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EORN Cell Gap Project Delivered

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$300 Million Infrastructure Project Hits All Targets

Nearly 350 new wireless sites built and over 300 sites upgraded to close coverage gaps in eastern Ontario

ROCKLAND, ON, Aug. 20, 2026 /CNW/ — Eastern Ontario Regional Network (EORN) and Rogers Communications today announced the successful delivery of the EORN Cell Gap Project.

5G cellular services are now available across eastern Ontario, improving services for residents, businesses, first responders, municipalities, Indigenous communities and visitors in the region.

Federal, provincial, municipal and Indigenous partners marked the successful delivery of the project at an event in Rockland, Ontario.

The EORN Cell Gap Project is a $300 million public-private partnership. The Province of Ontario and the Government of Canada each contributed $71 million and the municipal members of the Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus (EOWC) and participating members of the Eastern Ontario Mayors’ Caucus (EOMC) collectively contributed $10 million. Rogers contributed the remaining investment of $150 million. The company was selected through a competitive bidding process.

Rogers built 346 new wireless sites, a combination of new tower constructions and colocations. In addition, the company upgraded 311 existing sites with state-of-the-art 5G equipment delivering essential services to municipalities, Indigenous communities and visitors across eastern Ontario.

QUOTES

“Thanks to the EORN Cell Gap network, 5G service is now available for more residents, businesses, Indigenous communities, and visitors across eastern Ontario,” said Giovanna Mingarelli, Member of Parliament for Prescott–Russell–Cumberland. “The Government of Canada’s investment in this project has connected people to much more than 5G service – it also connects them to economic opportunities, to businesses, to the international community, and to each other.”

“Congratulations to the dedicated teams at the Eastern Ontario Regional Network and Rogers on the successful completion of the EORN Cell Gap Project,” said Sam Oosterhoff, Associate Minister of Energy-Intensive Industries. “Our investment in this project is expanding access to reliable cellular service for rural, remote and First Nation communities across the region. This important achievement strengthens access to essential services, supports local businesses and economic growth, and helps ensure residents and visitors can stay safe and connected.”

“The Cell Gap Project represents one of the most significant investments in rural wireless infrastructure in Ontario’s history. What began as a vision to close cellular coverage gaps across eastern Ontario is now a reality for the people who live, work, travel and do business here. This project is about more than towers and technology, it’s about improving public safety, supporting economic growth and ensuring our communities are better connected for generations to come,” said Jennifer Murphy, Chair of the Eastern Ontario Regional Network.

“As Canada’s best 5G network, we’re proud to bring improved wireless coverage to communities and along roads and highways across eastern Ontario for residents, local governments and businesses through this transformative project with EORN,” said Mark Kennedy, Chief Technology Officer, Rogers. “This project shows what’s possible when industry and government work together to close cell coverage gaps.”

Quick Facts

The Cell Gap Project targets were 99% voice call coverage, 95% standard definition coverage, and 85% high-definition coverage in the demand areas where people live, work and travel on major roadways across the municipalities of the Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus (EOWC) and the participating cities and towns of the Eastern Ontario Mayors’ Caucus (EOMC).Participating Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus (EOWC) counties are: County of Frontenac, County of Haliburton, County of Hastings, City of Kawartha Lakes, County of Lanark, United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, County of Lennox and Addington, County of Northumberland, County of Peterborough, United Counties of Prescott and Russell, Prince Edward County, County of Renfrew and United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry. Participating cities of the Eastern Ontario Mayors’ Caucus (EOMC) are: Belleville, Cornwall, Gananoque, Kingston, Pembroke, Peterborough, Prescott, Quinte West and Smiths Falls.

About EORN

Eastern Ontario Regional Network (EORN) strives to fuel economic development and growth by working regionally to improve and leverage broadband access and cell connectivity. EORN is a non-profit organization created by the Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus (EOWC). Since 2010, it has helped bring hundreds of millions of dollars in federal, provincial and private sector investment to improve connectivity across the rural region.

As part of its Cell Gap Project, EORN worked with Indigenous communities to ensure that new cell infrastructure is built with respect for Indigenous treaty rights and heritage. Based on input from several First Nations, EORN has committed to exceeding industry practice, and has conducted archaeological assessments on most new tower sites.

