TORONTO — On Giving Tuesday, the Salvation Army Canada and Rogers Communications announced Canadians now have a touchless digital giving option to safely donate to the annual Christmas Kettles Campaign.
Powered by the Rogers LTE-M network, hundreds of the Salvation Army’s signature Christmas kettles will be equipped with “touchless giving” technology from Canadian start-up tiptap, allowing Canadians to “tap to give” using a credit card or smartphone. At the kettles this year, Canadians will see a pre-set donation amount of $5, with an option to tap up to 10 times to increase their donation on the spot, if desired.
“This…
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OTTAWA — Consumer complaints to the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS) decreased 19% this year compared to last, according to the organization’s 2019-20 annual report released this morning.
This is the first year-over-year decline in the number of complaints reaching the CCTS since the 2015-16 fiscal year, says this year’s report, which covers the period from August 1, 2019 to July 31, 2020.
In total, 15,868 complaints were filed this year, with 89% of them being successfully resolved by the parties following CCTS’s intervention. These complaints raised almost 43,000 issues, with the most common complaints related to billing problems,…
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“If you think it’s right, just keep at it”
COLETTE WATSON IS ONE of the most accomplished Canadian broadcasters in history and despite her voluntary departure from Rogers earlier this year, she’s not done.
Watson (above) left her position as senior vice-president of television and broadcast operations in June and left behind a legacy of success. Recent wins included her team’s successful lobbying of the CRTC to let vertically-integrated companies move funds from community TV to over-the-air TV (which, along with cost-cutting, made CityTV profitable again), and shocking many by winning OMNI Television a new must-carry licence, securing its future.
These were…
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MONTREAL — Music service provider and broadcaster Stingray is growing its audience reach with the launch today of multiple SVOD and free, ad-supported TV (FAST) channels with a number of providers around the world.
On the SVOD side, Stingray Classica is launching on new partner OneHub TV in the U.K. and existing partner Rogers in Canada; Stingray Karaoke is now being carried by Optimum and Suddenlink by Altice (U.S.) and Swisscom blue TV(Switzerland); and Qello Concerts by Stingray has launched on Amazon Prime Video Channels (Italy and Spain), Player + (Poland) and Totalplay (Mexico). The three SVOD channels are offered…
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By John Bugailiskis
TWO YEARS AGO AT the 2018 Canadian Telecom Summit, industry executives largely agreed that for 5G to live up to its hype, service providers would have to forge new partnerships with non-traditional businesses and industries across Canada.
Jump ahead two years to yesterday’s virtual 2020 Telecom Summit panel on 5G and the only noticeable change is the (virtual) setting, not the outlook. The deployment of 5G will be marathon, not a sprint and the revolutionary changes will eventually arrive, but not for several more years predicted this year’s expert panel.
For telecom giants used to forging their own path…
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WINNIPEG — Rogers Communications today announced that it has turned on its 5G service in Winnipeg and Brandon, Manitoba.
Customers in these locations on Rogers Infinite and Rogers for Business Shared Unlimited Data plans with compatible 5G devices will now have access to this next generation wireless technology. More than 2.2 million Canadians are on 5G-ready Rogers Infinite unlimited data plans.
Including these communities, Rogers 5G network (powered by Ericsson’s tech), now reaches a total of 134 cities and towns across the country offering 10 times more coverage than any other carrier. Please click here for the company’s 5G coverage…
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And why there’s much more to rural connectivity than funding
By Lynn Greiner
AN ADDITIONAL $1.75 BILLION for rural broadband, which the federal government announced this month, is certainly a good step, albeit delayed, in the right direction. But, it’s not enough.
“It’s not a silver bullet,” said Telus vice-president telecom policy and chief regulatory legal counsel Stephen Schmidt during the Canadian Telecom Summit’s annual Regulatory Blockbuster session on Wednesday. “It won’t work on its own… In our view, complementary spectrum policy reform is an essential companion piece that will ensure that the networks that get built with or without public…
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TORONTO – While he didn’t directly address the now-expired hostile bid to purchase the company he just joined, Cogeco Connexion president Frédéric Perron (pictured in a screen cap) did use his first speech to the industry to send a message: “We’re here to stay… and we’re here to grow.”
During a Tuesday keynote to online delegates of the 19th annual Canadian Telecom Summit, Perron (a Canadian with a long background of telecom experience in Europe) noted the company likes to say “that we’re one of the well kept secrets in the industry, at least up to recently,” and he…
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Companies say they won’t pursue the acquisition further
TORONTO and NEW YORK — The joint Altice USA-Rogers Communications months-long pursuit of Cogeco and Cogeco Communications has come to an end, with the companies’ second acquisition offer expiring today and both Altice and Rogers saying they won’t pursue the matter further.
In an email statement sent to Cartt.ca, an Altice spokesperson said: “Our offer to acquire Cogeco in order to own Atlantic Broadband has expired and we do not intend to extend it. We remain committed to our growth strategy and continue to focus on opportunities to drive value for our…
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Breakfast Television in Vancouver and Calgary cancelled
TORONTO — Without providing specific numbers, Rogers Sports and Media confirmed to Cartt.ca this afternoon a “small percentage” of employees across the country are being laid off and the local Breakfast Television morning shows in Vancouver and Calgary, in their current form, have been cancelled.
“In early 2021, we will be expanding the Breakfast Television brand and a new BT will air on Citytv in 6 markets across the country: Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Montreal. In addition, there are some programming changes at select radio stations across the country; listeners will continue to…
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