By Ahmad Hathout
MONTREAL – A well-funded Videotron, newly equipped with Shaw’s Freedom Mobile, will mean regulators will not need to worry about a viable wireless fourth player in an already competitive market, Bell CEO Mirko Bibic said during a first quarter conference call Thursday.
“We now have four well-capitalized significant players,” Bibic said. “That is very rare across the global footprint, and I think if you are sitting there from a public policy position…having four players like that is quite significant and will enhance competitive competition and consumer value.
“I think the job ought to be considered as having been done…
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TORONTO – Rogers said Thursday that it is reducing the price of data on certain 5G plans.
The largest cable company in the country said that its $85 per month 5G plan will now include double the data from 25 to 50 GB, effectively reducing the price of the price per gigabyte by 50 per cent.
Customers who buy Rogers wireline services can also now get the company’s starter 5G plan for 35 per cent cheaper than its previous 5G entry plan. The company said it can now offer bundled services in nearly 70 per cent of Canadian households following its…
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MONTREAL – Videotron announced Monday it is permanently freezing the monthly rates on Freedom mobile plans and adding a 10 per cent data bonus to those with recurring plans.
As part of its purchase of Freedom, Videotron agreed to certain legally binding commitments, which include providing retail services that are at least 20 per cent cheaper than the major players outside of its home territory, expand the 5G network in its existing territory withing two years, and increase data allotments to existing Freedom customers by 10 per cent in the near term.
Customers who sign up before or…
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By Ahmad Hathout
CALGARY – Rogers is preparing to make additional cuts to the Shaw team, which will include layoffs in the programming and communications departments, according to individuals with direct knowledge of the matter.
Vice president of programming Andrew Eddy and vice president of external affairs Chethan Lakshman are expected to depart the company this week, the individuals said. Katherine Emberly, president of business at Shaw, announced on her LinkedIn page Friday she was also leaving the company.
It is unclear to Cartt how many more are expected to be let go as part of Rogers’s integration of the cable company…
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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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