TORONTO – While he didn’t name names, one of the newest players in the telecom space in Canada appear to be having problems dealing with a certain western MSO.
At a Monday session during the Canadian Telecom Summit entitled VOIP Pioneers – Early Results, Matt Stein, vice-president of new technology and services with VOIP provider Primus Canada, expressed his frustration with customer issues that are peculiar to the west.
“The vast majority of our quality issues are from Alberta and British Columbia,” he said. “An overwhelming amount comes from those provinces and while I won’t name the company, it…
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TORONTO – It was a record-setting Sunday for Rogers Sportsnet as 825,000 viewers tuned in to watch the London Knights defeat the Rimouski Oceanic 4-0 in the championship of the 2005 Mastercard Memorial Cup.
The audience was the highest to ever watch a Canadian Hockey League game, says the channel, and peaked at 1,020,000 (2+) viewers. The 825,000 championship audience is the fifth-largest in Sportsnet’s history. The average for the eight-game tournament was 554,000.
Twice during the 2005 Mastercard Memorial Cup, Sportsnet established new marks for audiences watching CHL, scoring 593,000 on opening night and 595,000 on Victoria Day….
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MONTREAL – Rogers Video is rolling out its new generation of Jolly Trolley entertainment units – including the first two it has delivered to the province of Quebec – for youngsters to enjoy during their stay in the hospital.
The company is delivering 34 new generation entertainment units to hospitals throughout Canada
Jean Rickli, Rogers Video vice-president of operations for Eastern Canada, will officially introduce the Jolly Trolleys at the Montreal Children’s and Sainte-Justine hospitals on June 1. The two Montreal institutions join the list of children’s care centres benefiting from this pan-Canadian program that has been in existence…
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WE ALL HAVE A WISH-list, don’t we? Things we think and sometimes say about what we’d change if a genie popped from a bottle.
While a genie grants but three wishes, I have many, many more than that. Greedy, I guess, but here goes. I wish:
* I had telephone call display on my TV screen. That’s a nifty option Sasktel and MTS offer on their DSL TV service. It’s something I’d certainly pay for.
* Telcos and cablecos would quit going after each other at the Commission so often and concentrate on their marketing and engineering. Each side…
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TORONTO – Saying the new management structure will facilitate further simplification of operations and integrated approaches to markets and functions, Rogers Communications today appointed Nadir Mohamed as president and COO of the company’s communications division: the cable and wireless sides.
Mohamed had been president and CEO of Rogers Wireless. Edward Rogers will continue as president of Rogers Cable while Robert Bruce, executive vice-president and chief marketing officer at Rogers Wireless, will become president of Rogers Wireless. The changes are effective immediately.
“Having achieved full ownership of all three of our operating companies, we are now proceeding to structure our…
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TORONTO – Look for some day two fireworks at the 2005 Canadian Telecom Summit.
The 11 a.m. session on May 31st, day two of what looks to be a great three days, is entitled “The Regulatory Blockbuster”, which most will identify as last week’s VOIP ruling from the CRTC. The session’s panelists are scheduled to be Lawson Hunter, executive vice-president, BCE Inc.; Janet Yale, EVP corporate affairs, Telus; Jean Brazeau, senior v-p regulatory, Sprint Canada; Ken Englehart, v-p regulatory, Rogers Communications; Chris Peirce, senior v-p regulatory, MTS-Allstream; and Michael Hennessy, president, Canadian Cable Telecommunications Association.
Given the hundreds of…
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TORONTO – Rogers Sportsnet recorded its highest-rated CHL audience ever last Saturday during the Memorial Cup’s opening game between the OHL’s London Knights and the Rimouski Oceanic.
The game pulled in an average audience of 593,000 viewers, peaking at 701,000. That represents an increase of almost 250% over the previous high for a Memorial Cup contest on Sportsnet, said a release.
Last year’s final between the Kelowna Rockets and the Gatineau Olympiques attracted a total of 238,000 viewers, the highest Memorial Cup audience before the Knights versus Oceanic clash Saturday.
Last year’s Cup also had to go up against…
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TORONTO – Canada’s wireless industry will announce North America’s broadest WiFi hotspot on Wednesday.
The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA), in conjunction with national wireless service providers Bell Mobility, Fido, Rogers Wireless and Telus Mobility, has announced the launch of inter-carrier WiFi service along with the commitment to develop more than 500 new hotspot locations this year.
This new hotspot network, the broadest inter-carrier undertaking of its kind in North America, allows for cross-Canada roaming between carrier-run hotspots under a common brand.
“It’s the first of its kind in Canada, certainly, and it’s also the first of its kind…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The CRTC this morning approved the $13 million acquisition of religious broadcaster NOWTV by Rogers Broadcasting.
According to the terms of the deal released last year, Rogers will pay $12.25 million for CHNU-TV Fraser Valley (which serves the Vancouver region as NOWTV BC) and $750,000 for CIIT-TV Winnipeg, or NOW TV Manitoba, which has not yet launched. Rogers also proposed a benefits package of $1.3 million.
When contacted by www.cartt.ca, Rael Merson, president of Rogers Broadcasting, said that the Winnipeg station will launch by September 2006, “at the latest.”
The Commission also approved Rogers’ request to add…
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LONDON and TORONTO – All of the Memorial Cup hockey games being shown on Rogers Sportsnet will be shown in HD, the channel recently announced.
The HD coverage begins with Sportsnet HD’s opening game, when the powerhouse host team London Knights face off against Sidney Crosby’s Rimouski Oceanic tomorrow, Saturday, May 21 at 7:00 p.m. (ET)/ 4:00 p.m. (PT).
“This is arguably the most significant hockey event in Canada this season,” said Dave Akande, vice-president programming, Rogers Sportsnet, with a nod towards the NHL strike/lockout. “An event of this magnitude should be available to our viewers in high definition.”…
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