By Ahmad Hathout
Rogers said Thursday it has entered into an agreement to sell to a “leading global financial investor” a minority equity stake in a newly formed subsidiary that will include parts of its wireless traffic transport network from one region of the country.
The minority stakeholder will get paid periodic distributions based on the net income made by that subsidiary. Wholesale fees to use the network will maintain it, while consumer use of the network, which Rogers CFO Glenn Brandt said is in the range of 40 to 50 per cent growth per year, will ensure distribution stability.
The investment,…
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Northwestel announced Wednesday the launch of high-speed internet in the communities of Tsiigehtchic and Fort McPherson in Northwest Territories.
That means residents of those communities, who will also be able to sign up for Northwestel’s TV Plus service, will be able to subscribe to internet download speeds of up to 700 Mbps while businesses have the option of speeds up to 550 Mbps, with plans to bring that up to 750 Mbps.
This is a significant upgrade to the previous maximum of 15 Mbps, which was delivered via old DSL technology.
The service is being delivered via the Dempster Fibre Line (DFL),…
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By Ahmad Hathout
A television network that focuses on Canadian 2SLGBTQIA+ communities wants the CRTC to broaden its distribution on basic television, or at least set a base wholesale fee for negotiations with distributors.
When the CRTC came to renew the licence for OUTtv in 2022, it granted the service in the English-language market must-offer status – requiring broadcasting distribution undertakings (BDUs) to carry the channel but leaving it to the subscriber to pay for the service – instead of must-carry status with a guaranteed wholesale fee that is available to all subscribers of the BDU. That status will remain until…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Internet service provider Fibernetics is accusing Rogers of undue preference by allegedly refusing to allow the independent telecom to use a third party transport service at the same building it already uses Rogers facilities to haul leased internet traffic back to its own office.
For years, the Cambridge, Ont.-based telecom said it has been leasing, via the third party internet access (TPIA) regime, capacity from Shaw, which was gobbled up by Rogers last year. In that configuration, the telecom hauls the internet traffic using Rogers’s ethernet transport mile to its own Calgary office.
But in a Part 1 application…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) regime, once confined to individual consumers and small businesses, has been expanded to include internet of things (IoT) and enterprise customers now that the CRTC on Wednesday ordered the large telecoms to modify their tariffs to enable competitors to wholesale network space to serve those particlar clients.
The regulator affirmed Wednesday its preliminary view that the IoT segment, which includes the machine-to-machine market, and the enterprise market, defined as companies with 100 or more paid employees, see similar market dynamics as the rest of the segments under regulation –…
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The chief technology and information officer (CTIO) for Rogers has retired from the company late this summer, Rogers confirmed.
Ron McKenzie was brought on in July 2022 as the cable giant’s CTO to replace Jorge Fernandes in the wake of the Rogers network outage that knocked out services for millions of Canadians, which prompted a regulatory study and the company announcing billions of dollars in network resiliency initiatives.
“Being the CTIO of Rogers has been an incredible honour with such a long history of innovation,” McKenzie said in a LinkedIn post. “Leading the best Technology team in the…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Organizations representing news media and their workers are warning the CRTC not to redirect any of the $100 million they were earmarked by Google toward public interest participation in CRTC proceedings related to news linking matters.
The Broadcasting Participation Fund (BPF), which bankrolls public interest participation in CRTC proceedings, filed a Part 1 application this summer requesting that the commission expand its mandate to include matters pertaining to large technology platforms that must pay to link to Canadian news content under the Online News Act. Google has already agreed to put an annual inflation-indexed $100…
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Corus Entertainment’s Global Edmonton TV station, which launched as independent ITV (CITV-TV) on Sept. 1, 1974, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this weekend with special programming.
Starting Aug. 30 and all weekend long, Global Edmonton will feature on-air celebrations, reporters and anchors sharing their favourite stories, and photos from the archive. More than 90 alumni will be in the studio for a special cake cutting, says an emailed Corus announcement Tuesday.
“Launched in 1974, this new television station signed on to deliver to Edmonton viewers a new look, a local focus, and programming that had never been seen before,” Corus’s announcement…
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Recent news headlines illustrate that emergencies can strike with little warning and alarming regularity, highlighting the need in Canada for advanced public safety communication networks.
The Role of Ericsson
Ericsson, a global leader in telecommunications, has significantly contributed to the standardization of wireless communications. The company’s 70-year presence in Canada underscores its commitment to providing innovative solutions that cater to the unique needs of the Canadian landscape, particularly in being a major contributor to R&D in Canada, but also in enabling communications infrastructure in the country. Ericsson will collaborate with major wireless service providers, as well as myriad stakeholders to innovate…
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By Connie Thiessen
Corus Entertainment has filed a complaint with the CRTC, alleging Rogers’ undue disadvantage in the wake of its merger last year with Shaw Communications, is leading it to engage “in predatory behaviour, enabled by dominant size and scale, to foreclose on potential competition.”
The Part 1 application, published in redacted form on the CRTC website on Monday, focuses specifically on Rogers move to offer the ad-supported version of Disney+ to existing Ignite TV customers, which Corus says is part of an effort to lure subscribers away from its Disney-themed specialty channels. Furthermore, the complaint alleges that Rogers has “actively favoured Disney+ over Corus’ Disney-themed channels when subscribers attempt to search for content;…
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