V-Tech Posted June 29, 2013 Share Posted June 29, 2013 Bell tried to shake up the Canadian media landscape last year by acquiring Astral Media, but it ran into a CRTC-sized roadblock -- regulators didn't want 25 TV stations moving to one provider. After some big concessions, however, Bell has received approval to buy Astral for $3.2 billion. The revised deal gives Bell control of 12 channels that include The Movie Network, HBO Canada's owner. Bell is offloading some important TV content to move forward, though. Corus gets several recognizable channels that include the Cartoon Network and Teletoon, while big stations like Disney XD and MusiquePlus are on the auction block. Not that Bell will complain too loudly when the buyout closes on July 5th, mind you. The merger still gives it 35.8 percent of the English Canadian TV market and 22.6 percent of its French Canadian equivalent, or enough to immediately eclipse rivals like Rogers and Quebecor. http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/29/bell-cleared-to-buy-astral-media/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srbeen Posted June 29, 2013 Share Posted June 29, 2013 MY independant internet provider offers 20Mbit down 2Mbit up for $66 a month, bell offers 50 Mbit up 50Mbit down for $69. On the other end, my provider will do 200Mbit down/5Mbit up for $189, and bell will do 175 down and 50up for $99.... They simply have the power to aniliate most independant providers, anywhere in Canada by offering more content/service for around the same pricing. Build the Comglomerate larger... Everyone forgets that Bell was the ones who instigated overage caps in Canada for more profit, Said 30GB is enough bandwidth for most users on FIBRE, had system access fees on their cell towers & satellite TV making $8 off consumers with a nice $1.50 kickback in extra taxes for the government, for literally NOTHING. I wouldn't put it past people in the CRTC to either have shares/stock in Bell, or be taking some sort of kickback to allow this. Then again Rogers, Telus and Shaw are about the only TV providers in Canada besides Bell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V-Tech Posted June 29, 2013 Author Share Posted June 29, 2013 MY independant internet provider offers 20Mbit down 2Mbit up for $66 a month, bell offers 50 Mbit up 50Mbit down for $69. On the other end, my provider will do 200Mbit down/5Mbit up for $189, and bell will do 175 down and 50up for $99.... They simply have the power to aniliate most independant providers, anywhere in Canada by offering more content/service for around the same pricing. Build the Comglomerate larger... Everyone forgets that Bell was the ones who instigated overage caps in Canada for more profit, Said 30GB is enough bandwidth for most users on FIBRE, had system access fees on their cell towers & satellite TV making $8 off consumers with a nice $1.50 kickback in extra taxes for the government, for literally NOTHING. I wouldn't put it past people in the CRTC to either have shares/stock in Bell, or be taking some sort of kickback to allow this. Then again Rogers, Telus and Shaw are about the only TV providers in Canada besides Bell. I lived in the Canada for 4 years up until few months ago and the thing that drove me insane was the usage allowance. I lived in the US, Europe, Asia and the middle east and i have never had an ISP that limited me. This is just crazy. Specially today when you use the internet for everything. Even when watching Netflix you need to start thinking about how much it will take from your usage allowance. Worse thing EVER! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srbeen Posted July 3, 2013 Share Posted July 3, 2013 I lived in the Canada for 4 years up until few months ago and the thing that drove me insane was the usage allowance. I lived in the US, Europe, Asia and the middle east and i have never had an ISP that limited me. This is just crazy. Specially today when you use the internet for everything. Even when watching Netflix you need to start thinking about how much it will take from your usage allowance. Worse thing EVER! Bell has no caps on their fibre connection now... but, they did on their DSL and tried it on their fibre, and it resulted in being terrible. They only have 'acceptable usage' policies now, in which they can throttle/shape/modify your internet on the fly should they feel like doing so, at random, if you use more internet than they deem acceptable. They suggest 250GB but have heard people utilizing TB's a month with no ill-result. The vaguity in their policy wording makes me apprehensive to sign a meaningless contract with them though. Bait & switch when theres no competition? Wouldn't put it past them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaP Posted July 3, 2013 Share Posted July 3, 2013 Bell has no caps on their fibre connection now... but, they did on their DSL and tried it on their fibre, and it resulted in being terrible. They only have 'acceptable usage' policies now, in which they can throttle/shape/modify your internet on the fly should they feel like doing so, at random, if you use more internet than they deem acceptable. They suggest 250GB but have heard people utilizing TB's a month with no ill-result. The vaguity in their policy wording makes me apprehensive to sign a meaningless contract with them though. Bait & switch when theres no competition? Wouldn't put it past them. They have caps on Fibe in quebec. The price sucks too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_dandy_ Posted July 3, 2013 Share Posted July 3, 2013 I wouldn't put it past people in the CRTC to either have shares/stock in Bell, or be taking some sort of kickback to allow this. Are you kidding me? The CRTC board consists almost entirely of ex-telecom industry execs. srbeen 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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