ForwardTogether: Our Commitment to Canada is Unwavering
TORONTO, April 22, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rogers Communications Inc. today issued an open letter to its shareholders and customers amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The full text of the letter from Joe Natale, President and Chief Executive Officer follows.
April 22, 2020
Dear Shareholders and Customers,
These are extraordinary times. We are facing the greatest public health threat in most of our living memories; one that profoundly impacts the global economy and all citizens around the world.
Now, more than ever, we all understand what connectivity means to Canadians.
Our networks have helped power our nation for 60 years, supporting people, communities and businesses from coast-to-coast.
In these challenging times, as families use video chat to connect with loved ones, as children log in to learn digitally, as employees turn kitchen tables into their new offices, as restaurants and small businesses move to online orders to keep us fed and products coming to our homes – through it all, our commitment to keeping Canada powered and resilient is unwavering.
With so many people affected by COVID-19 and experiencing significant economic and social challenges as a result, corporations are evaluating how best to do what’s right for our people, communities, customers, and planet – the true meaning of social responsibility. Our customers are affected, our employees are affected, and our entire nation is affected.
Shareholders today are asking corporations to play a more thoughtful and meaningful role in society as we grow our businesses while all around us people are coping with these unprecedented challenges. I want to assure our shareholders that we are committed to balancing long-term capital returns with long-term sustainable returns to society.
As we hold our annual general meeting, I wanted to share more about how your company is moving through this unprecedented situation with our customers, employees, communities and government partners.
Rogers and the Canadian Telecommunications Industry Remain Strong
Like most businesses, COVID-19 will have an impact on our financial results in the short term. But the current environment does not impact the fundamental strength of our company nor the long-term prospects of our business.
We have never been short-term thinkers – we have invested in Canada for the long-term with $60 billion invested in our networks over the past 35 years alone. These investments have not only powered the evolution of innovation, including the first wireless call in 1985, but they have built a strong platform that we are all now relying on as our communication needs are being tested in unprecedented ways.
Canadians are doing their part to stay home to limit the impact of COVID-19. And we’re working hard to do our part to ensure their new usage needs are being met. Throughout the average day, home Internet usage is up over 50%. We have seen as much growth in a few weeks, as we would normally see in two years. Our teams have been working around the clock to add and manage capacity to meet this rapidly changing demand.
Changing Our Operations to Meet the Evolving Needs of our Customers and Employees
Meeting the needs of our customers has required us to quickly evolve the way we do business. Our teams have stepped up to meet the challenge by coming up with new and innovative ways to serve our customers. Keeping our people safe is top of mind for us. I am filled with pride by their dedication and commitment to helping their fellow Canadians during these challenging times. It is truly inspiring.
We’ve temporarily closed retail locations across the country except for a limited number of street front stores that remain open to provide urgent customer support. Our frontline teams take this responsibility seriously and are going above and beyond, including filling urgent requests for phones and SIM cards from health care professionals who need to stay connected to their hospitals, their patients and their families.
We’ve launched a series of no-contact, self-installation capabilities so that customers can activate TV, Internet and home phone safely as our technicians, who are outside the home, communicate directly with them for guided video support.
We’ve adapted our Pro On-The-Go service so customers in the GTA and the Greater Vancouver Area can still get a new device delivered and set up within hours, using contactless delivery and one-on-one support through the phone or video chat.
We have rapidly deployed thousands of technology kits over the past month to enable our 7,000 customer care agents, virtually all of whom are based in Canada, to work from home. This allows them to answer calls and provide service without having to be in one of our offices across the country.
Our media teams are doing whatever it takes to ensure news and information continues to pour into homes across the country – broadcasting from their basements and living rooms – because they know that Canadians are counting on us to deliver the news and insights of the world at a time when it matters most.
Our network engineers and field technicians are frontline heroes. They are in every community keeping our networks running and Canadians connected. They are working around the clock adding capacity, installing connections and making repairs. They are out working alongside healthcare providers running fibre in parking lots and fields to create COVID-19 testing sites, adding WiFi in hospitals to support patients who want to stay in touch with loved ones, helping governments deal with the increased volume of calls and inquiries from Canadians and more.
