By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC approved Friday a proposal it made this past fall that would allow broadcasters to introduce spoken word programming on the FM dial.
The regulator will allow licensees of commercial FM radio stations to devote more than 50 per cent of weekly programming for that type of content for a one-year trial period.
The companies must notify the commission by letter within 30 days of the end of the broadcast week that they have participated in the trial and whether they intend to continue and for how long. If before the end of one year,…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The Quebec Court of Appeal ruled last month that a trial court should consider punitive damages in a proposed class action lawsuit involving the reimbursement of phone unlocking fees.
In February 2024, the Quebec Superior Court authorized a class of plaintiffs to sue Rogers, Bell, Telus, and Quebecor for charging phone unlocking fees to Quebec customers between the period of August 14, 2014 and December 1, 2017.
But the court denied a request to allow the class to seek punitive damages, which would go beyond reimbursement, in part because it believed that the telecoms did not act maliciously. The…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) has formally made way for a stretch of spectrum to be used for wireless backhaul capacity.
The department last month removed the multipoint communication system (MCS) designation for the 21.2-21.8 GHz and 22.4-23 GHz bands to create a contiguous stretch for fixed point-to-point systems, such as wireless backhaul. The repurposed spectrum will be licensed on a first-come, first-served basis.
“Enhanced backhaul capacity will be required so that the increased data traffic in a mobile network between the base station and a user can be effectively…
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TVO Media Education Group (TVO) on Tuesday announced the appointment of Pary Bell as its new CEO, effective Jan. 12.
Bell succeeds Jeffrey Orridge, who left Ontario’s public broadcaster in August after serving as CEO since November 2020. TVO’s chief operating officer, Jennifer Hinshelwood, had been serving as acting CEO following Orridge’s departure.
Incoming CEO Bell was most recently CEO of The Podcast Exchange (TPX), which in July 2025 filed a notice of intention under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and was subsequently…
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Rogers announced Monday it is launching a new campaign that invites Canadians to donate their old hockey jerseys that will be turned into one-of-a-kind patchwork jerseys that will be featured as part of a national advertising campaign later this month.
The latest installment of Rogers’s “This Is Our Game” campaign, “The Great Canadian Jersey” will see pieces of donated hockey jerseys taken and stitched together to create unique jerseys designed by former OHL player turned fashion designer Cameron Lizotte.
As part of the ad campaign, the patchwork jerseys will be worn by some…
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Rogers and the Eastern Ontario Regional Network (EORN) announced last week Rogers 5G mobile services are now available in 34 more communities across eastern Ontario.
Rogers said, since April 30, 34 new cell towers are completed and now offer Rogers 5G services to residents, businesses and visitors in parts of the following areas: City of Kawartha Lakes, United Counties of Prescott and Russell, Frontenac County, Prince Edward County, Hastings County, City of Quinte West, Lanark County, Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation, Northumberland County, Curve Lake First Nation, Peterborough County, Hiawatha First Nation, Renfrew County,…
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Rogers announced last week the launch of Amazon Luna cloud gaming on Rogers Xfinity.
Amazon Luna is available immediately on Rogers Xfinity Streaming and will be available to millions more Rogers Xfinity Entertainment customers next year, according to a Rogers press release.
Customers with an Amazon Prime membership or Luna Premium subscription can instantly browse and play more than 100 cloud-based games directly from their eligible Rogers Xfinity Entertainment device, with no console required, the press release said. Prime members can play more than 50 top games such as Hogwarts Legacy and Indiana…
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Cable giant puts in place additional measures to ensure contractor safety
By Ahmad Hathout
Rogers last month withdrew an application from the Federal Court of Appeal against the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) after it pleaded guilty to labour code offences related to the January 2022 tower-fall death of a subcontractor’s employee in Minden, Ontario.
Rogers, which said it had no prior convictions under the Labour Code, pled guilty on October 29 to charges related to violations of the Canada Labour Code, for which the Ontario Court of Justice ordered it to pay a fine of $260,000 and Rogers promised to institute…
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Rogers announced Tuesday the commercial launch of its satellite-to-mobile service, Rogers Satellite, which now includes popular apps that offer voice and video calling.
Since its beta launch in July, Rogers Satellite has offered users satellite-to-mobile text messaging and text-to-911, but it is now adding support for satellite-ready apps including WhatsApp, Google Maps, AccuWeather, X and CalTopo.
Rogers said in a press release the list of apps supported by Rogers Satellite will continue to grow as developers update their apps to work over satellite.
“We’re proud to be the first…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Ericsson says it is being incorrectly classified as a federally regulated company for the purposes of bringing hundreds of its workers under collective bargaining.
It is asking the Federal Court to review a decision of the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) that certified on November 6 the Telecommunications Workers Union, United Steelworkers Local 1944, as the bargaining agent for employees working on Rogers wireless infrastructure. The union said this includes over 200 Ericsson field technicians, the “vast majority” of which had previously signed cards to join the union.
Ericsson challenges the decision on…
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