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Rogers network outage across Canada hits banks, businesses and consumers

reuters.com

231–240 of 403 posts

Re: Rogers network outage across Canada hits banks, businesses and consumers

#231

I see a lot of people noting the lack of communication and updates from Rogers. To me it would be shocking if they were providing updates. Canada’s telecommunication monopolies are not known for their customer service and, even worse, they seem to have internal corporate cultures of entitlement and arrogance that drive an “F U” attitude in general when it comes to external communications and accountability. So you wo…

It's not possible to pay with debit card in Canada because Interac is down, because Rogers is down. Many atm across the country aren't working. It's not just Rogers' client who are impacted, the whole banking ecosystem is impacted. Even rumors that Costco can only accept cash, the Capital One Mastercard network might be down. I don't see how Rogers could keep quiet on this, unless it's from some malicious actor.

> I don't see how Rogers could keep quiet on this

My sweet summer child, you have no seen how meek and docile Canadians are.

They'll take a page from the Federal Liberals, spout a bunch of unrelated platitudes and nothingness, and pretend nothing happened.

The oligarchs control Canada and the Federal Liberals are just a finger in their hand. There will be no inquiry from regulators - what's more - they'll rubber stamp the Rogers - Shaw merger that's been in the works.

If Canadians say anything, Bill C-11 will be ready to squelch them online. If they say anything in person, a quick speech from Trudeau calling them foreign-funded MAGA terrorists will cause the government-funded CBC to produce an article. That article will then be used by the Trudeau Liberals to invoke the Emergency Act once more, then de-bank and trample them.

Re: Rogers network outage across Canada hits banks, businesses and consumers

#232

The utterly inefficient and overpriced Canadian telecoms exist only because we allow one specific behavior: 1. A new local player comes to town, builds their own infrastructure (e.g. connects one building to fiber) and starts offering competitive service. 2. Rogers/Shaw/Bell/Telus immediately offer better terms for the residents of that building. 3. The competitor runs out of money and leaves. 4. The telecoms revert…

Sounds like how the free market was designed to work.

Not that I find it a particularly good design, though.

Re: Rogers network outage across Canada hits banks, businesses and consumers

#233

The utterly inefficient and overpriced Canadian telecoms exist only because we allow one specific behavior: 1. A new local player comes to town, builds their own infrastructure (e.g. connects one building to fiber) and starts offering competitive service. 2. Rogers/Shaw/Bell/Telus immediately offer better terms for the residents of that building. 3. The competitor runs out of money and leaves. 4. The telecoms revert…

Sounds like how the free market was designed to work. Not that I find it a particularly good design, though.

> free market

> was designed

Re: Rogers network outage across Canada hits banks, businesses and consumers

#234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Curious though what the government could do about this pricing scheme here? Seems like the solution is to setup a bureaucracy to watch pricing and then micro-manage the situation whenever its tried? The ride-hailing services pulled this in various places around the world. Airlines in Canada did it as well. Feels like whack-a-mole.

Maybe re-examine the foreign ownership rules for telecommunications companies... "As it stands now, foreign ownership of a telecommunications company is limited to no more than 20 per cent of a company’s voting shares and no more than 33.3 per cent of the voting shares of a carrier’s holding company, and an effective total limit of 46.7 per cent (as long as the foreign entity doesn’t have control). On top of that, at…

The idea around the foreign ownership laws is to prevent jobs and knowledge from leaving the country hopefully creating entities that can compete at the global level. It has worked with banking but failed with internet providers. It costs regular citizens but not strategically doing this is costly.

The industry is large/stable enough to allow 100% foreign ownership.

Re: Rogers network outage across Canada hits banks, businesses and consumers

#235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> And airlines. Rather, Airline. I would dispute this one, only because in addition to Air Canada (fleet size 312), Westjet does exist (fleet size 162). And the other regional airlines offer (-ed, prepandemic) some price/service competition. Comparisons to the US aren't as useful with airlines as with some other industries due to population differences.

