Who wants to pay more for basic cable?
Yes, Telus has been charging a 1.5% fee whenever their customers use a credit card since mid-October and now Bell Canada, Cogeco, Eastlink and Sasktel applied to start upping their rates every year “based on the annual consumer price index for the period ending December 31 of the preceding calendar year”, which means everyone will likely be paying way more for something that gets less and less appealing every year.
I currently stream most of the television programs I watch on a Roku television or watch over the air broadcast using a digital antenna and LTE/5G filter so I question the logic of hiking basic cable when most people are cutting the cord and starting to watch the Canadian networks online.
Some of them still charge fees for some of their programming but when it comes to news and weather, these are available free from CBC, Radio Canada, Global, CTV and The Weather Network via their apps, which are available for mobile devices and on smart televisions. And I suspect they will eventually offer advertisement sponsored streaming and time shifting, like CBC and Radio Canada have.
When it comes to comedy and drama that also airs on television, I now find myself watching them on Youtube, Prime Video and Disney+, basically viewing cable as a bonus in a discounted package with cell service, where I occasionally record programs that are unavailable online.
I also binge watch series on Netflix and Prime Video, the latter making Global and multiple other networks available for relatively affordable rates, so I believe these hikes are not conducive to the retaining of subscribers.
Bell just recently upgraded their fibre network, allowing some to download and upload at speeds up to 3 GBPS. And these occurred in multiple cities where over the air broadcasts are strong and readily available to most residents of these cities, so what could stop an independent provider from offering basic cable packages at less than $20.
I suspect most subscribers would be happy paying less for 1080p broadcasts, which is what one finds over the air, and prefer tuning into 4k primarily for films and sports. And Netflix is also still loosing subscribers so I think this hike is not fully thought out.
Is Bell trying to nudge people towards Crave, a streaming service that has just recently dropped prices to attract more subscribers? Who knows. But you have until October 28th, 2022 to comment on the proposal to hike basic cables rates from $25 to $28 “with subsequent yearly adjustments based on inflation“.
Debit Down @ Many Retailers
Interac is still down in some areas due to the Rogers outage after issuing this notice on Facebook:
“There is a nationwide Rogers outage that encompasses all their business and consumer network services. This is impacting INTERAC Debit and INTERAC e-Transfer. INTERAC Debit is currently unavailable online and at checkout. INTERAC e-Transfer services are unavailable at most financial institutions, impacting the ability to send and receive payments. We are waiting for updates from Rogers on their time to resolution.”
Rogers and Telus have outages through-our Canada but mostly concentrated in Ontario, where some credit card services are also down. But some service has been restored and will be restore shortly according to this statement from Rogers.
Those choosing to use free wi-fi service using their mobile devices should use VPN services to secure their devices.
UPDATE – July 9th, 2022 : The following was just posted on Twitter:
Following our previous updates, we have now restored services for the vast majority of our customers and our technical teams are working hard to ensure that the remaining customers are back online as quickly as possible. pic.twitter.com/IobL7Dze6i
— RogersHelps (@RogersHelps) July 9, 2022
Canadian Tire/Apple Offer
Participating Canadian Tire stores are offering $5 in CT Money for every $50 Apple Gift Card purchased in their stores until June 30th, 2022. Please consult your local flyer for details.
Jack White Appeals To The Labels
In 2021, vinyl sale revenue grew by 61% in the states to a Billion Dollars according to the Recording Industry Association of America. But the major labels don’t have their own pressing plants, regardless of vinyl’s ever growing popularity. And unfortunately album pressings are delayed here in Canada as well.
Hopefully there won’t be any delays for Record Store Day on April 24th.
Early Shopping Recommended
Shipments of certain products are being delayed by multiple factors so most retailers are recommending that people shop early to get what they want for the holiday season. And unfortunately the domestic production of certain goods has also been hindered by the delayed importation of certain components, so you might want to consider shopping early.
This unfortunately also includes vinyl LPs due to a worldwide shortage of polyvinyl chloride, which is causing a backlog in vinyl manufacturing. And certain electronics that play music are also being delayed by the shortage in semiconductors.
Yes, deals can still be had at retailers like Amazon Canada, which decided to spread their Prime deals out over a longer period instead of having a Prime Day this year. And other retailers, like Microsoft Store Canada and Sennheiser Canada
, are offering discounts early to accommodate customers. But they may run out of certain items soon.
Your best bet would be to shop around to find the best deal and to buy or order your items immediately, especially if it’s being purchased from a retailer outside Canada.