracts to expand fibre networks to 4,584 households and businesses throughout Chatham-Kent and within Delaware Nation – Moravian of the Thames community.
$7.4 million comes from SWIFT’s member municipalities, including Chatham-Kent, to support the expansion of broadband services throughout the municipality and within Delaware Nation – Moravian of the Thames community. $11.9 million will be contributed by the service providers doing the construction, which includes TekSavvy.
“The commitment and contributions of SWIFT, TekSavvy and the Eelŭnaapéewi Lahkéewiit (Delaware Nation) Council has provided an optical…
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