Rogers was the fastest fixed broadband provider in Canada in Q3, says Ookla
SEATTLE — In its latest Speedtest Global Index measurement of network speeds in Canada, Seattle-based Ookla reports Rogers Communications was the fastest fixed broadband provider among top providers in Canada in the third quarter of 2020.
According to Ookla’s Speedtest Intelligence data from July to September, Rogers achieved a speed score of 151.51 in Q3 2020. (Ookla’s speed score incorporates measurements of each provider’s download and upload speeds to rank network speed performance, with 90% of the final speed score being attributed to download speed.)
The next highest…
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Audet family would have received $900 million for controlling shares
NEW YORK and TORONTO – Altice USA announced Sunday evening it has presented a new, higher offer to purchase Cogeco Inc. and Cogeco Communications.
Then a bit later on Sunday evening, it was rejected by Cogeco’s controlling shareholder.
The new offer is for $11.1 billion, or $800 million more than the Altice/Rogers first pitch last month ($123/share for CGO and $150/share for CCA, a 57% premium over the shares’ prices as of August 1, notes the Altice release). What hasn’t changed is Altice’s desire to sell Cogeco’s Canadian assets to Rogers Communications,…
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MORE TV DISTRIBUTORS in Canada are adding CBC/Radio-Canada’s 24-hours news channels, CBC News Network and ICI RDI, to the lineup of channels available to all of their subscribers.
The public broadcaster says it is collaborating with the country’s TV distributors as Canadians face a resurgence of Covid-19. Back in mid-March at the beginning of the pandemic, many of Canada’s TV distributors made the two news channels available to their subscribers.
CBC News Network is now available to all subscribers on Bell TV, Rogers, Cogeco, Eastlink, SaskTel and others, with Telus and Shaw joining next week. In addition, as of tomorrow,…
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MONTREAL — Cogeco Connexion announced today it is expanding its broadband network in Ontario with a $10-million investment that will provide high-speed Internet access to more than 8,000 homes and businesses in the areas of Arnprior and Deep River, and their surrounding communities.
The investment will be delivered in collaboration with the government of Canada as part of its Connect to Innovate (CTI) program which will contribute $2 million, says the press release announcing the $10-million broadband network investment.
5,100 homes and businesses in Arnprior, 465 in Chalk River, 1,700 in Deep River (including Mountain View), 455 in Beachburg, 590…
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GATINEAU – The CRTC said Friday the wholesale rate for French-language youth channel VRAK set by owner Bell Media is the right one for Cogeco Connexion to pay.
Cogeco had asked the Commission for Final Offer Arbitration over the long-running rate dispute but in the decision announced Friday, the Regulator said “The Commission selects Bell’s offer, thereby establishing the linear and multiplatform wholesale rates for distribution of VRAK by Cogeco. The Commission finds that the offer proposed by Bell is most appropriate when evaluated in light of factors relating to fair market value, taking into account their probative value.”
Cogeco…
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Ad spend down 60%, says broadcast association
By Ahmad Hathout
VICTORIA – A little over a month after a radio station in Kelowna went off the air due to pandemic-related advertising declines, the head of the British Columbia Association of Broadcasters (BCAB) sent a letter in May to the premier with a plea.
Pointing to relief measures introduced by the Quebec and federal governments, which include the waiving of licensing fees and consistent ad buys on local stations, Rob Bye requested a virtual meeting to discuss possible options.
“We’ve got positive verbal responses,” he said in an interview with Cartt.ca on Wednesday, adding…
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GATINEAU — As the CRTC continues a Review and Vary of its August 2019 order which slashed the wholesale rates third-party Internet access (TPIA) companies pay to the incumbent network owners, the Commission announced today it is approving a stay of the order’s implementation while it completes its review.
The stay was requested by Bell Canada and cable companies Cogeco, Eastlink, Rogers, Shaw and Videotron when those incumbents requested in December 2019 that the Commission review and vary its Telecom Order 2019-288 decision.
The Commission’s announcement today comes after the Federal Court of Appeal on September 10 dismissed the…
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LONDON — Rural broadband funding organization SWIFT (Southwestern Integrated Fibre Technology) announced Friday it has now officially issued approximately $197 million in requests for proposals (RFPs) to expand broadband access throughout southwestern Ontario.
Now in the third phase of its broadband expansion plan, SWIFT says it is on track to close all phase three RFPs before the end of 2020 and intends to award 90% of the project’s contracts by the end of 2020 and 100% by January 2021, says its press release.
To view SWIFT’s full tendering schedule, including procurement values, closing dates and RFP status updates, please Continue Reading
GATINEAU – Despite the demand it and others made to the CRTC for revised tariffs filed since the incumbent carriers lost their court case, no new revised tariff pages have yet been filed with the Commission by the network owners and until they are, independent ISP TekSavvy will stop paying its wholesale fees to Rogers and Bell.
On September 11th, TekSavvy, Distributel and the Competitive Network Operators of Canada each filed applications with the CRTC demanding the incumbent telco and cable carriers file new tariff pages as ordered by the Commission in its August 2019 decision setting new wholesale…
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MONTREAL – On Friday, Rogers Communications announced it would spend big in Quebec, if it can buy Cogeco’s Canadian assets, primarily its networks in Ontario and Quebec.
It made a number of expensive promises, as we reported here, including investing $3 billion on wired and new 5% networks, adding thousands of jobs, and keeping Cogeco’s brand and head office alive in Quebec.
In a statement issued that day, Cogeco said Rogers doesn’t need to own it in order to invest well in the province.
“Rogers may continue making all the investments it wishes in Quebec but it doesn’t need Cogeco to…
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