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Cogeco Inc.
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| Type |
Public
TSX: CGO, TSX: CCA |
| Founded |
Trois-Rivières, Quebec (1957)[1] |
| Headquarters |
Montreal, Quebec |
| Key people |
Louis Audet (CEO), Jan Peeters (Chairman of the Board), Pierre Gagné (CFO) |
| Industry |
Media and Communications |
| Products |
Cable TV, Internet, Telecommunications, Broadcasting |
| Revenue |
▲$746.9 million CAD (2006)[1] |
| Operating income |
▲$253.1 million CAD (2006) [1] |
| Net income |
▲$23.1 million CAD (2006)[1] |
| Employees |
2,415 (2008)[2] |
| Parent |
None |
| Subsidiaries |
Cogeco Cable (Ontario & Quebec), Cogeco Radio-Television, Cabovisão (Portugal) |
| Website |
www.cogeco.ca |
Cogeco Inc. (TSX: CGO) is Canadian media and communications company.
The corporation first entered the television business in the mid-1950s with the launch of a Radio-Canada affiliate in Trois-Rivières, CKTM-TV. Later the company expanded with the creation of CKSH-TV in Sherbrooke, a radio network and diversification in the cable television industry. Until 2008, Cogeco co-owned the TQS network (now "V") with CTVglobemedia, as well as eight television stations affiliated with both TQS and Radio-Canada. TQS and its five owned-and-operated stations were sold to Remstar Corporation, and the Radio-Canada affiliates were sold directly to Radio-Canada, in 2008. Cogeco is the largest cable company in Canada not owning any terrestrial TV outlets (Rogers Communications owns Citytv and Omni, and also Quebecor-owned Vidéotron also owns the TVA network with several O&O stations and an independent station in Toronto).
Through its broadcast holdings, Cogeco Cable (TSX: CCA) is a major cable television distributor offering analogue and digital television, as well as high-speed Internet services and VoIP telephony. It is the second largest cable system operator in both Ontario and Quebec, (respectively behind Rogers & Vidéotron), and the fourth largest in Canada.
Cogeco Cable Services logo.
Starting in 2006, Cogeco Cable began the process of overhauling their Ontario & Quebec-based Hybrid fibre-coaxial physical plant networks to expand the total amount of bandwidth available. The ability to offer expanded 2-way bi-directional services such as High Definition digital cable, High-Speed Internet and VoIP Digital Telephony and to improve network reliability is the driving force behind this upgrade.
After upgrades are complete, the Ontario network will have 750 MHz of bandwidth and the Quebec network will have 550 MHz of bandwidth. With this capacity, a total of 110 or 83 analogue channels (depending on the network) can be transmitted. Given that each analogue channel occupies 6 MHz of bandwidth, Cogeco utilizes the latest compression, multiplexing and modulation technologies to be able to transmit up to 13 Standard Definition TV signals or else up to 3 High Definition TV signals on each of these channels.[3]
Digital Services
Digital Cable Television
Within their Canadian cable operations in Ontario & Quebec, 98% of all homes passed by Cogeco Cable-owned plant are able to access digital cable services, with 90% of homes passed also able to access digital video on demand services. Currently, 93% of homes passed also have access to Cogeco Cable's 2-way bi-directional cable plant, giving customers the ability to enjoy high definition TV programming and high-speed Internet services.[3]
Cogeco Cable utilizes Motorola-based digital set-top boxes (STB's) for delivery of their digital cable services:
Standard Definition STB's:
- DCT700: Composite & Coaxial video outputs. RCA-stereo audio outputs.
- DCT1700: Composite & Coaxial video outputs. RCA-stereo audio outputs.
- DCT1800: Composite & Coaxial video outputs. RCA-stereo audio outputs.
- DCT2000: Composite & Coaxial video outputs. RCA-stereo audio outputs. Front LC display.
- DCT2500: Composite & Coaxial video outputs. SPDIF, Dolby Digital & RCA-stereo audio outputs. Front LC display.
High Definition & Personal Video Recorder STB's:
- DCT6200: DVI, YbpPr Component, S-Video, Composite & Coaxial video outputs. SPDIF, Dolby Digital & RCA-stereo audio outputs. Front LC display.
- DCT6208: DVI, YbpPr Component, S-Video, Composite & Coaxial video outputs. SPDIF, Dolby Digital & RCA-stereo audio outputs. Front LC display. Includes an 80 GB hard drive for PVR functions.
- DCT6412: HDMI, DVI, YbpPr Component, S-Video, Composite & Coaxial video outputs. SPDIF, Dolby Digital & RCA-stereo audio outputs. Front LC display. Includes a 120 GB hard drive for PVR functions. Dual-tuner.
- DCT6416: HDMI, DVI, YbpPr Component, S-Video, Composite & Coaxial video outputs. SPDIF, Dolby Digital & RCA-stereo audio outputs. Front LC display. Includes a 160 GB hard drive for PVR functions. Dual-tuner.
Internet access
Cogeco Cable utilizes a DOCSIS 1.0 & 1.1-compliant network to provide all of their Internet Protocol (IP)-based services, such as Internet access and VoIP. To position itself as a leader in delivering broadband solutions to its customers, Cogeco Cable became actively involved in the DOCSIS program and was one of the first major cable operators to deploy a DOCSIS-based network.[4]
Since April 2009, Cogeco has implemented a cost penalty for surpassing the bandwidth limits for each tier, for standard this is $1.50 per 1GB to a maximum of $30 monthly. Cogeco e-mails a warning at 85% and 100% of their combined bandwidth limit. A three-month history is available online. These surcharges will not take effect until June 2009.
In many areas, Cogeco maintains a de-facto regional monopoly on cable internet service.
VoIP Digital Telephony
Cogeco Cable launched their Digital Phone service in June 2005, a VoIP-based telephony service offering customers unlimited local & long distance calling within Canada and to the United States, voice mail, call display, call waiting, visual call waiting, call forwarding, 411-directory assistance, 911-emergency assistance, 611-technical support assistance, 711-message relay services & 0-operator services.
As of October 16, 2006, 70% of all homes passed by Cogeco Cable plant are able to access this service.[5]
Cogeco Data Services
On June 13, 2008, Cogeco acquired the Telecommunications division of Toronto Hydro, Toronto's municipal electric utility. As of August 1, 2008, Toronto Hydro Telecom is now known as Cogeco Data Services.[citation needed]
Cogeco-owned stations
Radio
Except for CJMF, all stations are part of the Adult Contemporary network, Rythme FM.
Cogeco also owned the now-defunct CKO radio network after acquiring AGRA subsidiary Cybermedix in 1989; the network and its stations went dark in November of that year.
Television
Cogeco's primary television venture is the TVCogeco system of local community channels in markets served by Cogeco Cable. As of the sale of TQS, Cogeco no longer owns any conventional television assets. In 2008. Cogeco also sold its 20% interest in Canal Indigo to Quebecor Media.
The five TQS O&Os which were owned by Cogeco were acquired by Remstar as part of the TQS transaction:
Concurrently, Cogeco also sold its three Télévision de Radio-Canada affiliates directly to the CBC:
See also
External links
References
