MONTREAL – Cogceo Communications is investing more than $1 billion over the next four years to push its broadband network and other services deeper in to Ontario and Quebec.
The company said Wednesday that its “strong regional presence” will allow it to increase access to high-speed Internet in unserved and underserved areas in the two provinces. Its hybrid fibre coaxial cable network is presently available in more than 400 municipalities via its Cogeco Connexion subsidiary.
“Thanks to the strong local presence we’ve been building for the past 60 years, we can gauge first-hand just how important high-speed Internet connectivity is for communities, and…
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Bell also asks for return of long-term contracts
GATINEAU – Competition in the Canadian wireless market is already heated and getting hotter, resulting in an overall and ongoing decline in wireless prices while new competitors continue build out new facilities and take customers from them, so why upset that momentum now, and just at the dawn of 5G, Rogers, Bell and Telus have asked in their submissions to the CRTC’s review of mobile wireless services.
It will surprise no one that the submissions largely hit many of the same themes, especially in their stance against mandating mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs),…
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GATINEAU – When the CRTC launched its review of mobile wireless services earlier this year it stated: “This proceeding will focus on three key areas: Competition in the retail market; The current wholesale mobile wireless service regulatory framework, with a focus on wholesale MVNO access and the future of mobile wireless services in Canada, with a focus on reducing barriers to infrastructure deployment.”
This focus on Mobile Virtual Network Operators sure did not fall in deaf ears – and some players jumped right in with strong support since the high cost of entry into the wireless business means many players…
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GATINEAU – In its submission to the CRTC’s review of mobile services, Cogeco – which already offers cable, Internet and local phone in various markets in Quebec and Ontario – has proposed another way to get into wireless without losing its shirt.
With less than 800,000 wired subscribers, the company can hardly afford the cost of entry in the wireless club but definitely wants to add mobile so it can provide the entire bundle of services to customers. For years, Cogeco has been advocating a mandated Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) regime to piggyback on larger wireless operators at cost…
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GATINEAU – Would you rather fight a horse-sized duck, or 100 duck-sized horses?
That was the unusual, if creative, way SaskTel chose to demonstrate how, if the CRTC is going to mandate third party wireless resellers, we can expect a much worse competitive market that causes serious damage to regional independent mobile wireless operators.
“Mandated MVNOs will harm 4th carriers more than the National Wireless Carriers. In any market, there is a portion of the customer base which is most likely to move to a new competitor, a portion which is quite unlikely to change, and a portion somewhere between these…
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OTTAWA–GATINEAU – The CRTC is once again seeking volunteers to help it measure the performance of home wireline broadband Internet services provided by the country’s major Internet service providers.
Under the Measuring Broadband Canada program, the Commission will work in collaboration with ISPs and broadband testing firm SamKnows to measure broadband performance and test parameters associated with the broadband Internet connection, including download and upload speeds.
While some providers offer advertised speeds of 1Gbps or faster, services above 940Mbps cannot be measured with a conventional speed test, meaning that speed tiers of 1Gbps or faster are excluded from the 2019 Measuring…
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MONTREAL – Cogeco Communications has wrapped the $720 million sale of its business information and communications technology services subsidiary Cogeco Peer 1 Inc. to investment firm Digital Colony.
Cogeco Peer 1’s portfolio includes over 3,300 route kilometers of owned, dense metro fibre in greater Toronto and Montreal, as well as several data centers across North America and Europe. When the deal was announced in February, Cogeco said that it would retain “significant” fibre capacity in Toronto and Montreal.
The company said Wednesday that it will use the bulk of the net proceeds from the sale to repay amounts outstanding under its term revolving facility…
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MONTREAL — Leclerc Communication has decided to abandon its deal to acquire two Quebec radio stations after the CRTC refused to approve a key part of the deal on Tuesday.
Leclerc had sought an exception to the CRTC's common ownership policy in order to control a third French-language FM radio station in Quebec City — top-rated talk station CHOI-FM. It had agreed to acquire CHOI and Montreal's CKLX-FM from RNC Media for $19 million last year.
At the CRTC hearing in February, Leclerc vice-president Jean-François Leclerc made clear that if the request for an exception to the…
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MONTREAL – Cogeco Communications said Thursday that the president and CEO of its U.S. subsidiary Atlantic Broadband is leaving the company to pursue personal interests.
Richard Shea has been with Atlantic Broadband since it was founded in 2003 and was named its president and CEO at the beginning of 2015. He will remain with the company for a short period of time to ensure a smooth transition.
CFO Patrick Bratton will assume the position in the interim while the search for a successor is underway.
“On behalf of my colleagues and the entire Cogeco Communications team, I’d like to thank Rich for his…
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Industry, others, provide feedback
OTTAWA – On February 26th, the Government of Canada proposed new CRTC Policy direction to put Canadians at the forefront of future telecommunications decisions, as Cartt.ca reported.
By law, this proposed Order must be put for comments for a period of 30 days after being published in the Canada Gazette. April 8th was the deadline for intervenors to make their comments known to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development.
(Ed note: By law, the federal government doesn’t have to listen to any of the recommendations, if it has already made up its mind,…
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