TORONTO – Chris O’Neill believes that Canadians worry too much about failing.
O’Neill, managing director of Google Canada, said failed high-tech ventures are actually a badge of honor in Silicon Valley, where Google is headquartered. Speaking in Toronto at the Canadian Telecom Summit late Monday afternoon, the native Canadian and Western University grad argued that failed ventures by entrepreneurs increase their odds of succeeding the next time around.
“Canadians view failure as something to be ashamed of,” he said. “That’s not true.”
Concerned that Canada won’t take steps to create a lasting digital economy, O’Neill rattled off statistics about the rapid growth…
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TORONTO – Telus and Rogers Communications may disagree on many things. But they both strongly favor a national consumer protection code for the telecom industry.
Echoing the call by Rogers communications divisional president Rob Bruce on Monday, Robert McFarlane, executive vice president and CFO of Telus, urged the federal government to adopt a national regulatory standard for protecting mobile phone customers. In Tuesday’s opening keynote at the Canadian Telecom Summit here, McFarlane argued that the country needs a single national code rather than “a patchwork of provincial rules” covering wireless contracts and services.
“It has been 20…
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TORONTO – Machine to machine communications, the mobile wallet and mobile video (mmmm…) are the three most exciting opportunities on the immediate horizon for the Canadian wireless industry, but only if we get a few things done first, Rogers' communications division president Rob Bruce told the Canadian Telecom Summit this morning.
Bruce explained in his opening keynote how machine to machine (M2M) technology is transforming health care, security, government and energy, among other things. He predicted the Canadian M2M market would be providing $400 million in network revenue by 2015.
The mobile wallet, on the other hand, will alter the way…
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TORONTO – Easing Canadians’ minds about security concerns over mobile payments continues to be a major challenge for the mobile commerce industry, according to a panel of industry experts who spoke Monday morning at the Canadian Telecom Summit in Toronto.
Recent research by credit insurance provider Assurant Solutions indicates 38% of global survey respondents are very concerned about security when conducting financial transactions through a mobile device, said Zack Fuerstenberg, vice-president of product innovation for Assurant Solutions Canada. “About half (of survey respondents) are concerned about people gaining unauthorized access to their bank account details,” he said. Other key concerns…
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TORONTO – Social media has become a business transformation tool that not only helps to engage consumers but also lower customer service costs. That was the underlying message during a panel discussion about social networking on the opening day of the Canadian Telecom Summit in Toronto.
“If we do it right, there are cost savings to the company,” said Keith McArthur, vice-president of social media for Rogers Communications. “So we can do something that improves our reputation, improves our customer experience and makes our customers happier, and also lowers our costs. I think that’s a huge win-win.”
McArthur explained that Rogers…
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TORONTO – At his company’s Wednesday morning executive briefing to kick off its upfront presentations, Shaw Media president Paul Robertson told TV writers that the company’s near total lack of sports content doesn’t concern him a bit.
When compared to Rogers Media (owners of the Sportsnet brands, The Toronto Blue Jays, NFL games on Citytv and some others) and Bell Media (TSN brands, RDS, NFL games on CTV and soon, co-ownership of Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment with Rogers), Shaw has almost no sports – save some professional golf on Global on the weekends.
No biggie, though, said Robertson. “You…
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TORONTO – The sheer numbers some sports produce are staggering – and we’re not talking about the ones you see on the scoreboards in the stadiums or arenas.
When it comes to sports television, the National Football League is the big kahuna. The league’s current $20 billion U.S. broadcast contracts with Fox, CBS, NBC and ESPN end in 2013, and the new deals, worth almost $40 billion over eight years will kick in for 2014.
Speaking at The Cable Show in Boston on May 23rd, NBA Commissioner David Stern told delegates that between the league, its teams and players, the league…
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TORONTO – CTV executive Phil King may be in charge of programming for the country’s largest conventional network, but it’s clear that sports are as big a part of that as are the slate of new fall shows that the network announced Thursday.
Speaking with Cartt.ca prior to Bell Media’s ‘upfront’ event, King, who broke in to the business at TSN before that network was acquired by CTV, admitted that the next round of NHL hockey and Olympic broadcast rights are never far from his mind.
“The (Canadian NHL) rights discussion is still two years away, but I find it…
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VANCOUVER – Rogers opened two of its new interactive retail stores Wednesday in Vancouver.
The stores, located at 1295 Davie Street (and Jervis) and in North Vancouver at 1617 Lonsdale Avenue, are designed to support customer engagement and build a community centered on education, reads the company's announcement. Featuring a new modern design, personalized service, and learning sessions, many stores will also offer free Wi-Fi, a charging bar, toys for children, and a selection of Rogers’ magazines.
"The Vancouver store opening is part of a larger retail transformation to enhance how we service and sell to our customers”, said retail VP…
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TORONTO – Rogers-owned Citytv is banking on “LOL funny” to attract even more viewers this fall.
The network was the first to stage its ‘upfront’ presentation this week, unveiling its newly minted 2012-13 fall and mid-season prime-time schedule on Tuesday. Shaw Media and Bell Media are slated to hold their events on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.
The schedule includes nine new comedies, including two originals set to debut mid-season, four new dramas, and the first Canadian version of reality series The Bachelor. In addition, Citytv said that 67% of its programs are returning from last year (the most of any Canadian network, it claims), noting…
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