Report wonders if higher-income Canadians willing to subsidize less fortunate
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – After concluding another study on telecom affordability and accessibility, the House of Commons industry committee released a report Tuesday that excoriates the CRTC for issuing a critical decision on wholesale internet rates that it said upsets the very issues the committee was hoping to address.
The CRTC did not, as some wished, open the large national wireless networks to any service provider when it decided in mid-April that only regional carriers with spectrum and networks can lease capacity from the big carriers. Then in May, the…
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TORONTO — Since January 2020, Rogers Communications enabled and enhanced connectivity to more than 1,000 communities — from Kelowna, B.C., to Peguis First Nations, Manitoba, to Halifax — faster than at any time in its history, the company announced in a press release this morning.
In addition, Rogers says it will accelerate the pace of its infrastructure rollout to reach 750 more communities by the end of 2021, helping to support Canada’s pandemic recovery.
From the beginning of 2020 until March 2021, Rogers invested $2.8 billion in capital spending in high-speed Internet, LTE and 5G connectivity and services in communities across…
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TORONTO — During a virtual ceremony Tuesday night, Rogers Communications awarded Ted Rogers Scholarships to more than 375 Canadian youth to support their post-secondary studies this fall and in recognition of their community leadership and volunteerism.
Through the Ted Rogers Scholarship program, Rogers provides $2,500 renewable scholarships for up to four years or $10,000 to recognize young leaders nominated by Rogers’s 18 community partnership organizations, including YMCA, Toronto Community Housing, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada, Indspire, GRIS-Montréal and Pflag. The program also offers entrance scholarships of $2,500 to eligible Rogers employees or their children.
Collectively, the Ted Rogers Scholarship Class…
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Say letters telecoms sent to ISED in order to get funds
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – Rogers and Videotron have promised Innovation Canada they will implement several key policies that will speed up and cheapen access to subsidized support structures if granted money from the $2.75-billion Universal Broadband Fund.
The two companies propose to participate in frequent meetings of a co-ordination committee of owners of passive infrastructure; streamlining and accelerating permit reviews, administrative processes and contracts; and establishing a “dig-once” policy, whereby other carriers will be able to lay their fibre down at the same time that their own infrastructure is being…
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IGLOOLIK, Nunavut — Only six months after its launch in January, Uvagut TV, Canada’s first Inuktuk-language TV channel, is helping to build live production capacity in communities across Inuit Nunangat, by enabling filmmaking teams to produce and share their stories with each other and a national audience.
Since March, Uvagut TV’s flagship program Tunnganarniq Live, a showcase of Inuit talent, has been guest hosted several times by members of the Arviat Film Society. On June 23, members of the Inuvialuit Communications Society, newly trained in live broadcasting techniques, will host the first Inuvik-based episode of the show, says a press…
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TORONTO — On June 30th, the last day of National Indigenous History Month, more than 400 radio stations from broadcasters across Canada, including the big chains Bell Media, Corus Entertainment, Rogers Sports & Media and Stingray Radio, and others, will join together for a full day of programming dedicated to amplifying and elevating Indigenous voices.
Bell Media shared the news today (which is National Indigenous Peoples Day) in a press release, saying “A Day To Listen” on Wednesday, June 30 will be devoted to sharing stories from Indigenous leaders, residential school survivors, elders, musicians and teachers throughout the day…
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Want faster, cheaper piracy measures
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – The country’s largest broadcasters and telecoms want new copyright legislation to include provisions that give the courts the ability to order website-blocking, prevent the CRTC from overruling blocking orders, and to expand authority over other intermediaries to choke off infringers.
Bell, Rogers, Telus, Shaw, Cogeco, Quebecor, SaskTel, Eastlink, and the Canadian Communications System Alliance also want the legislation to reflect the courts’ ability to unilaterally order search engines to de-index infringing websites, social media platforms and to force hosts, like Cloudflare, to take down infringing services and not direct users to it,…
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CANADA’S ISPs ALWAYS want to perform well in PCMag’s analysis of the fastest speeds delivered to their customers.
The magazine regularly, with the help of Ookla and actual customers using its Speedtest, takes a look at the internet service providers across Canada to show who offers the fastest Internet service.
The upload and download speeds are given weighted scores and analyzed by PCMag according to a speed index (PCMag Speed Index or PSI). This year’s big winner was Beanfield Metroconnect, which notched huge performance gaps over its competition in Toronto.
When it comes to national providers however, Telus was the fastest.
“Last year,…
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NORTH BAY, Ont. — Radio station CFCH returned to the airwaves Tuesday morning, officially signing on at 7:30 a.m. ET as Country 90.5 FM, CFCH North Bay.
The CFCH call letters originated with the first radio station launched by Roy Thomson in North Bay back in 1930, which was right at the beginning of Lord Thomson of Fleet’s media-empire building. (The current Thomson-Reuters is a descendant of that company.)
The new CFCH FM station is owned and operated by Vista Radio, which is owned by Thomson’s granddaughter Sherry Brydson, who helped to kick off the launch of CFCH and spoke about…
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HALIFAX — After expanding its 5G network in New Brunswick earlier this month, Rogers Communications today announced it is launching 5G service in Halifax.
The company says its 5G network is the first and only one available in Nova Scotia right now, and its 5G service now reaches 12 communities across Atlantic Canada, including Saint John, Fredericton, Moncton and now Halifax.
Nationwide, Rogers currently offers 5G access in more than 700 communities, with a commitment to reach 1,000 by the end of the year.
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