By Denis Carmel
When Vidéotron entered the wireless market, around 2010, it sought a deal with Rogers over the sharing of infrastructure and spectrum in Québec and Eastern Ontario. Rogers agreed.
So, discussions started, and a Network Operating Agreement (NOA) was signed in 2013 for 20 years. Yes, 20 years.
The purpose was to simply reduce costs on both sides and compete with Bell, which was the main operator in Québec at the time.
Bell and Telus reached a similar Canada-wide agreement in 2008.
But as Vidéotron gained market shares at the expense of Bell but also Rogers, and with the changes in the…
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TORONTO – Wednesday evening, Robert Gemmell, Alan Horn and Philip Lind all issued statements weighing in on the ongoing power struggle at Rogers Communications Inc. (RCI) and supporting Edward Rogers.
The statements follow the filing of court documents by Mr. Rogers in the Supreme Court of British Columbia Tuesday, and subsequent reports disputing some of the information laid out by Mr. Rogers in those documents.
Gemmell, who notes in his statement he has been an independent director at RCI since 2017, said: “As Board Chair, Edward has always acted deliberately with consideration and with preference for consultation. The discussion…
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You can’t fight public interest, he warns
By Amanda OYE
MONTREAL – Pierre Karl Péladeau (above) wants everyone to know Videotron is ready to expand outside Quebec.
“We’re not a Monday morning quarterback – we’ve been there, we’ve done that and we’re ready to go,” said Péladeau in an interview with Cartt.ca.
Péladeau is president and CEO of Quebecor, Videotron’s parent company, and has also been president and CEO of Videotron since June.
Videotron got into mobile back in 2006 when it “started as an MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) on Rogers’s network,” he said.
“We, at that time, thought that we would need…
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VANCOUVER – In his capacity as chair of the Rogers Control Trust, Edward Rogers filed documents in the Supreme Court of British Columbia on Tuesday in a move towards establishing the validity of his version of the board of Rogers Communications Inc. (RCI).
In his petition, Mr. Rogers asks the court to declare “the written consent resolution dated October 22, 2021, signed by the shareholders holding at least two-thirds of the Class A Voting Shares of RCI is valid and effective.” This would resolve the issue of there currently being two boards claiming to be the one and only RCI…
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TORONTO — Rogers Sports and Media’s Citytv announced today the all-Canadian lineup of judges and the host of its original series Canada’s Got Talent, which is starting production in Niagara Falls next month.
The talent competition will be judged by comedian Howie Mandel, entertainer and writer Lilly Singh, music artist and producer Kardinal Offishall, and wrestling legend and Hall of Famer Trish Stratus. The host of Canada’s Got Talent is Calgary-born country music singer and songwriter Lindsay Ell.
“This group of blockbuster talent span music, comedy, film, television and sports entertainment,” said Scott McGillivray, executive producer of Canada’s Got Talent and owner of…
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By Ahmad Hathout
TORONTO – Telus Corp. has lost one step in its Federal Court case to stop Quebecor’s Videotron from getting its hands on 3.5 GHz spectrum licenses in western Canada.
A Federal Court judge on Friday denied Telus’ request to order Innovation Canada to temporarily halt the issuance of the licenses during the time the court deliberates on the arguments in the case.
At a hearing last week, Videotron and the counsel for the Attorney General of Canada both told the Court if Videotron is not issued the licenses in British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba, it would be at…
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Achieves first 5G standalone smartphone certification in Canada
TORONTO — Amid — or perhaps despite — all the backroom chaos at the company in recent days, Rogers Communications made a business-as-usual announcement today saying it has completed the rollout of its national standalone 5G core network and achieved the first 5G standalone device certification in Canada.
The Google Pixel 6 and the Google Pixel 6 Pro “will be the first 5G standalone smartphone devices certified for use in Canada,” reads a Rogers press release.
“Over the next few months, eligible customers will automatically connect to the 5G standalone network where it has…
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With two overlapping boards, observers left to wonder, who’s in charge?
– Staff
TORONTO – While the son of the company founder announced late Friday he has created a new board of directors to take charge of Rogers Communications, the existing board and its senior executives are insisting they will not stand down and that the new board announced by Edward Rogers is illegal.
The company has been gripped by scandal for nearly a month now as Edward has been trying to remove CEO Joe Natale and several other corporate leaders (The Globe and Mail originally broke the story). The RCI…
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TORONTO – Canadian Telecom Summit organizers announced this week Chris Terris (above), Telus Agriculture vice-president of global strategy and animal health, will be giving a keynote speech at the upcoming event, as well as announcing the moderator and panelists for the event’s Regulatory Blockbuster panel.
Terris “played an instrumental role in shaping the development of Telus Agriculture, including on the M&A, integration and brand and communication fronts,” a press release says.
“He and his team are focused on applying Telus technology to build solutions that create better food outcomes by improving the flow of information across the agricultural value chain, from…
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Bell says licensees should pay less if restrictions are permanent
By Ahmad Hathout
Canada’s big telecoms said they are surprised by an Innovation Canada decision to restrict the use of the 3.5 GHz spectrum in areas where there are interference possibilities, principally around 26 major airports, which they say will affect the ability of Canadians’ living in the surrounding areas to get 5G services.
ISED proposed the restrictions in an August consultation document.
Bell said in its submission to the consultation the decision came after the June spectrum auction and the federal minister gave no indication there was an asterisk on…
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