Search Results for: shaw

Cable / Telecom News

Shaw overbuilding Delta B.C.

DELTA, B.C. – Shaw Communications trucks have rolled into Delta, B.C. as Shaw Communications has launched an overbuild program in the Delta, B.C. region. Shaw president Peter Bissonnette told Cartt.ca Monday afternoon that it began expanding its network about three weeks ago after receiving approval from the CRTC to grow its cable territory. “We’ve got our cable up one side of the street and theirs on the other,” Bissonnette said when asked about the existing company already there, Bragg Communications-owned Delta Cable. “We’ve been receiving calls from people there saying they would like to get Shaw,” said Bissonnette. More to come. Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

CCSA 2009: CableLabs’ Lammers on how the other half competes

NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE, Ont. – While the future of high speed data for cable operators is DOCSIS 3.0 and whatever comes after that, it may not yet be necessary to dive into that cost and upgrade for most CCSA members. Thanks to an ever-increasing array of new bandwidth-hungry applications (to say nothing of the oldest, biggest, app, analog television), all network operators are finding network management a challenge. So this morning, Chris Lammers, executive vice-president and chief operating officer of Cable Television Laboratories, the cable industry’s R&D consortium, told delegates at Connect 2009, the Canadian Cable Systems Alliance annual conference, a bit about… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

Broadcasters, BDUs united on government’s involvement on fee-for-carriage

IN A VIRTUALLY unprecedented display of unity, Canada’s biggest broadcasters and BDUs unanimously agreed that the federal government’s decision to step in on the fee-for-carriage issue was a good one. In a joint statement, CTV, Global and CBC all said that they welcomed the government’s “commitment to consumers” and “new negotiation for value regime”. "We are in agreement that consumer interests should be front and center when it comes to implementing a new negotiation for value model for local television across the country," said Charlotte Bell, Global’s SVP of regulatory and government affairs, in the statement. "Going forward, we welcome a clear… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

UPDATE: Y2K agreement means $300-million Mountain Cable purchase by Shaw can’t happen, says Rogers

TORONTO – Canada’s two largest cable companies have very different opinions of a nine-year old agreement that had its genesis during a March 2000 dinner in Toronto between Ted Rogers and Jim Shaw – and the dispute has led the country’s two largest cable companies to court. Rogers Communications is asking the Ontario Superior Court of Justice for an injunction blocking the $300-million sale of Hamilton’s Mountain Cablevision because Shaw signed a letter that became effective in March of 2001 which says the Calgary-based MSO wouldn’t mess in Rogers’ territory and the big red machine would stay out of the… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Court sides with Shaw on Mountain Cable purchase

TORONTO – The purchase of Mountain Cablevision by Shaw Communications can go ahead. Justice James Newbould of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice today dismissed the motion filed by Rogers Communications seeking to block the acquisition based on a near decade-old non-compete arrangement it had with Shaw. The judge said Rogers had not established it could be caused irreparable harm by Shaw’s purchase, even though the judge recognized “that there is a serious question to be tried regarding the validity of the restrictive covenants,” wrote the judge in his decision. His decision also said “(t)here is no doubt that the acquisition… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Wireless Future: Data will drive revenue growth but ARPU will decline, says research

TORONTO – Canadian wireless operators will likely see a three percent decline in their service ARPU for 2009, with data accounting for 20% of wireless service revenue – and all of the growth, says a new report from Toronto’s Convergence Consulting. Over the last year Canadian wireless voice revenue growth has moved into negative territory, while data growth continues to be robust, thanks to the growing adoption of smartphones/data devices, which the report estimates will reach 23% by year-end 2009 (and break 50% in 2014). Based on what Convergence projects in terms of new entrants pricing (Wind, Dave, Public Mobile), and… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Shaw can’t buy Mountain, says Rogers

TORONTO – An eight-year-old agreement personally put together by Ted Rogers and Jim Shaw explicitly prevents Shaw Communications from buying any cable company east of the Manitoba/Ontario border, says a lawsuit launched by Rogers Communications. Shaw agreed to buy Mountain Cablevision of Hamilton, Ont., in July for what’s been reported as $300 million. Rogers wants the courts to stop the deal. Back in 2000, the two companies worked out a swap of cable systems where in exchange for Rogers’ British Columbia systems (about 625,000 subs in and around Vancouver), Shaw gave up the CATV it owned in New Brunswick (almost… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

CRTC tells Shaw Direct to add CBC Regina back to lineup

OTTAWA – Shaw Direct must either reinstate CBC Regina to its channel lineup, or drop a CTV station in order to comply with its conditions of licence, the CRTC ruled Friday. The Commission denied a request by Star Choice Television Network Inc., made on behalf its DTH service now called Shaw Direct, to amend its licence relating to the distribution of CBC English-language conventional TV stations. Its application followed a complaint from the CBC where it accused Shaw Direct (then Star Choice) of breaching its condition of licence number six after its removal of five conventional television stations, including CBC Regina. In… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Rogers suing Shaw to block $300-million Mountain deal: Bloomberg

TORONTO – Bloomberg News is reporting that Rogers Communications has launched a lawsuit against Shaw Communications seeking to prevent the latter from purchasing Mountain Cablevision. According to the story, which is available here, Rogers contended in a hearing yesterday that it has a pre-existing arrangement with the Calgary-based Shaw that neither would infringe on the others’ territories when it comes to expansion in cable. It wants the $300-million deal stopped so a trial over the Roger-Shaw non compete agreement can happen and lawyers in court yesterday suggested that this is just a first step for Shaw back into Eastern Canada. More… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Shaw fires back at Novus

VANCOUVER and CALGARY – Western cable giant Shaw Communications has shot back in the skirmish between it and tiny Novus Entertainment. Shaw president Peter Bissonnette confirmed to Cartt.ca that his company has filed a defamation suit against the independent Vancouver-based distributor for “defaming us and for interfering with our relations with our customers”. “As well, we’ve filed suit against their pseudo third party marketing group, which I think is called 3G and which I believe is really a group of their employees, who are essentially attending to a blog that provides misinterpreted information”, Bissonnette said. “It’s having a negative impact within… Continue Reading