In a decision dated July 23, the Canada Industrial Relations Board has given final approval to an application by the Metro Cable TV Maintenance and Service Employees’ Association to expand its existing bargaining unit for Rogers technicians in Ontario to include additional or renamed job positions at several locations.
Now included in the bargaining unit description are full-time fibre technicians, construction technicians and fibre/construction technicians working at or from Rogers’s Richmond Hill locations at 234 and 244 Newkirk Road, in addition to several other locations including 853, 855 and 857 York Mills Road and 10…
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Bell announced last week it has completed its acquisition of Ziply Fiber, a fibre internet provider in the U.S.’s Pacific Northwest region, for $5 billion in cash and the assumption of approximately $2.6 billion of debt.
The acquisition expands Bell’s fibre footprint into the U.S. by 1.4 million locations, according to a Bell press release, which said it also strengthens the Canadian telecom’s position as the third-largest fibre internet provider in North America.
To accelerate its expansion into the U.S. market, Bell and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board in…
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Telco previously hinted at a minority sale in its cell tower portfolio
By Ahmad Hathout
Telus announced Friday that it has agreed to sell to a pension fund a minority stake in a separate entity that will carry its wireless infrastructure.
La Caisse, one of the largest pension funds in the country, will spend $1.26 billion on the 49.9 per cent interest in Terrion, a newly created cell tower operator headquartered in Montreal and headed by long-time Telus executive Eros Spadotto.
Terrion will manage about 3,000 tower sites across British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec and will generate money through wholesale rental. Telus…
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By Ahmad Hathout
WildBrain has lost another undue preference case against a broadcaster it alleged was giving a leg up to its main competitor in the children’s programming space.
The CRTC on Thursday denied the Toronto-based media company’s September application to find Rogers was preferencing Corus’s services – Cartoon Network, Boomerang, and Nickelodeon – and those from Disney+ over its own by the way it marketed the services.
“Rogers as a BDU is carrying services from companies, including companies it competes with in other ways (such as Corus),” the CRTC said in its decision. “BDUs are permitted to make business…
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Rogers announced Wednesday it is rolling out WiFi 7 to customers in Quebec with Rogers 5G Home Internet.
“This launch brings next generation connectivity and reliable WiFi on Canada’s largest and most reliable 5G network,” Rogers said in a press release.
This follows its introduction of WiFi 7 to Rogers Xfinity customers in Calgary in June and in Atlantic Canada last week. The Toronto-headquartered cable giant has previously said Rogers Xfinity will roll out WiFi 7 to the rest of Canada this year.
“Canadians deserve the best connectivity…
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By Linda Stuart
Bell and Rogers announced Tuesday they have signed an agreement to distribute each other’s specialty channels across their respective Bell Fibe TV and Rogers Xfinity platforms.
Under the agreement, Bell is bringing Rogers Sports and Media’s HGTV, Food Network, Discovery, Magnolia Network and Investigation Discovery to its Bell Fibe TV, Fibe TV app and Bell Satellite TV subscribers. Those customers will also continue to have access to Bravo. Bell is currently providing these new channel offerings to customers in free preview as of July 29, it said.
In addition,…
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Telus announced Tuesday it has launched Wi-Fi 7 for its PureFibre internet customers on gigabit speed plans or above initially in select areas of British Columbia, with availability in Alberta and Quebec soon to follow.
Delivering speeds up to four times faster than Wi-Fi 6, Telus’s new Boost Wi-Fi 7 internet router is built with at least 65-per-cent recycled plastic and comes in plastic-free packaging made from 90-per-cent recycled cardboard, according to a Telus press release.
“The launch of Wi-Fi 7 is a game-changer for connected homes across Canada underscoring our commitment to…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC has found that OneSoccer is owned, operated and controlled by Canadians, turning away a claim by Rogers that the cable giant was effectively negotiating a carry agreement with Spain’s Mediapro.
Rogers filed the complaint with the CRTC last summer, disputing an earlier finding by commission staff that said the OneSoccer service was operated by Canadians. Before that, in March 2023, the commission found that Rogers was giving itself an undue preference by refusing to carry the service in competition with its Sportsnet and Bell’s equivalent channels. Rogers had argued that…
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CBC and ABC News Studios announced last week the new feature-length documentary Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery will premiere in Canada on Sept. 17 on CBC and CBC Gem, and on Sept. 21 on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ for bundle subscribers in the U.S. and on Disney+ internationally (excluding Canada), following its world premiere at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival.
From Canadian director Ally Pankiw (I Used to Be Funny, Black Mirror, The Great), Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery was commissioned by CBC with the participation of the Canada Media Fund and the Rogers Group of Funds. The…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Telus is admitting that it became aware of, but dealt with, a “small and isolated number” of “rogue” third-party representatives who were engaging on its behalf in the promotion of pirate IPTV services to get people to subscribe to its internet services.
In a statement of defense, filed Friday with the Ontario Superior Court and in response to an action commenced by Bell, the Vancouver-based telecom says it received a customer complaint in May about a representative who was promoting the illegal service.
“In accordance with TELUS’s standard escalation processes and before Bell commenced this action, TELUS immediately investigated…
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