Rogers and Bell to climb in bed together with Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment

Gee, wonder where they got all that money....

Rogers and Bell Canada are teaming up to buy a majority stake in Canada's biggest sports franchise owner, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, for about $1.3 billion.

They tell us Rogers and Bell are competitors. Does anyone really believe that bullshit?

More buildings remained after Rogers, here we come.

Read more here.

CRTC states what customers have known about Rogers all along

The CRTC siding with customers? Did Rogers miss a payment?

The CRTC is investigating Rogers Communications because it believes the way the company deliberately slows down some of its internet traffic violates federal rules.

The probe stems from a complaint by the Canadian Gamers Organization, an advocacy group for people who play video games, that Rogers has been hindering online games.

Rogers admitted in March that its network systems were unintentionally slowing down, or “throttling,” internet traffic for the game World of Warcraft, then said it had resolved the problem.

It further acknowledged in September that other games and programs might be getting tripped up by its throttling. The Canadian Gamers Organization's complaint detailed slow internet speeds experienced while playing Call of Duty: Black Ops.

The CRTC informed the gamers group on Thursday that it has referred the matter to its enforcement division, meaning commission staff consider Rogers to be violating the Telecommunications Act or CRTC regulations.

Read more here.

CRTC Says Rogers Not Complying With Net Neutrality Disclosure Requirements. In other news, water is wet

CRTC concerns with Rogers and its response to net neutrality complaints escalated this week when the Commission sent a letter to the company advising that it has received a growing number of complaints and that its public disclosures have not been compliant with CRTC Internet traffic management policy requirements. The case began last fall when the CRTC received a complaint over changes to Rogers' practices that affected downstream P2P traffic.

Rogers ultimately admitted the practice and promised to update its disclosure policies. Despite those promises, the CRTC found that the disclosures still only focus on the impact of its practices on uploading. The Commission told Rogers yesterday that:

Staff consider that in order to comply with TRP 2009-657, the discussion in the page titled Legal Disclaimer and the detailed discussion available on the network management policy web page should indicate that there are circumstances whereby the Rogers ITMP will also affect download speeds available to subscribers. Further, the detailed discussion on the network management policy page should clearly indicate which download applications might be affected in these circumstances and to what degree (i.e., the impact on download speeds should be indicated).

The letter added that it has received additional complaints about the practices and wants a response from Rogers by February 14, 2011 on "whether and how Rogers intends to modify its ITMP disclosures in compliance with TRP 2009-657."

Via Michael Geist

Rogers in bid to buy Maple Leafs, renaming them Ted's Bitches

I know, Ted is Dead, but his cold dead hand still extends its icy grip over this city.

Communications giant Rogers is in talks to buy the Toronto Maple Leafs in a deal worth more than $1 billion, the Toronto Star reports — which would be the biggest transaction in Canadian sport history.

Bend over, Rogers continues its campaign to turn Toronto into their own fiefdom.

Read more here.

Rogers faces $10M fine, consoles itself by renaming a building in its honour

They make that much in bandwidth fees, Cap and Tax.

The Competition Bureau is seeking a penalty of $10 million against Rogers Communications Inc. for ads claiming that its discount cellphone and text service, Chatr, has fewer dropped calls than its new competitors.

The bureau announced Friday that it has begun legal proceedings against Rogers in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice under the misleading advertising provisions of the Competition Act. In addition to the penalty, the bureau is asking the court to rule that Rogers must immediately stop its advertising campaign and pay restitution to affected customers.

The move is the result of the bureau’s two-month investigation during which it concluded Rogers’ advertising campaign for Chatr is misleading. The investigation concluded there is no discernible difference in dropped call rates between Rogers’ Chatr service and new entrants.

"We take misleading advertising very seriously," Melanie Aitken, commissioner of competition, said in a news release. "Consumers deserve accurate information when making purchasing decisions and need to have confidence they are not being misled by false advertising campaigns."

Read more here.

Study concludes Canadians f*cked over by telecom monopoly

We can't have competition! How will Rogers get over its self created image as Benevolent Ruler of Toronto and how will it justify naming every God Damn building and street in Toronto after itself?

The Canadian government should quickly lift all restrictions on foreign ownership in the telecom companies, a study recommended Monday.

The Montreal-based SeaBoard Group said the move would keep the mobile phone industry competitive and benefit consumers.

Read more here.

Don't be fooled. Chatr is Rogers folks

To fight new competition, Rogers is launching a new discount cellphone brand, just quietly not mentioning Rogers is behind it.

Rogers Communications Inc. (RCI.B-T35.75----%)launched its discount cellphone brand, chatr wireless, in major urban centers across Canada on Wednesday morning.

