Calls for fair, transparent process to sale
By Amanda OYE
TORONTO – Canadians are stressed – even more than usual – about their cell phone bills, a new survey conducted by Pollara Strategic Insights says.
A little over half of Canadians reported “being more stressed than usual about their cell phone bill because of inflation,” a press release announcing the survey results yesterday explains. “When asked about the biggest issues that they have with the telecommunications market, Canadians continued to cite high prices compared to other countries (87%) and the lack of competition in the market (73%).”
This survey was commissioned…
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By Howard Law
THE NEW SEASON of Canadian culture wars is now available from the House of Commons’ second reading of Bill C-11 the Online Streaming Act, the federal Liberals’ digital reboot and seventh iteration of the Broadcasting Act since 1932.
After minor revisions by Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez, the Bill C-11 debate promises to be a re-run of last year’s Bill C-10 which drew flak from friends and foes alike and was successfully filibustered by the Conservatives prior to the dissolution of Parliament for the fall election.
Split into three posts, I will cover what Rodriguez says C-11 is about, what its…
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Experience still varies by carrier
LONDON, U.K. – U.K.-based mobile analytics company Opensignal released a new report today, which shows “users at NHL venues in both Canada and the U.S. had a significantly better experience when connected to 5G compared to the overall experience of all users at those arenas.”
The report, authored by Francesco Rizzato, provides analysis of data collected from Opensignal users at and around the 32 NHL arenas (seven in Canada, 25 in the U.S.) from Oct. 1, 2021, to March 29, 2022.
Among the findings highlighted in the report is that experience varied depending on the carrier.
At the…
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TORONTO – Rogers Communications announced today it is now offering 2.5 Gbps symmetrical fibre-powered service in select areas of Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland.
Rogers says in a press release announcing the launch of the new speeds it is the first to offer 2.5 Gbps symmetrical service, “the fastest internet speeds in Atlantic Canada.”
Customers already subscribed to Rogers’ Ignite Internet Gigabit 1.5 will automatically be upgraded to the new speeds today at no extra cost.
“Access to high-speed internet is critical and we are committed to bringing our fibre-powered network to more communities and neighbourhoods so customers will have access to…
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TORONTO – A proposal for the sale of Freedom Mobile has been presented to the federal government in an effort to ensure Rogers Communications’ acquisition of Shaw Communications is approved.
The Globe and Mail is reporting two unnamed sources confirmed the proposal presented was put forward by rural Internet provider Xplornet Communications.
Multiple proposals for Freedom’s sale have been put to Rogers since Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry François-Philippe Champagne released a statement at the beginning of last month saying he would not permit Rogers to acquire all of Shaw’s wireless assets.
Rogers needs approval from ISED, the…
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TORONTO – Rogers Communications today reported its first quarter 2022 financial results, which show total revenue increased 4% to $3.6 billion compared to the same quarter in 2021 and adjusted EBITDA increased 11% to $1.5 billion.
“Each of our businesses delivered better revenue and profitability than expected,” said Tony Staffieri, president and CEO of Rogers, during a conference call with investors today.
Wireless revenue grew 3% to $2.1 billion, cable revenue grew 2% to $1 billion and media revenue grew 10% to $482 million, according to a press release announcing the Q1 results.
Total service revenue was reported to have increased by…
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TORONTO — Saying it’s “a major milestone” in its path to 10 Gbps speeds, Rogers Communications announced today it has successfully completed tests in both lab and customers trials of download and upload speeds of up to 8 Gbps on its fibre-powered network.
These 8 Gbps symmetrical speeds more than double the fastest published Internet speeds of any major provider in Canada, Rogers says in its press release.
“Fibre-powered networks are the foundation of building world-class connectivity solutions for our customers, and it is critical that the network technology delivers on the reliability and speed our customers need,” Robert Dépatie,…
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SEATTLE – Telus Communications was the fastest mobile operator of Canada’s top providers in the first quarter of 2022, according to mobile and broadband testing company Ookla.
Ookla’s more recent quarterly report, released today, shows Telus had a median download speed of 94.48 Mbps, which was faster than Bell (86.06 Mbps), Rogers (71.7 Mbps), Fido (66.85 Mbps), Videotron (58.82 Mbps) and Freedom Mobile (45 Mbps). (Please see chart above.)
Freedom meanwhile scored the lowest latency score for Q1 2022. Ookla reported Freedom’s median latency was 18 ms, Rogers and Fido’s median latencies were both 23 ms, Telus and Bell were both…
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Updated with comment from petitioner, dotmobile.
OTTAWA — The federal cabinet has denied a petition today to overturn a decision by the CRTC that only allowed a limited group of wireless service providers to force negotiations to use national telecom facilities, saying it believes the decision will provide consumers with greater choice and bring down prices.
Mobile virtual network operator Data on Tap (dotmobile) filed the petition in May 2021 to reverse the part of the CRTC’s decision that excludes full MVNOs like itself from participating in those mandatory negotiations. The decision by the regulator…
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TORONTO — Rogers Communications said on its website yesterday the company is providing prepaid chatr Mobile SIM cards for the welcome kits handed out by the Canadian Red Cross to displaced Ukrainians arriving at select airports across Canada.
This support for Ukrainians and their loved ones affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is in addition to Rogers’ previously announced waiving of long-distance and SMS charges to Ukraine for Rogers, Fido and chatr customers, as well as roaming charges for any Canadian customers currently in that country.
Last month, Rogers made a $100,000 donation to the Canadian Red…
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