Porter is really the best way to get in and out of Toronto...

While I used to love Porter both for location and better service at comparable price, it's not much good if you're flying to Vancouver or Toronto, and the one time I took it to St John's was miserable

Edit: and the union Pearson Express made the main airport a lot more accessible

Re: Rogers network outage across Canada hits banks, businesses and consumers

#236

The utterly inefficient and overpriced Canadian telecoms exist only because we allow one specific behavior: 1. A new local player comes to town, builds their own infrastructure (e.g. connects one building to fiber) and starts offering competitive service. 2. Rogers/Shaw/Bell/Telus immediately offer better terms for the residents of that building. 3. The competitor runs out of money and leaves. 4. The telecoms revert…

> The utterly inefficient and overpriced Canadian telecoms exist only because we allow one specific behavior: > 1. A new local player comes to town, builds their own infrastructure (e.g. connects one building to fiber) and starts offering competitive service. You forgot to mention that whoever is the ILEC in an area (Telus, Bell, etc) and/or the incumbent 35+ year early advantage local cable TV operator (Shaw, Rogers…

They legally have the right of way to build infrastructure to connect to newly developed, last mile locations? Interesting.

Re: Rogers network outage across Canada hits banks, businesses and consumers

#237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why does anyone try to sell books when Amazon exists? It's the nature of the optimist.

But people actually do sell books. It’s not the case that Amazon always comes to new book store locations and undercuts them on price just long enough for them to go out of business.

Amazon undercuts pretty much every bookseller on price. A few local/specialty shops can survive but Barnes & Noble is pretty much the only national competitor left in the US and they are on the ropes. My local B&N is now a pile of rubble, soon to be a fast food place.

Re: Rogers network outage across Canada hits banks, businesses and consumers

#238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do this. Unlimited (international!) roaming and everything isn't that expensive (Only about 100$) compared to whatever insane amount I'd be paying if I had some ripoff, under 5 gigabyte or whatever pittance data capped Canadian phone plan for no reason. I also maintain a Central American phone plan that doesn't cost me very much either (2$ every 3 months just to keep the number outside of the country and receive SM…

I've heard they stop your service if your roaming is half of your data plan.

I've heard something similar but that they'll stop service if you're out of the US for over 6 months.

Re: Rogers network outage across Canada hits banks, businesses and consumers

#239
post #48

At what point does the anti-competitive nature and monopolistic qualities of Canadian telecoms become a national security threat? Maybe when it destroys the whole Canadian economy for a day

>Maybe when it destroys the whole Canadian economy for a day Won't happen. The average Canadians are one of the most sheep like, docile people out there.

Harsh, but so true lol

Re: Rogers network outage across Canada hits banks, businesses and consumers

#240

The utterly inefficient and overpriced Canadian telecoms exist only because we allow one specific behavior: 1. A new local player comes to town, builds their own infrastructure (e.g. connects one building to fiber) and starts offering competitive service. 2. Rogers/Shaw/Bell/Telus immediately offer better terms for the residents of that building. 3. The competitor runs out of money and leaves. 4. The telecoms revert…

Does Canada not have strong antitrust laws? As far as I know, this is explicitly illegal in the USA.

On paper, yes. But over the last few decades our regulatory bodies have been subverted by influence from our telcoms.

Recently our telecom regulator (the CRTC) was considering whether MVNOs should be allowed in Canada. Our Competition Beaureau, which is supposed to be enforcing antitrust laws, provided guidance to the CRTC[1]. Here's an excerpt:

"MVNOs can drive lower prices and greater choice, but they also could threaten the demonstrated progress in enhancing competition in this industry to date."

That's right. "Increased competition and lower prices is bad for competition." "Demonstrated progress" in a country with some of the highest telecom prices in the world.

Let's not even get into how the chairperson of the CRTC is literally a former telecom lobbyist.

Ultimately, MVNOs were "approved", but with practically insurmountable requirements for new entrants, effectively blocking them.

[1] https://www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/eic/site/cb-bc.nsf/eng/0...

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