Accessibility

In order to enhance the experience of customers with specific needs, Cogeco provides several accessibility services for TV, phone, and Internet services.

TV

Specialty channels

Cogeco offers 4 channels featuring content specifically intended for people living with a visual or hearing handicap:

AMI Audio (in Ontario)
AMI TV (in Ontario and Quebec)
AMI-télé-FR (in Ontario and Quebec)
Canal M (in Quebec)

Most Canadian broadcasters offer a few programs with audio description as part of their regular programming schedule. Visit their respective websites to get to know their programming.

Closed captioning (CC)

What is closed captioning?

This service, intended for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, displays the transcript of the dialogues on the screen (sound effects are also described). For sporting events, the captions contain the commentators’ descriptions.

How do I know if closed captioning is available for a program?

If closed captioning is available for the program you would like to watch, a note specifying this will appear in the TV listings guide of your Cogeco digital receiver.

Consult our FAQs to find out how to turn on closed captioning for your equipment type:

Described video and Audio description

What are Described video and Audio description?

As per the CRTC:
Described video (DV), also referred to as video description, is the narration added to the soundtrack to describe important visual details that cannot be understood from the main soundtrack alone. Described video is a means to inform individuals who are blind or partially sighted about visual content essential for comprehension. It provides information about actions, characters, scene changes, on-screen text and other visual content. Described video supplements the regular audio track of a program and is usually added during existing pauses in dialogue.

Audio description (AD) relies on a program host or announcer to provide a voice-over by reading aloud or describing key elements of programming, such as text and graphics that appear on the screen. It is often used for information-based programming, including newscasts, weather reports, sports scores, and financial data. Most broadcasters are required to provide audio description.

Additional information

As required by the CRTC, most Canadian broadcasters offer programming with described video and/or audio description as part of their schedule. Visit the CRTC website at https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/info_sht/b322.htm, to learn more or visit the respective websites of Canadian broadcasters to get more information on their programming with described video and/or audio description.

How do I activate Described video and Audio description?

There are 3 ways to do this:

Through your EPICO 4K Cloud PVR: With EPICO, you can turn on Described video and Audio description while you’re watching a program or enable it on all available channels from the settings. Learn more about Described video and Audio description on EPICO.
Through your TV: Most TVs have SAP/MTS (secondary audio programming/multichannel television sound) features that can be activated through the menu. Once this is done, if Described video and Audio description are available for the selected program, then this service will be turned on.
On your Cogeco digital receiver, using a special remote control with large buttons: Press the A button to quickly and easily activate Described video and Audio description. To deactivate the service, press the A button a second time, or press the B button.

How do I know if a program is available with Described video or Audio description?

As our TV guides are not fully accessible, we encourage you to use the AMI’s DV Guide. To consult the guide, visit the AMI website. You’ll also see the logo below at the start of programs that offer Described video.

video description logo

Description Video+ package

Cogeco offers a Description Video+ package, specifically designed for customers with a visual impairment. It includes all of our basic channels, plus 15 specialty channels that offer Described video and Audio description on a portion of their live TV and On Demand content.

This package is only available with EPICO and includes the following specialty channels:

English: CTV Comedy, CTV Drama, CTV Life, CTV Nature, CTV Sci-Fi, CTV Speed, CTV Wild, Oxygen True Crime, and the USA Network
French: Canal D, Canal Vie, Cinépop, Elle, Max, and Z

Special remote control

Remote accessibility varies by equipment type:

EPICO: The EPICO Remote comes with Google Assist so you can use voice commands to perform most functions.
Digital TV: The standard remote doesn’t come with accessibility features, but a special remote is available free by request for customers with a visual disability. This remote features large backlit buttons, which are easier to see and select. To request a special remote and receive it by mail, contact us.
TiVo: The TiVo remote doesn’t come with accessibility features and Cogeco doesn’t offer the TiVo VOX remote with voice commands.

30-day trial period

Are you or a member of your household a person with a disability? As soon as you start using one of our services, your 30-day trial period begins automatically, from the start date of your contract. During this trial period, if the equipment does not meet your needs, you can cancel your contract without paying penalties, installation fees, or early termination fees. Contact us for details, terms and conditions.

