NEW CABLE SERVICE ACCELERATES THE INTERNET
By Adnews Staff
Rogers Cablesystems is offering people in a community north of Toronto a speedy trip on the Internet. This week the cable arm of Rogers Communications Inc. launched the service its calls Rogers Wave in Newmarket, Ont. Rogers Wave links home computers to the international computer network by coaxial cable, which transmits information at 500,000 bits of data per second. Most people now cruise the Net via phone lines at 28,000 bits per second or less. Graphics that take several minutes to download through phone wire take seconds with cable. Sharpe Blackmore Partnerships of Toronto created direct mail and print advertising as well as signs for a Compucentre store in Newmarket. As the service rolls out to Vancouver and Toronto next year, advertising will be stepped up and will expand to TV. It will probably be created by Enterprise Advertising but this hasn't been confirmed yet. Toronto-based Benchmark Communications is handling public relations. Rogers is hoping to draw 200 to 300 customers by the end of the year. The company tested the service earlier this year for three months at 50 homes in Newmarket where a state-of-the-art cable system has been installed.