Post Tagged with: "rogers"

A Closer Look at How Bell “Welcomes any Competitor” to the Canadian Wireless Market

Bell was in full lobby mode yesterday with major advertisements and a new website arguing against a spectrum set-aside that could open the door to Verizon entering the Canadian market. CEO George Cope’s starting point is that “Bell welcomes any competitor, but they should compete on a level playing field.” Both aspects of this statement merit closer scrutiny.

Of all the incumbent telcos, Bell has been the most persistent in trying to limit or delay the removal of foreign investment restrictions that would open the door to new competitors. For example, Bell Canada’s July 2010 submission to the government’s consultation on changes to the foreign investment rules for telecommunications argued that no changes were needed since there were no problems in the Canadian market:

July 26, 2013 — 15 comments — News

Rogers Reveals, Part Two: Broadband Internet Prices to Increase, Unlimited Plans “Short-Sighted”

While much of the focus of yesterday’s Rogers quarterly call was on the wireless sector (see part one on roaming rates), it should be noted that company executives indicated that consumer broadband Internet prices – which the OECD recently reported were among the ten most expensive in the developed economy world – will continue to increase. Moreover, the company called unlimited bandwidth offers “short-sighted” and recent price increases just one step in the efforts to monetize broadband services.

July 25, 2013 — 14 comments — News

Rogers Reveals, Part One: Threat of Regulation Driving Down Roaming Costs

In 2011, the OECD released a report that found Canadians face some of the highest wireless roaming fees in the world. Some tried to downplay the findings – the National Post’s Terence Corcoran claimed that the roaming fees actually looked pretty cheap, while Rogers pointed to several packages that it said “would rank us among the lowest cost of countries surveyed.” Yet as regulators in other countries began aggressively targeting high roaming fees – EU costs have dropped 91 percent over the past six years given regulatory initiatives – Canadian companies apparently began to fear that similar regulations could make their way here. Indeed, according to Rogers, it was necessary to get “roaming in line” or face the prospect of regulation.

July 25, 2013 — 4 comments — News

Rogers: We Don’t Expect an Industry Canada Decision on Shaw Spectrum Until September 2014

Rogers Communications held its quarterly results call yesterday, leading to a question on its expectation with regard to an Industry Canada decision on its proposed acquisition of spectrum from Shaw. Industry Minister Christian Paradis has signalled his concern with the proposal. Perhaps hoping for a delay in the decision, Rogers […]

April 23, 2013 — Comments are Disabled — News

CRTC Uncovers New Rogers Net Neutrality Violation

The CRTC has written to Rogers Communication following the identification of yet another violation of the Commission’s Internet traffic management policy. Rogers has announced plans to drop its traffic throttling practices, but the CRTC wants the new issue addressed immediately. I discussed the role of the CRTC in putting an […]

March 2, 2012 — 1 comment — Columns