Rogers CEO Apologizes, Blames Network Failure on Maintenance

  • Staffieri says company will credit all customers for outage
  • Rogers blames maintenance update for hours-long system failure

Anthony Staffieri

Photographer: Misha Friedman/Bloomberg
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Rogers Communications Inc.’s new chief executive officer apologized and offered both compensation and an explanation to customers after a prolonged network failure left millions in Canada without phone or internet service, knocked businesses offline and affected payment systems.

Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said the situation was “unacceptable” and that he had conveyed his frustration directly to Rogers CEO Tony Staffieri. Champagne’s department has the final call on whether to approve Rogers’ proposed C$20 billion ($15.5 billion) acquisition of rival Shaw Communications Inc.