Incumbents ask for two more months to file their R&V of the wholesale rates decision
GATINEAU – Following the August CRTC decision on final rates for aggregated wholesale high-speed internet access services (CRTC Telecom Order 2019-288), it was obvious by their collective reaction that the incumbent ISPs would challenge the decision, by any and all means necessary.
They went to the Federal Court of Appeal already and were granted a stay, as we reported, and the next step is to ask the CRTC to review, rescind or vary its own decision, as provided…
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HAMILTON – There were five original owners of the first Hamilton Community Cable Access channel – now well known in the Steel City as Cable 14.
The city was an anomaly with five strong, growing, cable operators in the early ’70s. The owners of General Co-Axial Service (which would become Mountain Cablevision), MacLean-Hunter Cable TV, Northgate Cable T.V., Hamilton Co-Axial (which would become Source Cable) and Western Co-Axial TV and Appliance Service all thought it would be better to pool their resources on a single community channel to serve their city, which they launched in 1969 without (gasp!) regulatory permission.
So,…
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MONTREAL – Broadband provider and broadcaster Cogeco Inc. saw its fourth quarter 2019 revenue increase by 3.1% compared to Q4 last year to reach $610.5 million, the company reported late Wednesday.
Revenue for the full fiscal year, ended August 31st, came in at $2.44 billion, an 8% increase.
Revenue increased in the company’s communications (video, broadband, home phone) segment, “mostly as a result of organic growth and the acquisition of the south Florida fibre network previously owned by FiberLight… on October 3, 2018 combined with the activation of bulk properties in Florida during the fourth quarter of…
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GATINEAU – After being told its first application was deficient, Videotron rewrote the CRTC to rectify the company’s application and request again the withdrawal for its unbundled up-to-1 Gbps download, up-to-100 Mbps upload service since as October 23rd, it no longer has any more wholesale clients on that tier.
As before the company wants to also grandfather its retail clients who pay for the service, but stop offering to any new customers.
The removal of top speed services tilts against the prevailing winds in the broadband world.
Generally, withdrawal/de-standardization like this takes place when a service is…
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GATINEAU – The Telecommunications Act allows the CRTC to order “telecommunications facilities to be provided, constructed, installed, altered, moved, operated, used, repaired or maintained on any property.”
Furthermore, “No Canadian carrier or distribution undertaking shall construct a transmission line on, over, under or along a highway or other public place without the consent of the municipality or other public authority having jurisdiction over the highway or other public place.”
In that context, the Commission has had to resolve conflicts that arose over the years between some municipalities and carriers. The general rule is a municipality is compensated for its costs incurred…
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MONTREAL – Cogeco Communications announced today the appointment of Frank van der Post as president of its American division, Atlantic Broadband, effective November 4, 2019. He will be based in Quincy, Massachusetts.
Van der Post (right) joins Atlantic Broadband from KPN, a Dutch operator with more than seven million customers in the residential and enterprise markets, where he served as chief commercial officer. Before joining that telecom company, he spent several years in the airline and hospitality industries for British Airways and InterContinental Hotels Group.
“I am excited to join Atlantic Broadband and Cogeco Communications, and am delighted to be…
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MONTREAL – Cogeco Connexion announced Friday that its president, Ken Smithard, has been named to Canada’s Clean16 list for 2020, in the Technology & Telecom category.
Canada’s Clean16 are determined by Delta Management Group and its criteria in determining honourees is to consider measurable green accomplishments.
“In the last two years, Cogeco Connexion’s efforts have resulted in decreased greenhouse gas emissions by an astonishing 21%, the collection of more than 625,000 kilos of electronic waste, and have given a second life to 1.5 million refurbished units. Ken supported the implementation of employee-led initiatives such as carpooling system, urban beehives and…
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OTTAWA – Reactions were quick after the Federal Court’s Friday announcement to grant a temporary stay of the CRTC’s third party internet access rates decision.
On September 13, the cable companies (Rogers, Shaw, Cogeco, Vidéotron and Eastlink) filed a leave to appeal CRTC Telecom Order 2019-288, which lowered the rates independent ISPs must pay to access incumbent networks and forced those incumbents to reimburse the independents hundreds of millions of retroactive fees. They also requested an interim stay of the CRTC Order, request that was granted on September 27.
“We’re disappointed that the…
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SAN JOSE, Calif. – TiVo announced this week it is moving into the direct-to-consumer market in Canada by launching its new TiVo EDGE for antenna users in the U.S. and Canada.
The device (pictured) is a 4K Ultra High Definition (UHD) capable, live-TV DVR, all-in-one media device (so it streams, too) designed to work with an HD antenna and is also equipped with an on-screen user experience.
TiVo Edge is going straight to consumers, sold through its web site and some yet-to-be-announced electronics retailers, but not through TiVo’s Canadian BDU partners such as Cogeco, Westman and Access.
Its features include:
SkipMode, which allows…
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OTTAWA – On Friday, the Federal Court of Appeal granted a temporary stay of CRTC Telecom Order 2019-288, the decision which set new, lower, wholesale rates for third party internet access providers and also forced the incumbent network operators to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in retroactive fees to the independent resellers.
Cable companies Rogers, Shaw, Cogeco, Videoton and Eastlink were the first to file for a stay as well as for leave to appeal the CRTC decision, as we reported here. Bell Canada has also filed its own appeal application…
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