TORONTO – On Monday, Rogers Communications made a commitment to 4K, ultra-high definition TV that no one else on the globe has yet made.
Beginning in 2016, the company will broadcast over 100 live sporting events (300 hours at least) in 4K, including all Toronto Blue Jays home games and at least 20 NHL games. It is also bringing to market a brand new Cisco 4K set top box for its cable customers, upon which Netflix will ride as an app, the company announced Monday.
Speaking of the global OTT video leader, Rogers has also signed a…
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EDMONTON – Telus unveiled some nifty smart-home innovations that it says will be possible when homes in British Columbia and Alberta are connected to its fibre optic network.
The 560-square-foot Future Home (pictured) was on display last week in Edmonton and will visit Drumheller on October 15, followed by stops in Calgary (October 21), Kelowna (November 3), West Kelowna (November 15), Kamloops (November 24) and Port Coquitlam (December 3).
Built to simulate a small condo, Future Home features security systems that uses facial recognition to secure and unlock the doors; smart cooktops that provide a step-by-step demonstration of a new recipe and then calculate the meal’s nutritional…
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TORONTO – It is expected that Rogers Communications will announce Rogers Ignite Gigabit Internet today at noon during a press event at the Rogers Centre.
The service will be available later this year in parts of Toronto, along with Vaughan, Markham, Richmond Hill, Ajax, Pickering and Whitby. With downstream speeds up to 1 Gbps (1000Mbps) Ignite Gb will then be available across the company’s cable footprint, from St. Thomas, Ontario to St John’s Newfoundland, in 2016. No pricing details are yet available.
The move is a swing back at Bell, which launched a Gb fibre plan in Toronto and other areas…
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VANCOUVER – Telus said Friday that it will spend $1 billion to make Vancouver the world’s next gigabit-enabled city.
The Vancouver-based company will connect the majority of the city’s homes and businesses directly to its fibre optic network over the next five years. When the first neighbourhoods are fully connected early next year, local residents and businesses will be able to take advantage of Internet speeds of up to 150 megabits per second, which will increase in the coming years to keep pace with demand.
"Bringing fibre optic infrastructure directly to homes and businesses is a generational investment, and the most…
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VANCOUVER – Telus has officially unveiled its new headquarters, dubbed Telus Garden, in downtown Vancouver.
The $750 million development includes a 24-storey office tower built to new Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum standards, a 53-storey residential building set to open next year, numerous storefronts, and Telus’ flagship 2,300 square foot retail store.
According to the company’s news release, the one million-square foot development has transformed an underutilized prime block of downtown real estate between Georgia, Robson, Seymour and Richards Streets into a showcase of architecture, design, environmental stewardship, and advanced technology.
"When we first imagined this project five years ago,…
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MONTREAL – Quebecor CFO Jean-Francois Pruneau told an investor’s conference Wednesday that despite all of the company’s spectrum holdings beyond its home province, it has no plans to build another national wireless company.
During the CIBC World Markets 2015 Institutional Investor Conference, Pruneau outlined the company’s moves over the last few years and complained about how much its stock price (it closed at $28.58 on Wednesday) undervalues the company. Its recent share repurchase from La Caisse de depot et Placement du Quebec value the company at $36/share, insisted the CFO.
Part of that increased value, he continued, is the market…
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VANCOUVER – The Telus Fund has $2.5 million in financing available for Canadian producers creating innovative health and wellness content.
The Fund is looking for fully developed TV programs that will entertain, engage and enlighten Canadian health choices. Multiple genres and formats are eligible including one offs, series, drama, documentary, comedy, reality, and magazine format. The content must be story-driven and available for audiences to access and interact with via multiple platforms (television, internet and mobile) and devices (TV, phone, tablet and computer). The digital media work submitted must extend and enhance the TV viewing experience and may encompass games,…
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TORONTO – Today Hollywood Suite announced that its four HD movie channels will be relaunched on November 2nd as Hollywood Suite 70s Movies, Hollywood Suite 80s Movies, Hollywood Suite 90s Movies and Hollywood Suite 2000s Movies.
Right now, the channel branding is Warner Films, MGM Channel Sony Movie Channel and AXN Movies.
“With a focus on consumer choice in an era of vigorous competition and regulatory change, the new unified and simplified Hollywood Suite brands will create an emotional connection with consumers by leveraging the nostalgic value of the greatest films of the 70s, 80s, 90s and 2000s,” said Hollywood Suite…
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TORONTO – Ericsson has announced the commercial availability of Ericsson MediaFirst, a cloud-based end-to-end service and delivery platform for the creation, management and delivery of next-generation Pay TV.
The company said Thursday that MediaFirst brings together the best of traditional Pay TV and over-the-top services, giving operators and content providers the ability to deliver constantly optimizing, highly personalized TV experiences on any device. Much like web services, MediaFirst empowers operators to act on the platform's built-in analytics in real time, leading to rapid innovation cycles, greater monetization opportunities and faster time to market for new features and targeted offerings, continues…
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TORONTO – Telus has joined forces with a network of more than 70 carriers to offer a global SIM card that offers customers seamless connectivity and simplified billing across more than 200 networks around the world.
The company said Wednesday that its new Global IoT Connectivity Platform makes it easier for customers to scale their Internet of Things (IoT) businesses globally by connecting internet-enabled devices around the world at simplified rates without roaming charges or currency risk. For example, a shipping company with a fleet tracking solution can continue to monitor its vehicles when they travel to the U.S., Mexico…
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