Rogers Required?

Armagettin said:
Here is how it usually works. If Rogers provides (read - pays for the capital cost) the cable installed in the building then they retain the right to control its use.

If the owner pays for the installation of the cable or buys it back then they can do what they want with it. The demarcation point is typically at the building wall so anyone can bring service to the building. The owner can, and often will, make a deal with Rogers or another company and get a cut and also save on the capital cost of CAT 4/5 etc. cable.

This is how it used to work.. Perhaps, if it's a rental building it still works this way.. but if you're in a condo, you can choose and cannot be forced to pick rogers for example. I gotta see if I can find the CRTC ruling on this..
 
Keebler Elf said:
Maybe, but his response seems more credible than yours (no offense).

Why do you disagree?

Because I know of many condominiums who have exclusivity arrangements with Rogers. They are new builds and were wired for Rogers, and the necessary equipment for Bell just simply isn't present. If a condo board chooses to install it later, then hey, the owners can have a choice. But absent that, there's simply nothing for Bell to connect to in the unit, and a unit owner can't do anything about it.
 
WhaWhaWha said:
Your building managers are breaking the law. Likely they have paid for a few installations and are splitting off the signal for profit. Rogers does not offer bulk licenses to landlords for redistribution of services.
Actually it would be the condo board thats breaking the law, assuming what you say is legally correct.

I'm gonna look into this
 
Our condo corp owns the cable that was put in when the building was built. But when various residents started petitioning for more and more channels, the cable was not up to providing the bandwidth.

Several options were explored, and it became obvious that it was going to be hugely expensive to rip out and replace existing wiring.

So the condo corp looked at outside providers.

Rogers wired the building, but running the wires on the outside of the building, drilling in and adding wires and new jacks. On the plus side, I talked the guy into adding jacks in all the bedrooms and the kitchen for a beer and $20. Rogers did this at "no charge" but the deal was to provide the cable tv service at a bulk rate for a MINIMUM 5 year contract. We get basic, plus the TMN group and a few other stations for $22.50/month/unit (not tv) Rogers initially provided 1 box/unit (my roommate and I argued that because of the sublease situation we deserved 2 boxes and Rogers reluctantly agreed).

But this past spring, the residents were getting rather pissy that most had gone from cable in the living room and master bedroom to having cable only in the living room. Rogers relented and provided extra boxes for every cable jack in the unit at no extra charge. (I now have 4)

So, yes, buildings can make a deal with a service provider.

I still have Bell for voice and data, Rogers provides the TV and sends me endless marketing material to switch my phone, wireless and internet to them.
 
UPDATE

I called Bell again and this time they told me that they cannot provide telephone service to the building.

Still trying to figure out if they can provide internet service or not...

Called Teksavvy and they said if it's a Rogers area they can't help me.
 
Keebler Elf said:
UPDATE

I called Bell again and this time they told me that they cannot provide telephone service to the building.

Still trying to figure out if they can provide internet service or not...

Called Teksavvy and they said if it's a Rogers area they can't help me.

If they can't provide phone service, it is almost certain they can't do internet either.
 
I didn't search for the CRTC ruling yet as I've not had time.

My understanding is that if you have Bell phone services in your suite, at least on recently built buildings then you should in theory be able to get TV through Bell as they use the same wiring. I've had ExpressVu for condos (VDSL) in 2 buildings and although I'm not sure which wire it came to into my suite, from the junction box to my TV, it came through the coax cable.

Here's a link to see if you can get ExpressuVu for Condos:
http://www.bell.ca/shopping/PrsShpTv_Vdsl_Buy_Availabilty.page

Search by your postal code. I'd be really interested in seeing if Compromised is able to get it. I'm still quite certain that regardless of what exclusive deal Rogers may have with your building, they cannot stop you going to a competitor..
 
Tangwhich said:
I didn't search for the CRTC ruling yet as I've not had time.

My understanding is that if you have Bell phone services in your suite, at least on recently built buildings then you should in theory be able to get TV through Bell as they use the same wiring. I've had ExpressVu for condos (VDSL) in 2 buildings and although I'm not sure which wire it came to into my suite, from the junction box to my TV, it came through the coax cable.

Here's a link to see if you can get ExpressuVu for Condos:
http://www.bell.ca/shopping/PrsShpTv_Vdsl_Buy_Availabilty.page

Search by your postal code. I'd be really interested in seeing if Compromised is able to get it. I'm still quite certain that regardless of what exclusive deal Rogers may have with your building, they cannot stop you going to a competitor..

And you are still quite wrong. Bell and Rogers work off different systems. If your building does not have the appropriate equipment/wiring for Bell, you can't have Bell. Period. Even if it's wired for Bell phone/internet, ExpressVu for condos requires the installation of special equipment that only the condo board can agree to. If they don't, you're only option is Rogers cable (assuming your building doesn't permit dishes, and most don't allow them).

This is a little bit different in reverse, in that you can't be forced to have Bell for your phone/internet. The CRTC has ruled that Bell must share their network, which is why you get all these phone/internet resellers like TekSavvy and Primus. You are not guaranteed a choice, only protected from having Bell forced on you, so Rogers can indeed get exclusive rights.
 
thompo69 said:
And you are still quite wrong. Bell and Rogers work off different systems. If your building does not have the appropriate equipment/wiring for Bell, you can't have Bell. Period. Even if it's wired for Bell phone/internet, ExpressVu for condos requires the installation of special equipment that only the condo board can agree to. If they don't, you're only option is Rogers cable (assuming your building doesn't permit dishes, and most don't allow them).

If you don't have the equipment, that's fair enough.. but if Bell were to come to a building with an "exclusive" agreement with rogers and said, we'll hook you up at no expense and the condo agrees to it they have that right.
 
I believe the condo corp has the right to choose the provider. You, as a condo owner, are represented by them.
 
I don't have the time to read through the ruling, but I moved into a condo in 2003 that had an exclusive deal with Rogers. I was told at first I had no choice but to go to Rogers. After the CRTC ruling bell were allowed to enter which is when I first got VDSL. I'm now on IPTV, the currently testing service which comes through your internet connection. It's awesome and I believe it's coming to the masses soon.
 
Interesting... Rogers told me there's a $25 max charge per month for bandwidth overages. That's a little more palatable...