Look Communications
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 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Headquarters | Milton, Ontario |
Key people | Gerald McGoey (Vice-Chairman and CEO of Look) |
| Products | cable television, high speed internet , Web hosting |
| Revenue | $30 million CAD (2006) |
| Website | www.look.ca |
Look Communications is a telecommunication company currently in liquidation that was a digital wireless cable, internet service and web hosting provider. It was once linked to former crown corporation Teleglobe and Chinese ISP Inter Pacific Online.
Founded in 1997, Look's head office was in Milton, Ontario but most of its departments and employees were based in its Montreal office. It was listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbols "LOK" and "LOK.A". Look had approximately 60,000 television customers at it peak.
History
Look TV was founded in August 1997 as digital wireless cable provider based in Etobicoke, Ontario. It started providing television service in 1997 for Southern Ontario, and 1998 for Quebec and Eastern Ontario. In 1999, Look TV and Internet Direct (Canadian ISP operating in B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec.) merged to become Look Communications, with Look stockholders receiving 60% of the combined entity and Internet Direct stockholders receiving the remaining 40%.
Look Communcations filed for bankruptcy protection in 2001.
Beginning in 2002, Unique Broadband System (UBS) acquired a stake in Look. By the end of 2003, UBS owned 51% of Look's stock, making Look a subsdiairy of UBS. At that time, Look moved its headquarters from Oakville, Ontario to UBS's headquarters in Milton.
Sale and Liquidation
Despite re-emerging from bankrupcty in 2002, Look never regained profitability and continued losing millions of dollars for the years to come. On December 1, 2008, Look Communications announced that it was selling off its assets. On May 14, 2009, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice approved the sale to Inukshuk Wireless Partnership. On November 15, 2009, Look's television customer base was acquired by Bell Canada which folded it into its Bell TV division while the internet consumer base was absorbed by Telnet Communications.
Although Look Communications no longer has any customers and has terminated practically all its employees, the company still exists and is in the process of liquidating its remaining assets.
Service offered
Look provided its digital television and wireless Internet services using a Multichannel Multipoint Distribution System (MMDS) technology, operating with 90 MHz of capacity in the 2.5 GHz band (the only company in Canada with approximately 90 MHz of spectrum and a broadcast license for mobile video services in Canada.). Look had exclusive use of these frequencies since it received licenses from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) as a "broadcast distribution undertaking". With this MMDS technology, television, audio and data signals were received at Look's headend and digitally transmitted via fibre optics links to broadcast sites. The signals were then broadcasted over the air from one of several transmission towers or base stations to a receiving antenna at subscribers' homes or businesses.
Channel lineup
The channel lineup listed below was for the Greater Toronto and London areas. Lineups for other areas may vary.
Main Networks
001 CBLT (CBC Toronto)1
003 CHEX (CBC Peterborough)1
004 CBLN (CBC London)1
014 CBLFT (SRC Toronto)
015 CFTM (TVA Montreal)
024 CFTO (CTV Toronto)
025 CKCO (CTV Kitchener)
030 CIII (Global Toronto)
033 E! Hamilton
034 CP24
035 CITY
036 CKVR (A Toronto)
037 CFPL (A London)1
038 CKNX (A Wingham)1
050 WKBW (ABC Buffalo)
051 WGRZ (NBC Buffalo)
052 WIVB (CBS Buffalo)
053 WUTV (Fox Buffalo)
054 WNED (PBS Buffalo)
071 TVO
072 TFO
073 OMNI.1
074 OMNI.2
106 Viewer's Choice Previews
News
120 CBC NEWSWORLD
121 RDI
122 CTV News Channel
124 CNN
125 CNN HEADLINE NEWS
126 CNBC
127 Business News Network
130 WEATHER NETWORK
131 MÉTÉOMÉDIA
134 CPAC English
135 CPAC French
136 ONTARIO LEGISTLATURE
140 VOICE PRINT
Sports
200 TSN
202 ROGERS SPORTSNET ONT
204 FOX SPORTS WORLD CANADA
205 THE SCORE
206 THE GOLF CHANNEL
207 OUTDOOR LIFE NETWORK
Music
220 MUCHMUSIC
222 MUCHMORE
224 BET
225 CMT
Kids
250 TELETOON
252 YTV
254 FAMILY
255 TREEHOUSE
Learning
270 HISTORY
272 BIOGRAPHY
275 CANADIAN LEARNING TELEVISION (CLT)
276 DISCOVERY
278 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHANNEL
279 ANIMAL PLANET
280 G4techTV
283 BBC CANADA
284 TV5
Lifestyle
300 TLC
301 HGTV
302 FOOD
303 W NETWORK
305 COURT TV
306 LIFE
307 THE SHOPPING CHANNEL
Entertainment
320 A&E Network
321 STAR
322 BRAVO
323 TVTROPOLIS
324 COMEDY
325 SHOWCASE DIVA
326 DejaView
327 SPACE
International
350 TLN
351 APTN
352 FAIRCHILD MANDARIN
353 FAIRCHILD CANTONESE
US Superstations
370 WSBK-TV
371 WPIX
372 TBS
373 KTLA
374 WGN
Movies
380 SHOWCASE
381 ACTION
382 MYSTERY
384 DUSK
390 MOVIEPIX
The Movie Network
401 M
402 M FUN
403 M EXCESS
404 M MORE
405 M FEST
PAY-PER-VIEW
420 Viewer's Choice Previews
421 VCC1
422 VCC2
423 VCC3
424 VCC4
425 VCC5
426 VCC6
427 VCC7
Adult
500 PLAYBOY
Audio
650 Gold Rock
651 The Edge Alternative
652 Rock
653 Adult Alternative
654 Energy Hot Hits
655 Adult Contemporary
656 Urban Hits
657 Country Classics
658 CMT Hot Country
659 Dance
660 Pop Adult
661 Franco Rock-Relax
662 Swingin' Standards
663 60'S Rock And Roll
664 70'S Hits
665 The 80'S
666 Jazzmasters
667 Blues
668 Smooth Jazz
669 Ambient
670 Relax
671 Folkroots
672 Reggae
673 Classical Masterworks
674 Beautiful Instrumentals
675 Palmarès Québécois
676 Pop Rock Franco
677 Christian Contemporary
678 Treehouse Kids
679 Musique Bout'Choux
1Not available in all areas
Look services: