OTTAWA – Within the chaotic 24/7 news cycle, John Reid – the longtime president and CEO of the Ottawa-based Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance (CATA) – both got and sent the message that reporters need information and that he was a valuable source of it.
For journalists, like me, he was the reliable go-to guy for contacts in or the inside scoop on the latest high-tech developments. In turn, Reid never hesitated to post a CATA news release on a journalist’s Facebook page, like mine.
He understood communication is a dialogue, and was, in the words of his close friend and colleague,…
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TORONTO – Rogers Communications has signed a multi-year partnership with Toronto’s Pearson Airport to be its official telecommunications partner.
As part of the deal, Rogers will have category exclusivity for media, branding, advertising, and in-terminal brand experiences at Canada’s largest airport. The partnership also includes a premium Ignite TV lounge in both Terminal 1 and Terminal 3.
“We’re thrilled to announce this first of its kind partnership with Rogers, uniting an airport and an industry-leading telecommunications company, enabling us to provide innovative experiences and entertainment for our travellers from the first time they step foot in our terminal until they board…
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VANCOUVER – As social media’s reach and popularity across Canada continues to climb, users are showing an increasing propensity to use platforms to express dissatisfaction with brands, products, and services, says a new report by Canadian marketing research company Insights West.
The 2019 Canadian Social Media Insights report found that brands and businesses have been increasing their share of the social media conversations, with Canadians reporting that 24% of their total time spent on social media is interacting with brands, up from 18% in 2016.
Some 70% of Canadians reported following at least one brand or company on social media,…
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MONTREAL – The first projects under the Quebec-based SCALE.AI Supercluster, one of four members of the Feds’ Innovation Superclusters Initiative, will harness artificial intelligence to cut costs and increase efficiencies in the telecom, consumer goods, farming, and shipping sectors.
ISED Minister Navdeep Bains made the announcement Thursday from Ray-Mont Logistics, a Montréal-based logistics services company facilitating international trade by enhancing the container supply chain.
"SCALE.AI is just getting started transforming the AI sector, creating good jobs here at home and establishing Canada as a global leader in AI,” he said in a statement. “These projects…
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MONTREAL – Music, TV, radio and tech company Stingray announced Friday it will allocate $6.7 million to Canadian content development initiatives in 2019 through payments to music industry organizations and bursaries for up-and-coming artists, among other ways.
Stingray’s aid to the Canadian music industry will take include financial contributions to Factor/Musicaction, Radio Starmaker Fund/Fonds Radiostar and the Community Radio Fund of Canada, says a company press release.
In addition, Stingray will allocate $1.6 million to over 70 music festivals and events across the country such as the Junos, the CCMA Awards, the Polaris Music Prize, the Francos de Montréal, and Breakout…
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TORONTO – Bell has acquired a minority interest and signed on as a founding marketing partner with global esports entertainment organization OverActive Media (OAM). Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The multi-year agreement designates Bell as OAM's exclusive telecommunications partner and includes team sponsorship, content integration, event production, experiential activations and traditional and online advertising.
The deal includes all current Bell brands and subsidiaries, and provides Bell access to all current and future OAM Canadian-based franchises, including the Toronto Defiant and the new Toronto Call of Duty franchise.
"Bell is excited to invest in OAM to further our support…
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NEW ROSS, NS – The federal government unveiled Canada’s first rural economic development strategy Thursday that, among other priorities, seeks to boost reliable and affordable high-speed Internet and mobile connectivity.
Rural Opportunity, National Prosperity: An Economic Development Strategy for Rural Canada notes that as of 2018, only 37% of rural households are currently able to access the CRTC’s target high-speed Internet speeds of 50 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload, compared to 97% of households in urban areas, and that 14% of major Canadian roads and highways still lacked mobile wireless coverage.
Minister of Rural Economic Development Bernadette Jordan also…
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Heritage Minister offers an enlightening tweet
OTTAWA – They heard directly from from 150 stakeholders and read through more than 2,000 interventions and today the Broadcast an Telecom Legislative Review panel released their summary of all of that.
It’s not too exhaustive, nor does it tie any points of view back to specific stakeholders (that can be found in the individual submissions which are all now online) but the report highlights the areas of tension identified in their consultations – and really, the same tensions fought over in the industry for…
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BTLR panel wades through 2,085 submissions
OTTAWA – The federal government’s Broadcasting and Telecommunications Legislative Review (BTLR) made public its preliminary report today, a summary of what it heard from more than 2,000 written submissions and a dozen conferences spread out over the past 10 months.
Its What We Heard Report, released today along with all of those written submissions (see links below), reflects the panel’s “extensive outreach and engagement process to hear what Canadians had to say about updating the existing laws to reflect the realities of our rapidly evolving digital world,” says the announcement.
In September 2018, the panel launched an…
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OTTAWA – The Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) said Tuesday that C21Media will produce its annual conference Prime Time in Ottawa starting next year.
C21Media’s Canadian division, Content Canada, will draw upon its global network to bring the production industry’s brightest minds and leading innovators to the confab. This year’s conference will take place from January 29 to 31 in Ottawa, and marks the 25th anniversary of the CMPA’s flagship industry event.
“Over the past quarter-century, Prime Time has evolved from a small policy conference into a global media event with a distinctly Canadian perspective,” said CMPA president and CEO Reynolds…
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