TORONTO – Approximately 600 Rogers telephone and television technicians who service customers across Ontario are set to walk off the job starting June 15, their union said Friday.
The Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP) said that it has been at the bargaining table with two of the four contractors for more than a year trying to hammer out a first collective agreement. The contractors are Intek Communications, Wirecomm Systems, SC360 Markham and Dependable Home Tech Scarborough.
CEP said that the one of the key issues is that the companies, contractors of Rogers Communications, pay their employees on a…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – The CRTC renewed a number of national and regional video-on-demand licences Thursday.
Bell ExpressVu, Cogeco Cable, Rogers Communications, Telus Communications, and Videon Cablesystems had their licences extended through August 31, 2016, while MTS and SaskTel had theirs renewed through August 31, 2015.
Videotron received a short term renewal to August 31, 2014. In addition, it must provide the Commission with proof that it is in compliance with its requirements relating to its English-language feature film inventory by July 16, 2012, and file quarterly compliance reports going forward.
SaskTel and MTS were directed to inform the Commission that they are…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – Following in the steps of Telus and Shaw, Rogers opened the doors on its new retail store concept Thursday in Toronto, a concept that it says puts the emphasis on service and community.
Customers will now receive more tailored one-on-one service, more of the latest technology and products, and more ways to stay connected and entertained than ever before, in a friendly and interactive retail environment, according to the press release.
"This store opening is part of a larger retail transformation to enhance how we service and sell to our customers”, said retail VP Sian Doyle, in the release. …
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – The CRTC is calling for comments on Rogers and BCE's plan to take control of sports channels Leafs TV, NBA TV Canada and Gol TV Canada from Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment.
The application, made public on Thursday, proposes a two-step transaction that would see control of the channels switched to a corporation jointly controlled by Rogers and BCE. The move comes as part of the two communications giants planned purchase of a majority stake in MLSE for $1.32 billion, as announced last December.
An independent report dated December 31, 2011 values Leafs TV, NBA TV Canada and 80.1%…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – There could soon be a little less plastic stored in the wallets of Rogers’ smart phone customers after the wireless carrier confirmed Tuesday that it is teaming up with Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) on a new mobile payment system.
Beginning later this year, Canadians with CIBC credit cards can opt to pay using their Rogers near field communications-enabled (NFC) smart phone at merchants where contactless credit card payments are accepted.
The system, the first practical application of Monday’s new mobile payment guidelines, accesses a customers’ credit card information, whether Visa or MasterCard, which has been stored on their…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – CTAM Canada is once again inviting members to the Rogers Centre in Toronto to see MLB's the Toronto Blue Jays take on the Baltimore Orioles on May 29, 2012.
Prior to the game, join members for a lively panel discussion on the escalating costs of programming with participants from the sports leagues, the programmers and the television distributors. The panel discussion begins at 4:30 pm across the street at the Canadian Broadcast Center, 25 John Street Entrance, 10th floor.
The event is free to CTAM members, and new members may attend for $55.00 which includes a one year subscription to…
Continue Reading
MONTREAL – Stingray Digital has improved the on-screen look of its Galaxie music service, and Rogers’ digital cable customers are among the first to enjoy the enhancements.
Instead of seeing a plain screen displaying only the song information, customers may now watch thematic images when a Galaxie channel is tuned. The images change every 10 seconds throughout the duration of the song, and include the channel and song information in heavy frequency, allowing viewers the opportunity to easily identify the artist or song title.
“Today is a very important day for Galaxie, since Rogers Digital Cable customers will immediately be upgraded to…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – The banking industry and credit union system on Monday released a set of voluntary, secure, open guidelines for the development of mobile payments at point-of-sale in Canada that could help pave the way for partnerships between banks and big telcos.
The voluntary guidelines, available here, are technically known as the Mobile Reference Model. They will serve as a blueprint for how mobile payment capabilities can be offered in the Canadian market, including guiding principles around how information is exchanged among the various parties to a transaction, including telecommunications companies, financial institutions, payment card companies and merchants, according to…
Continue Reading
NEW ORLEANS – Rogers Communications and Axeda Corporation have formed an alliance designed to accelerate the deployment and reduce the complexity around development of machine-to-machine (M2M) solutions in Canada.
Effective immediately, businesses and developers across Canada will have access to the Axeda Platform to build and roll-out enterprise M2M applications for connected products in Canada, according to the announcement made at the 2012 International CTIA Wireless show in New Orleans.
The Axeda Platform is a comprehensive M2M data integration and application development platform with infrastructure delivered as a cloud-based service. By providing a highly secure, scalable and proven platform, the creation…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – After listening to most of the nine applicants who have asked the CRTC for the 88.1 FM slot on the Toronto radio dial (of 17 in total) over the past three days, I can’t imagine how the Commission is any closer to making a decision on who will get the license.
It’s not the best signal, down at 88.1 FM and 8,000 watts, but goodness, lots of people sure want it (except for the big Toronto radio companies – Astral, Bell, Rogers and Corus – who weren’t about to challenge the Regulator’s radio station ownership policy based on…
Continue Reading