Search Results for: shaw

Cable / Telecom News

Rogers launches 3.5G network across Canada

TORONTO – Rogers Wireless has rolled out its 3.5 next generation network across the country. Calling it “the fastest mobile network in Canada”, the Rogers press release says that it’s the first North American wireless carrier to offer customers peak downloads of 7.2Mbps on a national network. The network allows “customers to communicate in innovative ways with mobile multimedia, download large files ultra-fast and utilize Internet speeds on the go that are similar to a standard broadband connection.” The 7.2 Mbps High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) network is the latest and fastest 3G service available, offering mobile download speeds… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Family, friends, pack church to say goodbye to Ted

TORONTO – It was an overflow house of hundreds of family, friends, politicians and Canadian business glitterati who gathered in Toronto’s St. James Cathedral on a grey, rainy Tuesday morning to pay their final respects to Ted Rogers, the founder of Rogers Communications and one of the leading lights of Canadian business. Rogers died December 2nd of heart disease at the age of 75. Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, former PM Brian Mulroney, Shaw Communications founder JR Shaw and his son, CEO Jim Shaw, Telus CEO Darren Entwistle, Bell Canada CEO George Cope, Astral chairman Andre… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

One day left to nominate a young engineer

TORONTO – Nominations close Wednesday, December 10th for the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) brand new Young Canadian Engineering Professional of the Year Award. The SCTE, along with Aurora Networks as the primary sponsor and Cartt.ca as the publishing partner, last month announced the development and launch of a new award that annually will recognize a young cable telecommunications engineering professional in Canada who is already making his or her mark on the industry. The Young Canadian Engineering Professional of the Year Award will debut as part of the inaugural SCTE Canadian Summit, which is set for Tuesday… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Ted Rogers: A titan and a visionary

It is with great sadness that Rogers Communications Inc. announces the death of company founder Edward Samuel "Ted" Rogers, a visionary communications industry pioneer and a titan in Canadian business. He was 75. (Ed Note: The following is the full press release detailing Ted Rogers’ life, issued by Rogers Communications.) Mr. Rogers, known for his relentless drive, built Rogers Communications into a Canadian leader in wireless telecommunications, cable television, broadcasting, publishing and more. Mr. Rogers’ name is synonymous with innovative, high-quality communications products across Canada. He leaves his wife, Loretta; four children: Lisa, Edward (Suzanne), Melinda (Eric) and Martha; and… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

With Bell deal probably over, Telus hookup a possibility

TORONTO – With the privatization of Bell Canada looking like it’s dead, what with the release last week that KPMG can’t deliver a positive opinion on the solvency of the big telco post-deal, speculation has run rampant that Telus might still be interested in merging with Bell. Scotia Capital analyst John Henderson issued an investor’s report saying that he believes there’s a 15% chance Of “Belus” happening. Telus did seriously want to kick Bell’s tires back in mid-2007 when the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan and its partners put together its deal to buy Bell, but the western telco Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

CAB awards scholarships

OTTAWA – The CAB has handed out their annual scholarships to Canadian broadcasting and communications students. The cash awards are designed to assist with the students’ education. The CAB Jim Allard Scholarship was awarded to Elyse Skura, who is studying media theory and production, journalism broadcasting at the University of Western Ontario/Fanshawe College. The BBM Canada Scholarship was awarded to José Domingo Mora, a Ph.D candidate at Simon Fraser University’s business marketing program. The Astral Media Scholarship was awarded to Karima Aoudia, a Ph.D student at the University of Quebec at Montreal (UQAM). As well, the Ruth Hancock Scholarship Foundation awarded… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Lacavera says Globalive not about to slow down

TORONTO – Despite the wild, scary ride the global economy has been taking us all on this year, wireless newcomer Globalive is well-financed and going full speed ahead, said its CEO, Anthony Lacavera, an investors conference in Toronto last week. Recognizing that “the market would not allow external financing right now,” Lacavera told the Scotia Capital Markets Telecom and Technology investors day that Globalive’s wireless venture is well-funded by co-owner Orascom – a global wireless player based in Egypt with over 77 million wireless subscribers. Globalive can count on up to $700 million from its corporate partner, said Lacavera,… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Star Choice must distribute RDI to all, says CRTC

OTTAWA – Shaw Communications’ DTH company Star Choice must distribute French news channel Le Réseau de l’information (RDI) to all digital subscribers living in Anglophone markets as part of its digital basic service, the CRTC has ruled. The CBC filed a complaint with the Commission in May, alleging that Star Choice refused to offer RDI as part of its ‘English Essentials’ basic service package in Anglophone markets, despite “repeated efforts” on its part to secure carriage. The CBC argued that this is contrary to objectives in the Commission’s Distribution Order 2007-3, set out as appendix 4 to Broadcasting Decision… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

CableLabs issues new MHA specs

LOUISVILLE, Colo. – CableLabs announced today that it has released a family of specifications that defines a common set of interfaces for converged video and broadband services in a modular cable network headend. The Modular Headend Architecture (MHA) specifications include the existing DOCSIS Modular CMTS specifications as well as a series of new specifications that define interfaces for narrowcast MPEG digital video services such as video-on-demand (VOD) and switched-digital-video (SDV). The new digital video specifications result from an effort involving headend equipment manufacturers and cable operators. The specifications provide “a point of harmonization” between the Time Warner Cable-led Interactive Services… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

OPINION: Broadcasters association faces uncertain future

ON THE SURFACE, the 2008 Canadian Association of Broadcasters convention went off with nary a hitch. Speeches and panels were mostly interesting, attendance was stable compared to last year and the country’s broadcasters did their usual good job in celebrating their best and brightest while we were all entertained by various musical acts over about a 42-hour span at the Westin Hotel. Behind the scenes though, it’s a much different story. Now, while no one would go on the record with me about any of this, it became quite clear while talking to many people on the show floor… Continue Reading