THUNDER BAY — Its business partnership with Rogers Communications has helped Tbaytel provide cutting-edge services and thrive in a competitive environment for twelve years. Because Tbaytel relies on some of Rogers’ hardware and software technologies, the same partnership resulted in Tbaytel subscribers being caught up in the nationwide outage that affected the Rogers network last Friday. The two companies have had a strategic business relationship since 2010. Initially it was for 10 years, but in 2019 it was renewed for another 20 years. At the time, CEO Dan Topatigh described the national carrier as a good partner “in terms of being able to add scale,” adding, “We need solutions like international roaming, North American roaming, and they provide that.” Topatigh said the extension of the agreement has allowed technology to advance as it continues to change. The benefit for Rogers is that its customers can use Tbaytel’s significant wireless infrastructure in Northern Ontario. TBnewswatch asked Tbaytel for an explanation as to why it was affected by the collapse of the Rogers service. No one was available for an interview, but Tbaytel provided a written response. He explained that a mobility network has two main components – RAN and Core. RAN stands for radio access network, which in this case includes Tbaytel’s mobility towers and radio antennas just outside of Sault Ste. Marie on the Manitoba border. RAN antennas transmit to a customer’s phone. The Core component includes a mix of hardware and software technologies. Tbaytel said that through its agreement with Rogers, “Tbaytel leverages Rogers’ core network to provide data and voice connectivity.” When the Rogers system failed, Tbaytel customers were affected because data and voice traffic could no longer be routed to the correct destination. “Network reliability is of the utmost importance to Tbaytel and we are in dialogue with Rogers to fully understand the root cause of the outage and how to enhance and protect service to Tbaytel customers now and in the future,” the statement said . Tbaytel will apply a pre-emptive credit reflecting the duration of the outage to customers’ accounts in the following month. Canada’s telecommunications regulator on Tuesday ordered Rogers Communications to provide a “comprehensive explanation” for the massive outage. The CRTC gave the company until July 22 to respond to detailed questions about the outage that also disrupted Interac’s payments, health care and emergency services.
