BOSTON – Even as the U.S. cable industry scrambles to eliminate the need for installing traditional set-top boxes in the home, it has stepped up its fierce fight against a regulatory proposal to open up the set top leasing business and stoke retail competition.
As we reported earlier, National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) president and CEO Michael Powell lambasted Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler for promoting the proposed 'Unlock the Set-top' rulemaking. If it gains Commission approval later this year, the controversial proposed rule would mandate that cable operators give third party manufacturers…
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TORONTO – Rogers has opened 72 new Small Business Centres within existing Rogers retail locations across Canada, dedicated to helping small business owners succeed.
In addition to personalized advice, small business customers will also have access to hands-on demos of new devices, solutions and technology that may help them to better run and grow their business.
“We are providing small business customers with small business experts, so they can sit across the table from someone who understands their local market, understands the pain-points they face running a small business, and is ready to deliver solutions,” said Rogers’ SVP of small enterprise…
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Independent operators say minimum should be 10 Mbps down, 3 Mbps up
We are at the end of the CRTC’s proceeding reviewing the basic telecommunications needs of Canadians. Launched close to a year ago, the CRTC has received widely diverse proposals in response to the fundamental questions of: Which services do Canadians need to participate meaningfully in the digital economy; and what is the CRTC’s role in ensuring the availability of affordable basic telecommunications services to Canadians? The CRTC has also reached out to Canadians under the banner of “Let’s Talk Broadband Internet!” with a survey on various topics. When…
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TORONTO – Canadian mobile repair service Mobile Klinik opened its third location Monday, located in Toronto’s financial district in the underground PATH system at Commerce Court.
Founded by former Rogers Wireless head Rob Bruce, former Wind Mobile CEO Ken Campbell and Alain Adam and Naaman Zorub from AZ Wireless, the company promises on-site smartphone and tablet repair in less than 60 minutes plus a 12-month warranty on parts and labour. It also offers personalized cases and accessories.
Mobile Klinik’s first two stores are located in Ottawa and Gatineau, and the company is planning to open its third and fourth stores in Toronto…
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TORONTO – Afroglobal Television is now available to Rogers Cable subscribers on channel 708.
Based in Toronto, the channel caters to the fast-growing population of people of African descent, reads the news release. Programming includes documentaries, biographies, music, movies, talk shows, drama, sports, reality and children's programs, and current affairs shows that reflect the rich heritage of Africa and the rest of the Diaspora.
Silvertrust Media founder Moses Mawa is CEO and executive producer of the channel, and his wife Patricia Bebia Mawa is EVP.
“Moses and Patricia are continuing the legacy of my father. I will do whatever I can to support…
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TORONTO – Rogers is ditching the Mobilicity brand and will switch its approximately 150,000 customers to its Chatr flanker brand this summer.
Customers will be unable to add new Mobilicity lines to their account after August 15, but can change their current plans until joining Chatr, a Rogers spokesperson told Cartt.ca. Rogers will also convert "a large number" of Mobilicity’s dealers to Chatr branded stores and countertops.
The spokesperson added that Mobilicity customers will have broader coverage zones with Chatr, and that the company will offer “comparable plan options”. Currently, Mobilicity offers unlimited talk, text and data plans in Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver…
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TORONTO – Rogers and Fido wireless customers can now do a real time check of their wireless network on their phones.
NetworkAid, in beta since January, allows customers to quickly check their network coverage availability in different areas, report issues with their service, and request an SMS or email when issues are resolved. The self-serve tool can be accessed online at Rogers.com or through customers' MyRogers and MyAccount mobile apps.
Rogers said that in the last three months, customers used the app 57,000 times and the online tool 11,000 times to check network status, resulting in a 17% reduction in network-issue calls…
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TORONTO – To encourage customers to call their Mom’s on Mother’s Day, Rogers is offering wireless customers one hour of free long-distance calling on May 8.
Rogers said that postpaid wireless customers will receive an hour of free long-distance calling for calls made from their wireless phone within Canada on the Rogers network to domestic and over 200 international destinations. Customers can choose to make their hour-long call any time they want on Sunday, and will automatically be zero-rated for one hour of long-distance charges on their next invoice.
"We want to help families come together on…
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MONTREAL – The federal government and CRTC should allow “competitive pressure” to spur the telecommunications industry’s investments in new broadband infrastructure, and not repeat the “mistakes" caused by intervening in the wireless sector, says a new report released Thursday by the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI).
“Critics who note that access to high-speed Internet is limited in some regions of Canada, or among less advantaged socioeconomic groups, invariably conclude that government intervention will be necessary to close the gap, but what they consider a market failure is actually just the normal course of technology adoption”, reads the 2016 edition of The State of Competition in…
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TORONTO – BCE’s proposed acquisition of MTS will not only contradict the previous government’s push for four wireless players in every market, it could open the door for further consolidation in the rest of the market.
Canaccord Genuity Corp. analyst Aravinda Galappatthige said approval of the $3.9 billion BCE/MTS deal would “set a significant precedent, as it would reduce Manitoba to a three-player wireless market from four.”
“As a result, we also believe that this would give Shaw a potential exit strategy in wireless should it decide to sell Wind”, he wrote in a client note Monday. “In addition, we…
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