EVEN WITH A DEFINITIVE agreement for the sale of Freedom Mobile to Quebecor subsidiary Videotron on the table as a way to remedy concerns about competition in Canada’s wireless market related to the proposed merger of Rogers Communications and Freedom owner Shaw Communications, a hearing in front of the Competition Tribunal on the matter appears to be all but inevitable.
“We understand that the parties believe that the sale of Freedom will address the concerns raised in our challenge of the Rogers-Shaw merger and have filed an amended response to the Competition Tribunal with this position,” a spokesperson from the…
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OTTAWA – Earlier this month, the CRTC asked Rogers for more information about its July nationwide outage, according to a letter posted on the CRTC’s website last night.
The letter, sent to Rogers on Aug. 5, asks the telecom to submit answers to a second series of questions about the outage. The request was made after Rogers filed a report on July 22 responding to a list of initial questions from the CRTC.
In the second list of questions, which is partially redacted as it refers to some information Rogers filed in confidence, the CRTC asks Rogers to “quantify…
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By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – On Aug. 4, the CRTC sent a letter to Pelmorex regarding the impact of Rogers’ Canada-wide service outage on its role as the operator of the National Alert Aggregation and Dissemination (NAAD) system.
“As an initial step, comprehensive information is required in order for the Commission and Canadians to understand what happened, and, just as importantly, what can be done to improve the system including how to mitigate impacts on the National Public Alerting System,” the letter reads.
The CRTC mentions that while it is considering a public inquiry on this telecommunications failure, it wishes to…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has sent Lixo Investments a request for information regarding claims from Rogers Communications it is refusing to grant the telecom access to 70 Yorkville Avenue in Toronto despite the Commission having issued a decision on June 8 granting the telecom’s request for access.
The Commission’s decision indicated increasingly stringent measures would take effect 30 and 45 days from the date of the decision if Rogers did not report it had “been granted timely access under reasonable terms and conditions.”
At issue is Rogers ability to access the building to service facilities installed in the 1980s. Rogers indicated…
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TORONTO, MONTREAL and CALGARY – Rogers Communications, Shaw Communications and Quebecor Inc. announced today they have signed a definitive agreement for the sale of Shaw’s Freedom Mobile to Quebecor subsidiary Videotron.
The definitive agreement is “substantially consistent” with what was announced with regards to the sale back in June, according to a press release. It still needs to be cleared under the Competition Act and by the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry and is contingent on the close of the merger of Rogers and Shaw, which itself still needs approval under the Competition Act and from the…
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OTTAWA – More information is being sought on how the recent nationwide Rogers outage impacted the company’s deaf, hard of hearing and deaf-blind (DHHDB) customers and wholesale customers.
Late last month, Rogers submitted a report to the CRTC with answers to a series of questions about the network outage that started July 8, the publicly available version of which was heavily redacted.
Canada Deaf Grassroots Movement (CDGM) and the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Coalition (DHH Coalition), the latter of which includes Deafness Advocacy Association Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador Association of the Deaf, and Ontario Association of the…
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Calls claim of confidentiality for certain things “ridiculous on its face”
OTTAWA – Consumer advocacy group the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) today filed a request with the CRTC asking for the disclosure of additional information from the documents Rogers Communications filed with it in relation to the company’s nationwide outage last month.
“PIAC submits that Rogers’ response has excessively redacted critical information that the public requires to understand what occurred during the outage and how Rogers plans to mitigate future risks and harms – and to make consumer choices based on these answers and otherwise protect their…
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OTTAWA – The owner of OneSoccer, Timeless Inc., has filed a part one application with the CRTC alleging Rogers Cable is in breach of the Broadcasting Distribution Regulations by refusing to carry the dedicated Canadian soccer channel on its cable systems.
Timeless claims despite a “surge in popularity and success for Canadian soccer” Rogers has denied OneSoccer carriage. Its application indicates only Telus customers can currently receive it (although the channel is also available as a direct-to-consumer OTT offering and is available on Fubo TV in Canada).
Timeless argues Rogers will not carry OneSoccer as a cable channel because it has…
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TORONTO and CALGARY — Rogers Communications, Shaw Communications and the Shaw Family Living Trust today announced they have extended the outside date of the proposed $26-billion merger of Rogers and Shaw to Dec. 31, 2022.
The outside date for closing the merger has already been extended twice before by the companies from the original date of March 15, 2022. The closing extension comes as the most recently announced outside date of July 31, 2022 was fast approaching.
The new outside date “may be further extended to January 31, 2023 at the option of Rogers or Shaw, provided Rogers has committed financing…
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TORONTO — Rogers Communications today reported its financial results for the second quarter of 2022, while also announcing the outside date for its proposed merger with Shaw Communications has been extended to Dec. 31, 2022.
In addition, when releasing its results for the second quarter, the company announced the estimated cost of compensating its customers for its recent nationwide network outage is $150 million. These customer credits will be included in Rogers’ third quarter 2022 operating results, according to a press release announcing the company’s Q2 2022 results.
Rogers also plans “to spend more on our wireless and wireline networks…
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