The move, which was previously announced, is Rogers' way of targeting the cheap, unlimited talk-and-text market, which new wireless entrants such as Wind Mobile and Mobilicity have been focusing on since their launches earlier this year and in late 2009.

Fagstein sums it up this way:

Let's count that, by the way. Eight mobile brands run by three companies. And I'm not counting the weird stuff involving third parties like Petro Canada Mobility or President's Choice Telecom. While most companies think of centralization and imposing a national brand on its subsidiaries, Canada's wireless companies do the opposite.

When your reputation as an industry is so shattered that you have to create fake competition to appeal to a large segment of the population that hates you, and then when that doesn't work you create a second fake competitor ... honestly, I don't know what to say.

The worst part is that Canada's Big Three wireless companies don't think this explosion of "brands" is evidence of a larger problem.

Read more here and here

Rogers On Demand Online: Try and escape the ads, I bet you can't!

PR people sure earn their pay at Rogers, as they seem to patrol the net looking for places to insert their opinion (when they're not looking for streets and landmarks to rename in Rogers honour that is):

This was left on a blog that wondered why you can't fast forward without running slap bang into, you guessed it, an ad...

you are able to fast forward in content, but if you skip through an ad break, you will need to watch the advertisement before continuing the show.

We do moderate this experience so that if you just want to watch the last 5 minutes and skip through a number of the ad breaks, you will only watch one ad.

So, once you've watched Miss Piggy and Teri Hatcher, the program will resume. Advertising helps us keep the service free for our customers.

While annoying the shit out of them, a fair trade in Roger's eyes I'm sure. Try watching the Canadian Comedy Network site online if you want real annoyance. The *same* ad is repeated over and over and over...

Now I know ad and marketing people actually think we enjoy their little dropping from the corporate world as that part of the brain that cause normal healthy people to react to advertising in a normal healthy way (with loathing) has been burned away to be replaced with such thoughts as "billboards bring colour and life to the place", but but..

*This blog will continue after a word from our sponsors*

Toronto and Rogers hold public circle jerk

Note the mink..nice touch =/

In a city already filled with things named after him, Ted Rogers was doubly celebrated once again today with a street and a TV studio named in his honour.

Family members, city councillors, board members and employees of the company showed up en masse this morning at the corner of what was once Charles and Jarvis.

The intersection outside of the Rogers campus, as it is called by company employees, will now be known as Ted Rogers Way.

Read more here.

Rogers to launch crippled online viewing service

the company announced the online portal would launch next Monday November 30th with approximately 1,500 videos and 15 content providers.

But it's from Rogers, so you know there will be negative aspects, such as:

Unlike most cable on demand services which remove advertising, online viewers will be required to watch commercials and will not be able to fast forward through them. While navigating the portal, users will be required to view banner ads and other online promotional material. Once the tv shows begin, commercial programs, such as those seen on CityTV and Sportsnet will air with commercials

So even though we pay to gain access (be a Rogers customer), we still will be bombarded with ads. This is a glimpse of what the cable companies want for the net as a whole...

and...

The shows will be streamed at a low quality 480 kps with an option to be delivered at a higher quality 1 Mbps. Although more than twice the low quality feed, the 1 Mbps option is still much less than the high definition video you receive on your television, which is typically 12 to 14 Mbps per second. Clearly this online on-demand service is best used for viewing on your computer or your wireless phone.

Rogers High Speed Internet customers should note that the Rogers On Demand online service will count towards their bandwidth cap meaning a high quality feed could use up a gigabyte of bandwidth in just over two hours.

So basically, it's a advertising streaming service, with shows to interrupt them...

Pass.

Related article here.

Rogers renaming frenzy continues

From the "You have to be fucking kidding" files...

[Toronto] city council has approved naming a portion of Jarvis St. to Ted Rogers Way to honour the former President and CEO of Rogers' Communications Inc.

It is the block of Jarvis St., between Bloor Ave. and Charles St., which runs right beside the Rogers' headquarters.

How can it be called "Ted Rogers Way"? It's a two way street...but I digress.

Toronto councillor Kyle Rae was first approached about the idea.

He said, "It's the least we could do in recognizing a man who gave so much, built so much, employed so many and transformed an industry."

Company executives have said Rogers' philanthropy is evident across Toronto and this is a fitting was to immortalize him.

Their goddamn logo is certainly evident across the city. Only "company executives" think he needs more honouring, the rest of us have had quite enough of Rogers and their branding.

A statue to their arrogance would endanger air traffic. Guess the Skydome wasn't enough for them.

The reactions have begun on Twitter: @dominionpundit If you drive Ted Rogers Way,do you get charged per second,have shitty service and have neg option billing?

@jeffpeter Jarvis St to be renamed Ted Rogers Way. Parking is to be rounded up to the nearest hour, cars subject to a $6.95 Spot Access Fee.

