CRTC chair reflects on proceedings and developments as he prepares exit
TORONTO – CRTC Chairman Ian Scott said today that the $750-million Broadband Fund will open a new, third round of applications in the coming weeks.
The chairman said in a speech on the opening day of the Canadian Telecom Summit that despite improvements to internet access in rural and First Nations communities, there is still a lot of work to do.
“That’s why the CRTC is preparing to launch a third call for applications to the Broadband Fund in the coming weeks,” Scott said Monday, adding the call will “highlight the…
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Company believes they will capture those customers with their own offering
OTTAWA — The Competition Tribunal heard evidence today that while Quebecor subsidiary Videotron had the opportunity to purchase Shaw Mobile along with Freedom Mobile, they turned it down because they believe they will be able to capture those customers on their own.
Jean-François Lescadres, Videotron’s vice-president of finances answered questions today before the tribunal, which is currently hearing evidence on an application made by the Commissioner of Competition to block the proposed merger of Rogers Communications and Shaw Communications.
Because of concerns about the impact of the deal…
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SIMCOE COUNTY — The governments of Canada and Ontario today announced they have each invested over $1.7 million to bring high-speed Internet access to over 1,645 locations in Simcoe County in partnership with Southwestern Integrated Fibre Technology (SWIFT).
Broadband infrastructure completed earlier this year is now providing over 430 families, farms and businesses in New Lowell and 1,215 families, farms and businesses in Penville, Rich Hill, Connor, Hockley Valley and Rosemont with access to high-speed Internet, according to a press release from the province.
The first project was completed by Rogers and the second by Vianet, a press…
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OTTAWA — A lawyer for Rogers Communications today pushed back on the testimony of Dr. Nathan Miller, a professor at Georgetown University who compiled a report for the Commissioner of Competition supporting his opposition of the merger of Rogers and Shaw Communications and the proposed remedy that would see Quebecor subsidiary Videotron acquire Shaw’s Freedom Mobile.
Miller yesterday referred to the remedy as “inadequate” and claimed the divestiture would mean less incentive for the new owner to invest in Freedom. As he reiterated today, he is “skeptical” a divested Freedom would be profitable.
When questioned by Rogers’ lawyer Crawford Smith,…
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TORONTO – Rogers Sports and Media (RSM) announced today it has launched RSM Ad Manager, a self-serve advertising platform.
“The platform automates the ad buy process and offers greater flexibility to advertisers, allowing businesses of all sizes to easily access RSM’s extensive portfolio of digital content and streaming platforms,” a press release explains.
DanAds, a provider of self-serve advertising technology, developed the platform.
“We are making it even easier for small and medium-sized businesses to engage their customers through premium digital content and streaming services owned and represented by Rogers Sports & Media, including trusted brands like Sportsnet and SN NOW, Citytv,…
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OTTAWA – The remedy Rogers Communications and Shaw Communications offered in an attempt to gain the necessary regulatory approvals for their proposed merger is “inadequate”, according to Dr. Nathan Miller, a professor at Georgetown University who was asked to put together a report on the matter for the Competition Bureau.
Miller spoke today about his report at the Competition Tribunal hearing into the bureau’s application to block the merger.
The remedy he referred to is the sale of Shaw’s Freedom Mobile to Quebecor subsidiary Videotron to address concerns about the impact of the merger on wireless competition in Canada.
Miller argued the…
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OTTAWA – Documents newly made public today at the Competition Tribunal’s hearing into the Competition Bureau’s application to block the proposed merger of Rogers Communications and Shaw Communications reveals Telus’ strategy to stop and delay the deal.
The document, prepared for Telus’ board on the company’s second quarter of 2022, says Telus continued to execute its “top-of-house strategy” where its executive leadership team met “with political leaders to kill, shape and slow the deal.”
Additionally, the document notes that during the quarter, “NDP leader, Jagmeet Singh, repeatedly asked PM Trudeau during Question Period to block the merger, using TELUS talking points”…
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TORONTO — Organizers of the Canadian Telecom Summit (CTS) announced today details of the regulatory blockbuster panel (above), taking place at the annual conference on Nov. 22 at 4:15 p.m.
Ed Antecol, vice-president of professional services with COMsolve will moderate the panel. Panel participants include:
Stephen Schmidt, vice-president telecom policy and chief regulatory legal counsel, Telus
Samer Bishay, CEO of Iristel and Ice Wireless
Geoff White, executive director and general counsel, with the Competitive Network Operators of Canada
Rob Malcolmson, chief legal and regulatory officer, BCE and Bell Canada
Paul Beaudry, vice-president, regulatory affairs, Cogeco
Ted Woodhead, chief regulatory officer…
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OTTAWA – The Competition Tribunal hearing on the Competition Bureau’s application to block the merger of Rogers Communications and Shaw Communications continued today, although mostly in camera.
The tribunal heard from Blaik Kirby, group president, consumer and small and medium business at BCE, who also appeared yesterday. He spoke about the competitive environment and Bell’s response to the launch of Shaw Mobile.
“If there is a divestiture the resulting environment is actually going to better for Bell Mobility than the current environment,” Kirby told the tribunal panel, speaking about the divestiture of Shaw’s wireless assets.
“When we look at Shaw today, the…
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Shaw Mobile is a big reason why Freedom stores are struggling, another witness says
OTTAWA – Today was the third day of the Competition Tribunal hearing on the Competition Bureau’s application to block the proposed merger of Rogers Communications and Shaw Communications.
Yesterday and today, two Freedom Mobile dealers appeared as witnesses, each answering questions about the struggles they say they have faced since the merger was announced.
The first of the two witnesses, Sudeep Verma, opened his first Wind Mobile store in 2011 and continued on to open a total of 19 stores. He operated all of those stores until…
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