Consumers, employees, stakeholders encouraged to come forward
OTTAWA – Canadians who have been on the receiving end of misleading or aggressive retail sales practices from the country’s telecommunication companies will now have the opportunity to tell their story to the CRTC. We suppose those who've had good experiences can also tell their stories, too, should the urge strike them.
The Commission said Monday it is kicking off an inquiry on whether high-pressure and unsavoury sales tactics are used by Canada’s large telecommunications service providers. It wants to hear from consumers – including those who are vulnerable due to their age,…
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MONTREAL – Cogeco Inc. CEO Louis Audet has long said his company would get into wireless if, and only if, it made economic sense for him and Cogeco shareholders.
That means he’s always wanted to do it profitably – which of course meant he was never going to sink hundreds of millions of dollars into overbuilding wireless infrastructure in the company’s Southern Ontario and Southern Quebec footprint, or beyond. “We like to eat our cake and still have it… that’s our philosophy,” Audet told financial analysts this morning on a conference call discussing the company’s third quarter results.
Regulations had to…
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MONTREAL – Third quarter revenues at Cogeco Inc. rose by 11.6% to $669 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2018 (ended May 31st) while adjusted earnings rose 12.1% compared to Q3 2017 to $297 million – thanks in large part to a U.S. acquisition completed in the beginning of the calendar year, the company announced Wednesday evening.
Free cash flow increased by 5.3% to $115.5 million, compared to the prior year’s quarter.
Revenue was driven by growth of 15% in the Communications segment as result of the January 2018 acquisition of Harron Communications, cablesystems…
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MONTREAL – Cogeco Communications added to its spectrum holdings in Ontario this week after buying ten spectrum licences in the 2500 MHz paired spectrum band from Kian Telecom for $8 million.
The licenses cover a population of over 1.5 million residents in non-metropolitan areas scattered across Eastern and Southern Ontario.
Innovation, Science & Economic Development (ISED) approved the licence transfer on Thursday after determining that the move would “not result in a significant change in spectrum concentration in the licence areas.”
“This acquisition marks another step in a disciplined approach to providing wireless services to our customers,” said Cogeco’s SVP strategy and…
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Videotron, SaskTel ranked tops again
TORONTO – Canadians with smart home devices are willing to pay more for their internet but are quick to switch internet providers, according to new data from J.D. Power.
The 2018 Canada Internet Service Provider Customer Satisfaction Study measures overall satisfaction with internet service providers and is based on five factors (in order of importance): performance and reliability; cost of service; communication; billing; and customer service. The 2018 Canada Television Provider Customer Satisfaction Study is based on six factors (in order of importance): performance and reliability; cost of service; programming; communication; billing; and customer service. Continue Reading
OTTAWA – A French-language radio program that derided older people and included a discussion about sexual matters was neither explicit or detailed enough to violate any broadcast codes, says the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC).
The CBSC examined an episode of Doc Mailloux et Josey, an open-line talk show hosted by Josey Arsenault and psychiatrist Pierre “Doc” Mailloux that airs on the Cogeco radio network, including on CKOB-FM (106,9fm, Mauricie).
On the episode that aired on October 12, 2017, Mailloux criticized people of an older generation who (translated) “lie to themselves cheerfully, daily, copiously, abundantly”, plus expressed his frustration with older…
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Stingray pledges to investment profits in local music video production
MONTREAL – Stingray is teaming up with the Association québécoise de l’industrie du disque, du spectacle et de la vidéo (ADISQ) on a new music video TV channel spotlighting French-language Quebec and Canadian music videos.
PalmarèsADISQ par Stingray is already available to Videotron’s customers and will soon roll out to Bell Fibe TV, Telus, and Cogeco subscribers.
Programmed by Stingray’s team of in-house curators with the support of ADISQ experts, PalmarèsADISQ par Stingray presents themed blocks, exclusive countdowns, and best-of lists. The companies said Friday that the channel was born from a…
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Richard Lachance named special advisor at Cogeco Inc.
MONTREAL – Michel Lorrain will succeed Richard Lachance as president of Cogeco Media effective September 1st, the company said Tuesday.
On the same date, Lachance will become special advisor at Cogeco Inc. where he will oversee the integration of the 10 RNC Média regional radio stations that the company acquired in April, though that deal is still awaiting CRTC approval.
Lorrain (pictured) has been with the Cogeco for 11 years, most recently as EVP of Cogeco Media, a role he has held since last July.
“The appointment of Michel Lorrain as President of Cogeco…
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TORONTO – Telecom companies are eager to leverage the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to process big data, improve operations and increase revenue, and it isn’t as new as we think it is.
AI is already used in various ways such as automating customer service inquiries, routing customers to the proper agent and routing prospects with buying intent directly to salespeople. However, the massive growth of Internet of Things (IoT) and the exabytes of big data being produced thanks to connected everything has renewed interest in how AI can provide real value to that data.
AI has the ability to fix…
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TORONTO – Rogers, Telus and SaskTel were quick to endorse Connecting Families, the new initiative designed to help make the Internet affordable to low income Canadians, announced Wednesday by Innovation, Science and Economic Development minister Navdeep Bains at the Canadian Telecom Summit.
Connecting Families will invest $13.2 million over five years, starting in 2017-2018. For $10 per month, up to 220,000 qualifying households will receive an Internet package of no less than 10 Mbps download speeds (or the fastest available) and a minimum of 100 GB of data usage each month, with no equipment or installation fees. Families must…
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