TORONTO – A coalition of Canadian academics and consumer groups are asking the country’s biggest telecommunications service providers to divulge the extent to which they pass on their customers’ private information to government agencies when asked.
Spearheaded by Toronto-based researcher Dr. Christopher Parsons, the organization sent letters to 16 different companies this week, including Bell, Rogers, Cogeco, Shaw, Telus and Videotron, asking them to respond to questions on their data retention and sharing policies. The telcos were asked to respond or commit to responding by March 3, 2014.
“Specifically, we are asking how, when, and why your company discloses information to…
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MONTREAL – Cogeco Cable this week launched its new Ultimate 120 high speed Internet package to its residential customers in Ontario and Quebec.
The Ultimate 120 package offers download speeds up to 120 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 10 Mbps. In Ontario, the package also includes a monthly data transfer capacity of 425 GB, while in Quebec, the monthly data transfer capacity is 400 GB.
Cogeco also launched a new business high speed Internet package, named Cogeco Business Ultimate, which offers download speeds of up to 120 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 10 Mbps.
The new package…
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MONTREAL – With eight days until Bell Let's Talk Day on January 28, Bell officially thanked the Canadian companies and associations that are helping spread the word about Canadian mental health.
Encompassing media companies, major-league sports teams and associations, which include Bell’s partners and competitors alike, the organizations are providing various platforms for the Bell Let's Talk message, including TV, cinema, radio, newspaper, out-of-home and online advertising, rink boards at major sports arenas, promotional events, and media coverage dedicated to enhancing Canadian mental health. They include:
– Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television
– Banff World Media Festival
– Basketball Canada
– Canadian Broadcasting Corporation/Radio-Canada
-…
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MONTREAL – Cogeco Inc. kicked off its fiscal 2014 with a 20.7% increase in profits thanks to growth in its cable division, and told investors that it is currently testing a new “evolved video distribution platform”.
When asked if the new initiative is designed to cut costs, generate revenue, or assist with customer retention, president and CEO Louis Audet was quick to respond with “all of the above.”
“We anticipate that, in the fullness of time, the equipment to support this new advanced video platform will in fact be more advantageous than some of the proprietary technology that we are locked…
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HASTINGS COUNTY, ON – Bell Aliant, Cogeco Cable and Utilities Kingston have been awarded contracts to expand high-speed fibre internet connections at more than 50 business parks and clusters across rural Eastern Ontario.
The business park project, valued at about $8.9 million, is the latest phase of the Eastern Ontario Regional Network (EORN) project, a $170 million initiative to expand rural broadband throughout the region. Created by the Eastern Ontario Wardens' Caucus, the project is supported by federal, provincial, and municipal funding, and private sector investment.
The companies are building the new services off of their existing infrastructure, as well as…
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MONTREAL – CTAM Canada’s newly elected board of directors for 2014 includes a number of familiar names and faces.
The executive committee is:
– Gary Pelletier from Stingray Digital as President;
– Drew Robinson from Shaw Media as Vice-President;
– Jennifer Salmon from CCSA as Secretary; and
– Jeff Taylor from Rogers Communications as Treasurer.
The newly elected 2014 board selected the new chapter executive along with committee chairperson assignments, following the last meeting of the 2013 board on December 10th.
Joining the organization are Valerie Heroux from Videotron, Anne Lavigueur from Cogeco, Lisa Purdy from BBC Kids, Andy Garrett from Eastlink, Leanne Shearer from Bell…
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By Greg O’Brien
AS A YOUNG CANADIAN growing up in Timmins (hometown of NHL legends Frank and Peter Mahovlich, among several others) Saturday night hockey on TV was as regular, or normal, or expected, as church on Sunday. As reliable and loved as our family’s dog.
Hockey Night in Canada wasn’t just a staple. It was as much a part of life as eggs and cereal for breakfast or snow on the ground in the winter. We had a single-dial television in the mid-1970s that caught the few stations we had off-air. I was my dad’s remote control, standing by the…
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TROIS-RIVIERES, QC – Cogeco Inc. has nailed the naming rights to the new Trois-Rivieres amphitheatre.
The facility, which is scheduled to open in the spring of 2015, was officially unmveiled as ‘Amphitheatre Cogeco’ on Tuesday. The deal includes three optional five-year extensions, which could bring the duration of the agreement to 20 years.
Cogeco called the agreement “highly symbolic” noting that Trois-Rivieres is the company's birthplace.
"We are delighted that the amphitheatre will bear the Cogeco name," said Cogeco Cable president and CEO Louise St-Pierre, in the news release. "Cogeco was founded more than 56 years ago in Trois-Rivieres, where it blossomed…
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MONTREAL – Bell Media is making ten of its French-language specialty channels available for free to subscribers of Bell Satellite TV, Bell Fibe TV, Cogeco Cable, Shaw Direct, Videotron, and select other service providers.
The month-long free preview, dubbed Le Grand Débrouillage (The Great Freeview), runs from December 12 to January 12, 2014 and includes Canal Vie, Canal D, Ztélé, Historia, Séries+, VRAK TV, Disney Junior (French), MusiquePlus, MusiMax, and RDS Info.
The event also includes a contest where viewers have a chance to win $25,000. Bell Media is promoting Le Grand Débrouillage with a multi-platform campaign on television, radio, out-of-home,…
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ROGERS COMMUNUCATIONS' BLOCKBUSTER NHL deal puts a direct focus on the sheer costs of sports programming for distributors and their customers, the Canadian consumer.
Cartt.ca interviewed several executives across the Canadian television industry (including some distributors who spoke to us on the condition they not be identified) to discuss the impact sports is having on broadcasting in Canada and whether or not the business can survive the spiralling costs of this rich content.
Alyson Townsend, president of the independent cable group Canadian Cable System Alliance, said no one should be surprised by the consistent price increases consumers have paid for cable…
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