
Rogers, for its part, has said it will allow competitors onto the network under reasonable commercial arrangements and that customers of competing telecoms would not be charged directly in any scenario. “Unless you are a Rogers customer, you or your carrier will have to pay for the cost of making a call while in the tunnel - and the cost may be high,” Stintz said. The former chair of the TTC, Karen Stintz, has suggested that Torontonians may have limited cellphone coverage on the subway for many years to come, and mused that the TTC “should have cancelled the substandard contract with BAI and reissued an RFP (Request for Proposals) to the telecoms.” She has also pointed out that the deal could be expensive for customers of other telecom companies. Of course, any such purchase would further consolidate Rogers’ position as a dominant player in the Canadian telecommunications industry, and would ultimately harm competition and innovation in the marketplace. The scrappy company epitomizes vocal and frank opposition to contemporary telecommunication trends, and has even tried to bring cases forward to the Competition Bureau. What could be next on its acquisition spree? Consider that Rogers could try to acquire TekSavvy Solutions Inc.

The fact that Rogers was able to keep discussions about the deal under wraps for over a year is a testament to its power and influence in Canada. It turns out Rogers was laying in wait with yet another acquisition that had been in the works for over a year: BAI. Unfortunately, those warnings have proven to be prophetic. saga, which captivated Canadians and invigorated debate on broad competition reform in the country, many cautioned the merger would permit Rogers to have far too much power in the telecommunications industry. Yet, the ability to access your phone while on the subway has been held hostage for over a decade by the TTC and BAI Communications Canada, an Australian company that never delivered on promised subway connectivity after being granted a $25-million contract giving it exclusive rights in 2012.ĭuring the recent Rogers Communications Inc.

The ability to be online while commuting is arguably more urgent than ever, a trade-off for workers and visitors patient enough to ride the rocket.

Article contentĪs the TTC becomes a little less of a bedrock for Torontonians and tourists, it may be easy to forget about the transit system’s other longstanding deficiencies, the most glaring of which is the lack of cellular service. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
