OTTAWA — Canada’s telecommunications industry contributed up to $70.7 billion to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020 and supported almost 600,000 jobs, according to a new Accenture report commissioned by the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA).
This is despite the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting 5.4% contraction in the Canadian economy last year, says a CWTA press release announcing availability of the report today.
The 2020 study conducted by Accenture Strategy and Consulting is an annual review of the telecom industry’s impact on Canada’s economy. In line with the 2019 report, “this year’s study continues to focus…
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TORONTO — FIBA, the International Basketball Federation, and Rogers Sports and Media’s Sportsnet announced today a new long-term broadcast rights agreement that will see Sportsnet as the exclusive broadcaster for FIBA events in Canada through to fall 2025.
“This is great news for basketball fans in Canada,” said FIBA media and marketing services director general Frank Leenders, in a press release. “The passion for the sport in this part of the world is evident and this partnership with Sportsnet allows for the creation of new synergies and increased levels of commitment which will provide fans with unprecedented coverage and access…
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TORONTO – The only way to describe Bell Media’s relaunched MuchMusic is as a collision between the old and the new.
Today’s iteration of MuchMusic, first launched on July 7 with content driven by the team behind the TSN site BarDown, banks on nostalgia, but it is also centred around what is new and popular right now. In a way, it is about breathing new life into an established brand and stirring up memories for those who watched MuchMusic on TV in the 80s and 90s, but it is targeted at 13 to 20-year-olds – people who were not…
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VANCOUVER – Rogers Group of Funds and Creative BC today announced plans for a $1 million fund to support Indigenous creators in British Columbia.
The purpose of the fund is to “help increase access and representation for Indigenous producers and Indigenous-led production companies in B.C.’s domestic motion picture industry,” a press release says.
By doing so, “it is to contribute to strong foundations that can serve to help correct the systemic and historic underrepresentation of Indigenous stories and storytellers in Canada’s screen sector.”
The fund’s first program, a collaborative partnership with the Indigenous Screen Office, opens today. It delivers “a top-up to…
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MONTREAL – Quebecor announced today it is expanding its entrepreneurial activities with the launch of a new corporate venture capital arm, asterX.
“asterX will support start-ups that have the potential to stimulate innovation in Quebecor’s core business segments as well as game-changing businesses that are reshaping our everyday life,” a press release says.
Quebecor has supported local start-ups for over two decades through initiatives including Pierre Péladeau Bursaries, which have been awarded annually to university students since 1999 for innovative projects.
Furthermore, in the past year “Quebecor has partnered with nearly ten innovative start-ups in industries ranging from AdTech to MedTech with…
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PLANO, Tex. and TORONTO — Ericsson announced today Rogers Communications is the first North American service provider to join its Startup 5G program.
The program “is designed to help communications service providers (CSPs) accelerate the successful commercialization and monetization of 5G by introducing them to the right consumer innovation partners,” according to a press release. It “will also encourage 5G innovation transfer between start-ups and Rogers to create new business opportunities for both sides.”
Through the program, Rogers gains access to Ericsson’s ConsumerLab research, analytical data and worldwide network of 5G start-ups — “an exclusive list of companies developing scalable services,…
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GATINEAU — ISED Canada’s Spam Reporting Centre (SRC) received more than 154,406 complaints from April 1 to Sept. 30, 2021, or an average of 5,939 per week, according to the CRTC’s most recent snapshot of its actions to enforce Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL).
The enforcement measures the CRTC took during this time period include 253 notices to produce and 16 preservation demands. No monetary penalties were issued during this six-month period.
Since CASL came into force in 2014, the CRTC’s enforcement efforts have resulted in payments of more than $1.4 million, including approximately $805,000 in administrative monetary penalties and $668,000 from…
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NEW YORK — Former Videotron executive Manon Brouillette (above) has been promoted to the position of executive vice-president and CEO of Verizon Consumer Group, effective Jan. 1, 2022. She is succeeding Ronan Dunne, who will take on the role of strategic advisor, says a press release. She will report directly to Verizon chairman and CEO Hans Vestberg.
In her new role, Brouillette will be responsible “for all aspects of Verizon Consumer Group’s customer-first strategy, execution and growth, including consumer marketing, products and services, retail and customer service operations as well as digital excellence,” the release says.
Brouillette joined Verizon in…
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TORONTO and HAMILTON — TeraGo Inc., a Canadian provider of cloud, co-location and connectivity services, announced today it has partnered with Hamilton’s McMaster University to build and deploy Canada’s first university-based 5G millimeter wave (mmWave) private network for research purposes.
Using the 5G mmWave network, the two organizations “plan to develop the most cutting-edge technologies for advanced manufacturing and Industry 4.0 in Canada,” reads a press release.
“A 5G millimeter wave private network delivers higher speeds and lower latency and is a prerequisite to advanced manufacturing and logistics. With these capabilities, users can access the benefits of machine learning, augmented reality,…
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CARLSBAD, Calif. and LONDON, UK — In a deal valued at US$7.3 billion, US-based global communications company Viasat is acquiring Inmarsat, a UK-based provider of global mobile satellite communications services, the two companies announced today.
The transaction is comprised of US$850 million in cash, approximately 46.36 million shares of Viasat common stock valued at US$3.1 billion based on last Friday’s closing price, and the assumption of US$3.4 billion of net debt, according to a press release.
The boards of directors of both companies have approved the transaction agreement. The companies expect the transaction to close in the second half of 2022,…
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