GATINEAU – In their final written submissions to the CRTC on the proposed purchase of Astral Media by Bell Canada, various interveners say there are no words, no new rules the Commission can write which will sufficiently protect the Canadian TV system from the market power of a combined Bell/Astral.
That, tied to the fact Bell has told the Commission in no uncertain terms it will not proceed with the merger should it be required to divest any other assets, means the whole deal should be denied, just like the first one was rejected last fall. ( Continue Reading
MISSISSAUGA, ON – Registration is now open for any eager technicians wishing to compete in SCTE Ontario chapter’s 9th annual Cable-Tec Games to be held on June 6, 2013.
The Cable-Tec Games are a round robin format where contestants are marked based on time and craft on a number of tasks. Bring your best skills to take on tasks such as hard cable splicing, optical cable splicing, RF meter reading, MTDR, and drop connection, as well as a special Cable Jeopardy round.
Players will battle for the chance to win one of three spots on…
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TORONTO – Rogers Business Solutions announced it has completed a point-of-presence (PoP) deployment that will boost the connectivity capability of Cologix’s new data centre on King Street West in downtown Toronto.
Cologix is a network neutral interconnection and colocation company, with data centres in Toronto Montreal, Vancouver and Dallas. The company provides one of North America’s largest neutral marketplaces where network operators and network buyers interconnect.
“We have invested to interconnect this important location to our advanced access, metro and long haul networks to meet customers intensified needs for data services in downtown Toronto,” said…
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WATERLOO,ON and ORLANDO, FLA. – BlackBerry announced the launches of several new products at its annual BlackBerry live technology conference today, including its new Q5 phone and an expansion of its BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) service to iOS and Android users this summer.
Support for BBM is also planned for iOS6, and Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) or higher, subject to approval by the Apple App Store and Google Play.
BlackBerry is targeting younger mobile users with its new Q5 smartphone, calling it a “fun and youthful” version of its newly released BB10 phone launched earlier…
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NEW YORK, NY and MCLEAN, VA. – Moody’s Investors Services announced its B3 corporate family rating of Primus Telecommunications Group remains stable following the company’s announcement Friday that it is selling its Canadian and U.S. retail telecommunications operations to York Capital Management for about US$129 million.
“This transaction represents a meaningful outcome of the board’s strategic process. The board is considering alternatives for the deployment of the proceeds from this sale,” Primus chair Neil Subin said in a prepared statement announcing the sale.
The transaction is currently expected to close by the third quarter of…
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WHILE DROPPING IN ON the CRTC’s two-week hearing into new and renewed mandatory carriage requests (on cpac.ca) – and poring over some of the transcripts since its conclusion, two thoughts bubbled up above all the facts, self-serving opinion and pure BS that is a Commission hearing: The CRTC should impose some sort of mandatory penetration based rate card, a-la Bell Media’s, upon the entire regulated TV industry – or just deregulate the whole damn thing (which is not actually an option).
Independent broadcasters (those not owned by a vertically integrated entity) have little, if any, leverage when it comes to…
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MONTREAL – It's the darling of the Canadian telecom field these days among Bay Streeters, and Telus again had a strong quarter, posting a 13% increase in quarterly profit in its Q1 results released Thursday as it added tens of thousands of new wireless and IPTV customers.
It’s wireless ARPU has grown to over $60 a month and the price of its newly split shares is on the rise. Churn is down, customer satisfaction is up, wireline revenues are increasing, and dividend payouts are growing for investors. According to EVP and chief…
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MONTREAL and TORONTO – Following on the heels of this week’s announcement about Rogers’ initiative to offer mobile credit card services, RBC and Bell today announced they have teamed up to launch a mobile payment solution that lets RBC mobile banking customers purchase goods and services with a Bell Mobility smartphone.
The new mobile payments solution, which allows customers to pay by debit or credit, will be integrated into RBC's existing mobile banking app, appearing as an additional option on the home screen. By the end of this year, the mobile payment option will…
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MONTREAL – Spend long enough in a hearing room and you’ll zone out for a bit. Yes, we admit, it’s happened to us. “I wonder if we’ll be done in time for the hockey game… I really have to cut the grass when I get home…”
Then, one or more of the parties says something that makes you say: Did he/she just say that? Sometimes those moments make it into a story. Other times, not. Here are a few of those other times: ************************* DURING ITS INTERVENTION on Tuesday, Rogers SVP of video content David Purdy told commissioners he sees…
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Story and photo by Steve Faguy
MONTREAL – After Telus, Rogers, EastLink, Cogeco and Quebecor, the last word on Bell’s failed relationship with competing BDUs went to the little guys. And they had some eye-opening facts and figures to back up their claims that Bell isn’t playing fair.
“We are not here to engage in regulatory arbitrage,” said Jim Deane, chair of the Canadian Cable Systems Alliance, which represents about 115 small cable companies across Canada. “CCSA members are fighting for their lives.”
Speaking as one of the final interveners in the hearing over Bell Canada?s proposed purchase of Astral Media, the…
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