Rogers Telecom

Infobox_Company
company_name = Rogers Telecom Inc.
company_
company_type = Subsidiary of Rogers Communications
foundation = Toronto, Ontario (1986)
location = Toronto, Ontario
key_people = See Rogers Communications
industry = Telecommunications
products = Data, e-business, Voice services
revenue = profit$818 million CAN
num_employees = 1,800 (2004)
homepage = [http://www.rogers.com/homephone www.rogers.com/homephone]

Rogers Telecom Inc. is a subsidiary of Rogers Communications. It is a Toronto-based company with focus on integrated communications solutions provider of data, e-business and voice services to business and households. It was formerly known as Sprint Canada Inc., pursuant to a 1993 branding agreement between parent Call-Net Enterprises Inc. with what is now Sprint Nextel Corporation.

In 1998 Call-Net acquired long distance service and data circuit provider Fonorola of Montreal for approximately $1.8 billion and merged it into Sprint Canada.

On May 11, 2005, Rogers Communications Inc. and Call-Net jointly announced that they entered into an agreement under which RCI will acquire 100% of Call-Net under a plan of arrangement ( [http://micro.newswire.ca/release.cgi?rkey=1305117409&view=84735-0&Start=0] ). The deal was approved by shareholders and an Ontario court on June 30, 2005, and completed July 1, and allowed Rogers to enter the residential phone business to challenge Bell Canada.

On July 7, 2005, Sprint Canada Inc. officially became Rogers Telecom Inc. and Call-Net Enterprises Inc. became Rogers Telecom Holdings Inc.

History

Sprint Canada launched in the late 1990's, with Candice Bergen as their spokesperson, who was also pitching the products of their US sister company. CallNet licensed the name Sprint from the United States Sprint Corporation up until it was bought out and renamed by Rogers Communications.

Rogers Home Phone

The Rogers Home Phone service in Canada was launched on July 1, 2005 on the same day that Rogers Telecom was acquired by Rogers Communications Inc. There are two offerings; one service is Voice over IP technology, over cable lines, and the other is provided by landline service over traditional telephone lines. The VOIP service is currently available in most of the Greater Toronto Area, with service to be expanded to Ottawa and Southwestern Ontario in late 2005. 911 and emergency service numbers (fire, ambulance, etc) will not work when Rogers Home Phone has technical difficulties.

Starting in June 2008, Rogers customers that were still using traditional telephone lines were sent a notice and given the option to either: A) migrate from the landline to their digital Voice over IP cable network, or B) have their accounts automatically canceled within a specified period of time. While it is inevitable some customers will return to Bell/Telus for landline service, this drastic measure effectively ensures that by the end of 2008, 100% of Rogers Home Phone clients were using their VoIP digital cable network.

Technology

The VOIP service operates using the PacketCable technology over their cable network. Service is delivered by cable to the subscriber's residence and is connected into a Home Phone Terminal, which then provides the connection to the internal wiring at the address. The Home Phone Terminal has a six-hour backup and can support up to two different phone numbers.

The landline service operates switches co-located in the Bell Canada network. As such, it does not maintain the lines itself and was affected by the Bell Subco strike of 2005 which affected its ability to provide timely service. The same also applies to the Telus strike in Alberta and British Columbia. During the time of the local strikes Rogers Telecom was not able to provide exact installation dates in those two provinces although due to legal obligations Rogers customers received higher priority service during strikes than actual Bell Canada / Telus customers.

References

* [http://micro.newswire.ca/release.cgi?rkey=1305117409&view=84735-0&Start=20 Rogers Communications Announces Agreement to Acquire Call-Net Enterprises in all Stock Transaction] - May 11, 2005
* [http://micro.newswire.ca/release.cgi?rkey=1306296807&view=84735-0&Start=10 Call-Net Shareholders Approve Acquisition by Rogers] - June 29, 2005
* [http://micro.newswire.ca/release.cgi?rkey=1306297169&view=84735-0&Start=10 Rogers Expands Telephony Offering Effective Canada Day 2005] - June 29, 2005
* [http://micro.newswire.ca/release.cgi?rkey=1307018045&view=84735-0&Start=0 Rogers Communications Completes Acquisition of Call-Net] -- July 1, 2005
* [http://micro.newswire.ca/release.cgi?rkey=1307079512&view=84735-0&Start=0 Call-Net and Sprint Canada Name Changes Following Rogers Acquisition] -- July 7, 2005

ee also

* Sprint Nextel Corporation
* Rogers Communications

External links

* [http://www.rogers.com/homephone Rogers Home Phone]
* [http://www.applicant.ca/homephone.php Additional Rogers Home Phone Information]