Message relay services

Cogeco provides 3 types of message relay services for the deaf and hard of hearing: TTY relay service (7-1-1), IP relay service, and Video relay service. These services are available 24/7, and are included in your monthly phone and Internet service packages at no extra charge.

Learn more from the CRTC.

Good to know: Calls placed through the Cogeco message relay services are completely confidential. Cogeco relay agents are professionally trained and follow a strict code of ethics. No record of conversation content is retained.

TTY relay service (7-1-1)

As per the CRTC:
TTY (teletypewriter) relay service is offered to all home phone subscribers in Canada. In a TTY relay service call, a person with a hearing or speech disability uses a TTY and dials 7-1-1 to reach a relay operator. A TTY is a telephone-typewriter hybrid that transmits text-based messages to another TTY over the telephone network. Conversely, the other party may call the person with a disability by dialing a toll-free number (1-800-855-0511) to reach a TTY relay operator.

To use the Cogeco 7-1-1 message relay service, dial:

7-1-1 to communicate from a teletypewriter to a standard phone
1-800-855-1155 to communicate from a teletypewriter to another teletypewriter
1-800-855-0511 to communicate from a standard phone to a teletypewriter

IP relay service

As per the CRTC:
IP relay service is offered to all subscribers of home or mobile phone service in Canada. In an IP relay service call, a person with a hearing or speech disability uses an Internet-enabled device (e.g., computer, laptop, tablet, mobile phone) to reach a relay operator by logging into the IP relay provider’s web portal. Conversely, the other party may call the person with a disability by dialing a toll-free number to reach an IP relay operator.

To use the Cogeco IP Relay service, you need a Cogeco Internet account. A Cogeco IP Relay operator will connect you to a voice party. Simply type your conversation to a Cogeco IP Relay agent, who will then read your typed conversation to the other party. The Cogeco IP Relay agent will then type the other party’s spoken words back to you.

To use Cogeco’s IP Relay service, you need to:

Visit Cogeco's IP Relay page to communicate from your computer to a standard phone.
Dial 1-855-308-5160 to communicate from a standard phone to the computer of a Cogeco IP Relay customer.

Please note that IP-to-IP calls are not supported.

Good to know: The use of Cogeco’s IP Relay service is free of charge when placing local or long-distance calls within North America from a computer.

For more information about Cogeco’s IP Relay service, please visit the IP Relay page or our IP Relay FAQs.

Video Relay Service

Video relay service is similar to other relay services but is conducted via sign-language rather than text. VRS can be accessed from smartphones, tablets, or personal computers.

People who live in Canada who are deaf or hard of hearing will need to register for VRS to get their unique 10-digit phone number.

For more information, visit the VRS site.

411 credit

If you are visually impaired, you can obtain a credit for all 411 calls. Please contact us to benefit from this credit.

Good to know: Everyone who subscribes to our Freedom phone package already benefits from free directory assistance (411).

Cogeco website

The information contained in the Residential section of the cogeco.ca site is accessible and complies with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 level A standards set out by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Many features of Cogeco’s website also comply with WCAG version 2.0 level AA standards.

Cogeco is committed to improving access to its website in order to accommodate persons with disabilities.

The information published on all Cogeco web pages meets the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0), Level AA.

Accessibility Feedback

Sustainable improvement in accessibility is a constant and progressive process, especially thanks to you. In order to enhance the experience of clients with certain specific needs, and pursuant to the Accessible Canada Act, Cogeco welcomes your feedback on accessibility. Feedback can be given anonymously, over the phone or in writing. Nevertheless, in order to offer you further assistance, we invite you to provide us with your name, your telephone number, your city of residence, as well as any other relevant contact information.

Please contact us via telephone or email:

Telephone: 1-866-921-5792
Email: [email protected]

You can also request a description of our accessibility feedback process in an alternate format.

The designated person responsible for receiving accessibility feedback is Dahlia Jiwan (Lead Advisor, Diversity Equity and Inclusion).

In accordance with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), Cogeco ensures that personal information remains confidential unless consent to its disclosure is provided.

Download the Accessibility Plan Download Progress Report 2024

Cogeco will acknowledge receipt of any feedback for which contact information is provided.

Contact us

For more information about Cogeco’s services or to reach customer service, please go to our website’s Contact us page. Our FAQ section also provides answers to your questions about how to use our services.