By Denis Carmel
GATINEAU, TORONTO and ALBERTA – At the end of the day today, the Competition Bureau announced it had come to an agreement with Rogers and Shaw.
The companies have agreed not to close on their proposed merger until the Competition Tribunal has ruled on the bureau’s application to the tribunal seeking to block their merger.
“Rogers has also agreed not to enforce any condition in its agreement with Shaw… that limits Shaw’s ability to operate, maintain, enhance or expand its wireless business,” the bureau’s news release reads.
The companies and the bureau have also agreed to request an expedited…
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CALGARY – Shaw Communications today announced it is donating $1 million to support over 260 youth charities in Alberta to kick off the 10th anniversary of the Shaw Charity Classic.
The donation will help support the charities through Shaw Birdies for Kids presented by AltaLink, which is the tournament’s charitable giving platform.
The Shaw Charity Classic, which is the PGA TOUR Champions’ only Canadian stop, has raised $76 million for over 230 Alberta-based children and youth charities over its first nine years, according to a press release.
Shaw also announced it is bringing back Chip in for Kids, which allows Canadians to…
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OTTAWA – The divestitures proposed by Rogers Communications and Shaw Communications to gain approval for their proposed merger will not prevent “substantial” lessening of competition, according to the Commissioner of Competition.
As Cartt.ca reported earlier this week, the Competition Bureau has filed applications with the Competition Tribunal to prevent Rogers from acquiring Shaw due to the impact it believes the merger will have on wireless competition.
Rogers is currently in the process of divesting of Shaw’s wireless assets after Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry François-Philippe Champagne issued a press release at the beginning of March saying he would…
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IQALUIT – Last week, after 16 years of preparation and planning, Inuit TV finally launched on Shaw Direct on channel 268.
“This is history in the making,” said Lucy Qavavauq (pictured above with her son, Inuuki Burke), co-CEO of Inuit TV, in an interview with Cartt.ca.
“This is very celebratory – not only for Inuit but for the rest of Canada… to be able to see what our beautiful culture is.”
The idea for the channel emerged because there was not much “unique content – not as much as Inuit wanted,” Qavavauq said, explaining “things started moving from there.”
Dedicated volunteers brought the…
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CRTC called out for “vague”, “unenforceable” safeguards
OTTAWA – Telus, Bell, Independent Broadcast Group (IBG), and the Canadian Communication Systems Alliance Inc. (CCSA) have each filed separate comments in support of the National Pensioners Federation and Public Interest Advocacy Centre’s (NPF-PIAC) petition to the Governor-In-Council, asking for the CRTC’s recent decision to approve Rogers Communications’ acquisition of Shaw Communications’ broadcasting assets to be set aside or referred back to the Commission.
(Cartt.ca obtained copies of the submissions from PIAC and Bell.)
Whittled down to its core, the argument put forth in NPF-PIAC’s petition and the submissions made in support of…
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Officially filed application to Competition Tribunal seeking to block the merger
GATINEAU – The Competition Bureau has filed applications to prevent Rogers Communications from acquiring Shaw Communications, in part due to its findings that competition has already taken a hit since the announcement of the proposed merger.
“Following an extensive investigation, the Bureau determined that competition between Rogers and Shaw has already declined,” a press release says. “The Bureau’s position is that if the proposed merger is allowed to proceed, that harm will continue and may worsen.”
The investigation found before the merger was announced, “Shaw planned to enter new wireless…
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TORONTO – Early Saturday morning, Rogers Communications issued a press release saying it was notified that the Commissioner of Competition will file applications to the Competition Tribunal opposing the company’s proposed $26 billion purchase of Shaw Communications.
Despite that, the two companies said in the release they remain committed to the deal and they are engaged in sale process for full divestiture of Freedom Mobile to maintain strong fourth carrier. Both Xplornet and Quebecor are rumoured to be in negotiations to buy Shaw’s wireless assets.
“Rogers and Shaw remain committed to the transaction, which is in the best interests of Canada…
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OTTAWA – Consumer advocacy groups the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) and the National Pensioners Federation (NPF) today filed a petition to the federal cabinet, asking for the CRTC’s recent decision to approve Rogers Communications’ acquisition of Shaw Communications’ broadcasting assets to be set aside.
If cabinet decides not to set aside the decision, the organizations have asked for the decision to be referred back to the Commission.
“Consumers shouldn’t pay for these mergers,” said John Lawford, executive director and general counsel of PIAC, in a press release announcing the petition was filed. “This Petition is a result of…
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TORONTO – A proposal for the sale of Freedom Mobile has been presented to the federal government in an effort to ensure Rogers Communications’ acquisition of Shaw Communications is approved.
The Globe and Mail is reporting two unnamed sources confirmed the proposal presented was put forward by rural Internet provider Xplornet Communications.
Multiple proposals for Freedom’s sale have been put to Rogers since Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry François-Philippe Champagne released a statement at the beginning of last month saying he would not permit Rogers to acquire all of Shaw’s wireless assets.
Rogers needs approval from ISED, the…
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SEATTLE – Telus Communications was the fastest mobile operator of Canada’s top providers in the first quarter of 2022, according to mobile and broadband testing company Ookla.
Ookla’s more recent quarterly report, released today, shows Telus had a median download speed of 94.48 Mbps, which was faster than Bell (86.06 Mbps), Rogers (71.7 Mbps), Fido (66.85 Mbps), Videotron (58.82 Mbps) and Freedom Mobile (45 Mbps). (Please see chart above.)
Freedom meanwhile scored the lowest latency score for Q1 2022. Ookla reported Freedom’s median latency was 18 ms, Rogers and Fido’s median latencies were both 23 ms, Telus and Bell were both…
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