Rogers partners with Toronto District School Board to deliver Canada's fastest Internet[1] to local students

Pilot project will bring Rogers Ignite Gigabit Internet to 20 TDSB locations at no cost
Rogers has completed world's largest DOCSIS 3.1 rollout to deliver consistently fast, more robust Internet

TORONTO, March 30, 2017 /CNW/ - Today, Rogers Communications announced a new three-year pilot program at 20 Toronto District School Board (TDSB) locations to bring students Rogers Ignite Gigabit Internet, the company's fastest available speed, with unlimited data. This pilot program will deliver top Internet speeds up to 55 times faster than those currently in these TDSB locations, allowing students access to leading digital programs and classroom technologies.

"Today's classrooms are more technology driven than ever," said Dirk Woessner, President, Consumer Business Unit, Rogers Communications. "With our Gigabit speeds, students will have the connectivity to access the best online resources and tools to prepare them for today's digital economy. Like our Connected for Success Program, this is another way we're helping bridge the digital divide."

An Ontario Ministry of Education report ^[2] looked at the importance of accelerating digital literacy. More than 70 per cent of Ontario schools do not have the recommended minimum bandwidth capacity of 1Mbps per student to support new classroom technologies, and 90 per cent of schools have outdated and inefficient network setups.

"To help our students thrive in school and the global community, equipping them with the best tools – including the fastest Internet available today – is essential to meet the needs of our students as global learners," added Peter Singh, Chief Technology Officer, Toronto District School Board. "This Gigabit pilot will make a meaningful difference in how students access, engage with and learn through technology."

For this pilot the TDSB identified locations most urgently in need of an upgrade. With the capacity for multiple simultaneous users, and freedom from data caps and slow downloads, the pilot enables the TDSB to provide innovative programming in schools, language centres, and employment programs helping:  

• Students access online resources like virtual museums and science labs, research tools, or Google Classroom.
  
  
• Students connect with targeted learning tools like audio books and apps to improve English literacy, fluency and numeracy.
  
  
• Students of all ages learn about future school or career opportunities at colleges, universities, apprenticeships, or employment using tools like video conferencing.

About Rogers Ignite Internet and DOCSIS 3.1

Rogers is recognized as Canada's fastest internet based on Ookla's analysis of Speedtest data.^[1]

For the school, home, or small business, speed matters and Rogers Ignite Gigabit Internet is our best internet yet. At 1 Gigabit per second, it takes about 30 seconds to download a 3 GB HD video or data file whereas the same file would take about 9 minutes at a speed of 50 Mbps.

After enabling Ignite Gigabit Internet for its entire service area last year, Rogers continues to stay ahead of growing demands for speed and data capacity. Rogers is the first cable company in the world to deploy DOCSIS 3.1 cable network technology across its footprint. DOCSIS 3.1 enables more consistently fast performance for an even more robust Gigabit service and lays the foundation for new IP technologies.

Connected for Success Program
Rogers' Connected for Success program provides affordable high-speed internet access to Canadians living in rent-subsidized non-profit housing. For additional details, please visit www.about.rogers.com

About Rogers
Rogers is a leading diversified Canadian communications and media company that's working to deliver a great experience to our customers every day. We are Canada's largest provider of wireless communications services and one of Canada's leading providers of cable television, high-speed Internet, information technology, and telephony services to consumers and businesses. Through Rogers Media, we are engaged in radio and television broadcasting, sports, televised and online shopping, magazines, and digital media. Our shares are publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: RCI.A and RCI.B) and on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: RCI).

SOURCES:

¹ Recognized by Ookla based on its analysis of Speedtest Intelligence data for Q3-Q4 2016
² Digital Education – Ontario Ministry of Education, Nov. 10, 2016 report

SOURCE Rogers Communications Canada Inc. - English

For further information: Rogers Media Line, 647-747-5118, [e-mail]; Shari Schwartz-Maltz, Manager, Media Relations and Issues Management, TDSB, [e-mail], 416-518-5551

Related Links

http://www.rogers.com