Isn't there a new dump or landfill that could use a name?

Rogers plays the shell game with consumers...again

Rogers Communications Inc. said Monday it will no longer charge new cellphone customers the much-maligned system access fee, which for years has ruffled the feathers of consumers groups that claim it was designed purely to pad the bottom lines of carriers.

In its place will be a first for the industry; new subscribers will have to pay what Rogers calls a "government regulatory recovery fee" of between $2.50 and $3.50 per month, depending on the province...

...Rogers said the new scheme would have created a revenue shortfall were it not for the company raising prices on basic voice plans for new customers. For example, a $25-a-month plan will now cost $30.

Read more here.

Rogers does block Skype on iPhone

In April I received this comment from someone claiming to represent Rogers, regarding rumours they would block Skype on the iPhone:

"I'm in the communications group at Rogers and wanted to respond to your post. Rogers Wireless doesn't block Skype. If and when the Skype app is available in the Canadian iTunes store, our customers will be able to use it. "

Turns out this is carefully worded bullshit. Skype is indeed blocked on the 3G network, due to "contractual obligations", but can be used only on wifi.

Never trust a spokesperson.

I'm shocked, shocked! Rogers opposes WIFI

Rogers Communications Inc. has vocally opposed municipal WiFi plans across Canada, arguing that cities shouldn't be using taxpayer money to build for-profit telecom infrastructure that competes with the private sector, said David Robinson, vice-president of new business planning for Rogers Wireless.

Competition, in Canada? Perish the thought!

Read more here.

As Costs Fall, Companies Push to Raise Internet Price

It was big mistake handing over the net to providers such as these. If US providers want to start ripping off their customers and turn the net into cable TV, they need to come up here to Canada and learn from Rogers and the CRTC, who fuck over customers on a regular basis. Of course it helps when the so called consumer protection agency is in the pocket of corporations.

It's easy here. Just make an outrageous change (DNS redirecting anyone?) and sit back. Customer anger means little, as no government agency will step in.

Internet service providers want to end the all-you-can-eat plans and get their customers paying à la carte.

But they are having a hard time closing the buffet line.

Faced with rising consumer protest and calls from members of Congress for new regulations, Time Warner Cable backed down last week from a plan to impose new fees on heavy users of its Road Runner Internet service.

Read more here.

Rogers responds re Skype

I've received this response regarding the rumours of Rogers blocking Skype on the iPhone:

"I'm in the communications group at Rogers and wanted to respond to your post. Rogers Wireless doesn't block Skype. If and when the Skype app is available in the Canadian iTunes store, our customers will be able to use it. "

I stand corrected.

Update: Turns out this is carefully worded bullshit. Skype is indeed blocked on the 3G network, due to "contractual obligations", but can be used only on wifi.

Never trust a spokesperson.

Rogers may block Skype on iPhone

Rumours are circulating that Rogers may block Skype on the iPhone.

Those greedy bastards, what right do they have to that?

Update: See post above.

Update Update: The comment from Rogers in the comments below turns out this is carefully worded bullshit. Skype is indeed blocked on the 3G network, due to "contractual obligations", but can be used only on wifi.

Never trust a spokesperson.

Ted Rogers dies at 75

His soul is trying to get to heaven but as he is trying during peak hours, it is being prevented by network throttling...

In the end, Mr. Rogers was master of the communications universe in Canada, the owner of the dominant cable TV system, of radio and television stations, of magazine publishing, residential telephone services and the largest wireless network. He was the rare communications titan to solve the convergence conundrum, combining media content and transmission in a single corporate entity.

That we can not escape.

Read more here.

Avoiding Rogers DNS redirect

There seems to have been some development on the Rogers and their unethical DNS redirection front.

Via Michael Geist:

Written by Parkerjon on 2008-07-31 15:26:49
I got the following from an anonymous but embarrassed Rogers employee. They bowed to pressure (many larger companies complaining that their remote workers were affected): and that even poor Edward was harassed.

Alternate DNS server that avoids the redirect:

altdns.rnc.net.cable.rogers.com
64.71.255.202

Apparently the engineers warned the marketing types... but the suits didn't listen.

Or you can try these:

dnsserverlist.org.

Internet founder blasts ISPs for hurting national interests

"The Rogers approach certainly isn't respectful of consumer choice,"..."The response that Rogers has been giving — 'this is our network and we'll do whatever we damn well please' — does highlight what is for many a concern."

Read more here.

Rogers thinks it can just brush off complaints from its users, especially since there really isn't a lot of choice in the Canadian ISP market. However, Rogers should be careful in treading so brazenly into what some consider "net neutrality" territory.

Read more here.