By Ahmad Hathout
TORONTO – Rogers CEO Tony Staffieri said Wednesday that the company’s side agreements with Videotron that are part of its deal to acquire Shaw are “not much different” than existing ones it has in place for other competitors.
The cable giant committed to providing favourable wholesale internet access and roaming deals to the Montreal-based company, which acquired Shaw’s Freedom in the deal, to appease regulators and allay fears that the combination would diminish competition.
But over the last several months, questions were raised by competitors as to the nature of the deals and whether they would significantly advantage Videotron…
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TORONTO – Rogers announced Thursday that former Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains will be the chief corporate affairs officer after the company closed its acquisition of Shaw earlier this month.
Bains will lead public policy and environmental, social and governance efforts for the company, “with a focus on Canada’s digital economy, access for low-income families and action on climate change,” according to a press release.
The former minister, who retired from politics in 2021, was recently vice chair of global investment banking at CIBC.
The shakeup of the company will also see Ted Woodhead, chief regulatory and government affairs officer,…
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The regulator has been urged not to rely on carrier negotiations for roaming rates
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – The CRTC has dismissed an application by Globalive that sought a commission review of wholesale roaming rates in general and a roaming agreement between Rogers and Videotron in particular, citing an existing application before the regulator addressing similar issues.
Globalive filed the Part 1 application late last month, which requested the CRTC make interim the current wholesale roaming rates, require the national carriers to file updated studies supporting new rates, and to open an investigation into Rogers’s proposed roaming agreement…
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By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – A group of six public interest groups is asking the CRTC to expedite the payment of money owed to the Broadcasting Participation Fund from the commission’s approval of Rogers’s acquisition of Shaw’s broadcasting assets.
The group, which includes the Public Interest Advocacy Centre and the Forum for Research and Policy in Communications, filed a Part 1 application Monday urging the commission to amend a stipulation requiring Rogers pay the fund – which bankrolls public interest group participation in broadcast hearings – $725,439 in equal amounts over three years.
The application asks that the commission force Rogers to…
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TORONTO – Rogers said Monday that it is bringing Shaw’s foreign outsourced customer service jobs back to Canada.
The company said this involves “hundreds” of jobs, which will now be based in British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba. It said it has already started the transition and expects to be completed by the third quarter this year.
The company said it made a commitment in 2020 to have a fully Canadian-based customer service team. That year, it transitioned 150 Rogers customer service jobs from overseas, completing its own repatriation.
“As a proud Canadian company, we’re committed to investing in Canada,”…
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By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – The fund that bankrolls consumer interest participation in CRTC hearings is warning that it is at a “critical juncture” with not enough money available to reimburse participants in broadcasting proceedings.
The Broadcasting Participation Fund said in a press release last week that it had less than $330,000 remaining in the fund to begin the year. In a busy year, it said, costs exceed $700,000.
“If the gap between available funds and qualified applications is not addressed, the Fund must cease operations either temporarily or permanently this year,” it said in the release. At the end of 2021,…
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By Ahmad Hathout
MONTREAL – Cogeco CEO Philippe Jette said Friday that wireless service providers are in a better position to focus on negotiating mobile virtual network operator deals with the conclusion of Rogers’s acquisition of Shaw.
“It provides more predictability throughout the industry now that this transaction is over and we know what to expect of it,” Jette said on the company’s second-quarter conference call Friday morning.
“I think now every player is at a better place with the conclusion of the transaction and getting ready for the next steps negotiating partnerships and rates,” he added.
Earlier this month, Rogers and Videotron Continue Reading
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – Investment firm Globalive is asking the CRTC to review the rates charged by the incumbents for wholesale domestic roaming and to investigate Rogers’s proposed favourable pricing to Videotron as a condition of buying Shaw.
The Toronto firm, which was once gunning for Freedom Mobile before it was sold to Videotron, said in its Part 1 application Friday that significant time has elapsed since the commission last reviewed the wireless roaming rates and that current rates are muting the impact of small and medium-sized wireless competitors.
It noted that the market has significantly changed since the CRTC said…
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TORONTO and MONTREAL — Rogers and Videotron announced Monday that they have closed their respective purchases of Shaw and Freedom, after the innovation minister blessed the mega-merger on Friday.
The parties agreed to a deadline of April 7 to close following the go-ahead decision by Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne on Friday that put commitments from the companies into legally-binding contracts for a period of 10 years. Those commitments include billions of dollars in investments from Rogers and Videotron providing lower prices compared to the large players outside of Quebec.
“This is a momentous day for our customers, who…
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By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – Two years and 16 days after Rogers and Shaw announced their intention to merge, Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne indirectly approved one of Canadian history’s largest corporate consolidations Friday by allowing for the transfer of Shaw’s Freedom wireless assets to Videotron – promised as the competitive fourth player in the telecom market.
The stipulations laid out by Champagne in a press conference on Friday are as follows: Videotron will commit to offering retail services that are “at least 20% cheaper” than from those of the major players outside its home territory, it cannot transfer Freedom spectrum licences…
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