Canada Internet outage: Rogers Faces Probe of Network Failure

tech.hindustantimes.com:

The network failure at Rogers Communications Inc. will be investigated by Canada’s telecommunications regulator, heaping more pressure on the company as its tries to gain approval of its acquisition of Shaw Communications Inc. 

Rogers Chief Executive Officer Tony Staffieri and other telecom executives met Monday with Canadian Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne in the aftermath of a network collapse that shut down wireless and internet service for 12 million people. The problems, which began Friday, affected access to 911 emergency services, financial payment systems, government offices and even caused the postponement of events such as a concert by The Weeknd. 

Champagne said the Rogers network failure was “unacceptable” and that immediate steps were needed to fix reliability issues. The minister ordered companies including Rogers, BCE Inc. and Telus Corp. to reach agreements on emergency roaming and mutual assistance during outages and said there would be a probe of the events by the communications regulator, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. 

Staffieri apologized again and defended his company’s C$20 billion ($15.4 billion) proposal to buy Shaw as a way to improve the communications system. The company has said the transaction will free up capital for network investment. 

“We very much remain committed to the Shaw transaction,” Staffieri said Monday in an interview on BNN Bloomberg Television. “That transaction has always been about expanding our network capabilities, attaining more redundancy and coverage across the nation that can only help in situations like this.” 

But the shares of both companies tumbled as investors grow more concerned that the deal could fall apart.