These are roles that cannot be done from home, but they’re critical to keeping us all going. We have implemented premium pay for our colleagues who have critical and direct roles with the public. We all thank them for their commitment and service.
And we thank everyone standing bravely on the front lines, especially our health care workers and first responders. They are selflessly keeping us safe and healthy through what is likely the most challenging period of their careers. For that, we are profoundly grateful.
Providing Additional Supports for our Customers, Government Partners and Communities
Our customers have chosen us as their communications provider – to help digitally animate parts of their lives in new ways to overcome the isolation and provide a virtual substitute for the connections they need. We take that responsibility seriously. Here are some of the ways we are helping customers through our ForwardTogether program that we announced in March and continues through the end of June:
- We’ve lifted data usage caps for home internet plans, so customers don’t have to worry about overage charges;
- We’re waiving Canadian long-distance voice calling fees for homes and small businesses so customers can check in on loved ones and keep in touch with customers without worrying about extra charges;
- We’re offering a free rotating selection of TV channels to keep viewers and families entertained with additional hours at home;
- We’ve added more flexible payment options and a commitment that customers will remain connected to their services, so nobody has to worry about losing their digital lifeline; and
- And through our commitment to waive Roam like Home, Fido Roam and pay-per-use roaming fees from March 16 to April 30 in more than 180 countries, we’ve helped more than 150,000 Canadians stay connected at no additional cost while they made their way home.
We know that all orders of government across the nation are working hard to keep Canadians safe. Here are some of the ways we’ve partnered with government to help tackle some of the new challenges we collectively face:
- We’re launching 1-800 numbers for governments in a matter of hours so people can receive or offer help – for example when the government put out the call for people to funnel extra masks and essential supplies to hospitals
- We’re collaborating with local school boards and Apple to offer iPads with data plans at no cost to help students in need who do not have the tools at home for online learning while schools are closed
- We’ve expanded Connected for Success, our low-cost Internet program, to reach over 250,000 households through partnerships with 340 housing partners to help close the digital divide for online learning and help ease loneliness of those most isolated
Beyond these efforts, we recognize that during these extraordinary times, those who can help, must help. This crisis has touched every one of us but the most vulnerable in our communities are hit the hardest.
In addition to many local efforts in communities across the country, we’ve launched three national partnerships with community organizations to help deal with additional crises brought on by COVID-19.
We’ve partnered with Food Banks Canada to donate over one million meals and to leverage the power of our radio and TV assets to reach over 30 million people every week in an awareness campaign to help fill shelves with food. Our customers and employees have opened their hearts, and their wallets, and raised funds for half a million more meals.
We’re providing hundreds of smart phones in collaboration with Samsung and offering six months of free wireless service to Big Brothers Big Sisters Canada so vulnerable young people, the “littles”, can stay connected to their mentors and learning.
And with domestic violence on the rise, we’ve partnered with Women’s Shelters of Canada to help make devices and plans available and raise awareness of sheltersafe.ca services available through ads across our digital and social platforms.
Moving Forward Together
We haven’t seen this kind of global health crisis in nearly a century. But fortunately, we have 21st century tools to help combat it.
Our industry is there to support Canadians through this crisis and we will be there as a key partner to help them rebuild in the weeks and months to come.
Rogers is proud to help leverage our world-class networks, built with 60 years of investments, to help keep us all connected. We feel a keen responsibility to serve as the connective tissue in people’s lives right now – and we will continue to do what’s possible as we all move through this.
Now, more than ever, we proudly stand next to our governments, our industry peers and our corporate partners as we move together through the chapters of Canada’s economic recovery. We are proud to be part of a strong and resilient nation. We will be working tirelessly to continue serving it while we drive long-term value and sustainable benefits for our stakeholders.
My very best,
Joe Natale
President and Chief Executive Officer
Rogers Communications Inc.
About Rogers
Rogers is a proud Canadian company dedicated to making more possible for Canadians each and every day. Our founder, Ted Rogers, purchased his first radio station, CHFI, in 1960. We have grown to become a leading technology and media company that strives to provide the very best in wireless, residential, sports, and media to Canadians and Canadian businesses. 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). If you want to find out more about us, visit about.rogers.com.
For further information: media@rci.rogers.com, 647-747-5118