VANCOUVER – In time for its recent open house in Vancouver, the LoRa (Long Range) Alliance announced a new partnership with Google Cloud as one of the major multi-national companies backing the LoRaWAN standard which is aimed at connecting the internet of things (IoT).
That cloud service provider with clout is the latest of 500 members around the world – including IBM, Cisco, Foxconn, Schneider and Bosch – to join the Alliance, whose work is to ensure a protocol that meets the varying worldwide standards and to certify devices to ensure interoperability. This is important stuff.
Travis…
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Competition Bureau invokes Sugar Wireless as a model to follow
GATINEAU – “Generally, the Bureau does not favour price controls. However, the presence of market power in this industry; the natural experiment offered by Sugar Mobile’s attempted entry into the wireless services industry; and the fact that similar LCDO Plans have arisen without government intervention in some foreign jurisdictions informs the Bureau’s view that LCDO Plans can increase economic welfare and consumer choice in Canada’s wireless industry.”
So says the Competition Bureau of Canada’s submission to the CRTC about the low-cost data only wireless plans submitted to…
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KITCHENER, ON – Residents in Ontario’s Tri-Cities, also known as Kitchener–Cambridge–Waterloo, have a new source for local news with the launch of KitchenerToday.com.
With editorial coverage led by Rogers Media's news and talk radio station 570 News, the digital site features local news, community events, obituaries, entertainment, current affairs, and weather. It also offers live stream video from the Rogers tv community channel, including The Jennifer Campbell Show and The Mike Farwell Show.
KitchenerToday.com is available on smartphone, desktop, and tablet and is targeted to the residents of Waterloo Region and Southern Ontario.
“The debut of KitchenerToday.com shows how committed we are…
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TORONTO – Rogers Media let go 75 full-time employees this week as it continues to scale back its print publishing division.
According to a National Post report, one-third of the company’s digital content and publishing department were laid off, including from big titles like Maclean’s and Chatelaine, in a reorganization that aims to “make the business sustainable given challenges in the publishing industry.”
A Rogers’ spokesperson quoted in the report said that all of Rogers’ brands will continue to operate and there will be no changes to the frequency of its print issues, adding the changes “do not impact the…
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TORONTO – As the Canadian wireless landscape continues to feel competitive heat from the likes of Shaw’s Freedom Mobile, Rogers CFO Tony Staffieri remains confident any impact is manageable.
“We’ve competed with Freedom, and the prior names of Freedom for upwards of 10 years now,” Staffieri said, speaking Wednesday at Scotiabank’s Telecom, Media and Technology Conference. “We compete not only on price, but also on network quality and points of distribution, among other factors. Getting the customer is one thing, but keep the customer is something else.”
Despite the Q4 2017 price war which saw Freedom disrupt…
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OTTAWA – The Federal Government has ordered a public inquiry into the alleged high-pressure sales tactics used by the country’s biggest telecommunication companies.
Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, said Thursday that the Feds have directed the CRTC to conduct the inquiry and ensure that “Canadians have an opportunity to be heard and these issues are carefully considered”. The Commission will have until February 28, 2019 to complete the inquiry and file a report that must contain potential solutions to ensure Canadian consumers are treated fairly.
The Minister Bains also asked the Competition Bureau to assist the…
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TORONTO – Given how Canadians now consume video, and from where, measuring the level of industry consolidation here based on share of linear TV viewing is wrong, Corus Entertainment CEO Doug Murphy told an investors conference in Toronto Wednesday morning.
Appearing at the Scotiabank Telecom, Media and Technology conference, Murphy would not comment on yesterday’s Globe and Mail report which said Shaw Communications and the Shaw family is looking to sell the company. “I’m not prepared to comment on articles, rumours, or speculation,” he said.
What he was prepared to talk about was the bright future he…
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TORONTO – According to a report this evening in the Globe and Mail, Shaw Communications is trying to sell all of its interest in Corus Entertainment.
The report (subscription) says the company recently hired TD Securities to find a buyer for its 38% stake in the broadcaster, valued at $540 million. The story says Shaw needs the money to further build its Freedom Mobile wireless network.
The Globe story also says the company and the Shaw family, who owns control of both entities, are also trying to sell its controlling voting shares as well, which would mean…
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MARKHAM, ON – Ice Wireless and Sugar Mobile parent Iristel has filed a lawsuit against Rogers valued at over $147 million alleging breaches of contract on two occasions.
In a statement of claim dated May 23, 2108, Iristel accuses Rogers of breaking an oral Peering Agreement reached between the two in May 2013 that allowed for a direct connection to exchange traffic in Toronto. Iristel says Rogers broke that agreement in May 2016, while it was in the final stages of the testing process and after it had already racked up approximately $600,000 in costs.
Iristel also alleges that Rogers…
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TORONTO – Rogers Communications confirmed today it has hired former Apple Canada senior managing director Brent Johnston to be president, Rogers Wireless.
He stepped down from his position at Apple last week and starts at Rogers on Monday. Johnston is rather familiar with Rogers CEO Joe Natale, having worked under Natale (when Natale was Telus' second in command and then CEO) for 11 years as VP channel marketing, VP mobility solutions and SVP consumer marketing. Johnston left for Apple in February of 2016.
Bringing Johnston in is the headline of a bit of an executive shift where Phil Hartling, who had…
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