From 2010 to 2014, EORN helped to enhance broadband access for nearly 90 per cent of eastern Ontario through a $175 million public-private partnership. The network was funded by federal, provincial, and municipal governments and private sector service providers. By the end of the project, 423,000 homes and businesses were able to access services of up to 10 Mbps download. It also spurred an additional $100 million of private sector investment in the region beyond initial commitments.

www.eorn.ca

SOURCE Eastern Ontario Regional Network

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Graco® SnugRide® Turn & Slide™ Brings Unique Turn-and-Slide Innovation to Families

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Graco’s first-ever rotating infant car seat goes beyond turning alone, sliding baby closer to help make getting in and out of the car easier.

Turn & Slide goes beyond rotation alone, turning 180° toward the caregiver and gliding smoothly on and off the base to bring baby closer.Designed for growing families, the car seat helps reduce reaching, lifting and maneuvering while preserving neighboring seat-space.Available now for $349.99 at GracoBaby.com, Amazon and Babylist.

ATLANTA, Nov. 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Graco® today announced the availability of its SnugRide® Turn & Slide Rotating Infant Car Seat, designed to make one of the most repeated parts of caring for a baby easier: getting baby in and out of the car. As Graco’s first-ever rotating infant car seat, Turn & Slide combines a 180° rotation with a unique sliding motion that brings baby closer to the caregiver.

From the first ride home to daycare drop-offs, doctor appointments and family outings, parents are constantly on the move. SnugRide Turn & Slide was designed to make those moments easier, helping reduce the physical effort of the in and out transitions so caregivers can spend more time focused on their baby and the moments that matter.

“At Graco, we’re always looking for ways to make parenting easier,” said Kerry Strzelecki, Vice President of Brand Management at Graco. “Turn & Slide was designed with that goal in mind, going beyond rotation to bring baby closer to the caregiver. We’re proud to offer families an innovation that takes some of the effort out of getting on the go, giving parents more time to focus on the moments that matter.”

Going Beyond Rotation
Beyond its unique turn-and-slide design, SnugRide Turn & Slide is engineered to rotate without blocking the neighboring seat, helping preserve second-row space and support three-across seating in many vehicles. This gives growing families more flexibility, especially when traveling with multiple children.

Additional features include:

Lightweight Portability: The lightweight carrier is designed to make moving baby between the car, stroller and home easier.Simple, Secure Installation: SnugLock® Technology enables installation in less than one minute using the vehicle seat belt or LATCH, while the InRight™ LATCH system provides a one-second, click-secure attachment.Adjusts as Baby Grows: The No-Rethread Simply Safe Adjust™ Harness System allows the headrest and harness to adjust together as baby grows, while the 4-position adjustable base with bubble level helps support proper installation.

Backed by Graco’s Commitment to Safety
For more than 65 years, Graco has been committed to providing families with products built around safety and quality. SnugRide Turn & Slide is Graco® ProtectPlus Engineered™, undergoing rigorous frontal, side, rear and rollover crash testing. The seat also features an integrated Anti-Rebound Bar and PureProtect™ fabrics that are fire-resistant without added chemicals.

Following the voluntary recall of select SnugRide Turn & Slide infant car seats earlier this year, Graco implemented engineering updates and completed additional testing and validation to address the issue before bringing the product to market.

Available Today
The SnugRide Turn & Slide Rotating Infant Car Seat (MSRP $349.99) is available at GracoBaby.com, Amazon and Babylist in Noir, Mulberry and Sandstone colorways.

Turn & Slide will also be available as part of a travel system with the Modes™ Nest Stroller beginning in December 2026 for an MSRP of $674.99.

For more information about Graco and the SnugRide Turn & Slide Rotating Infant Car Seat, visit www.gracobaby.com and follow along on social at: @graco on Instagram and Facebook, and @gracochildrensproducts on TikTok.

About Graco
Graco is one of the most recognized children’s products brands that provides innovative and reliable solutions to help parents make smart choices while taking care of their little ones. For more than 65 years, Graco has built high-quality products that parents can trust, including car seats, strollers, travel systems, swings, highchairs, playards and nursery care essentials. Graco is part of Newell Brands Inc., a leading global consumer products company, with its products available globally through a variety of retail partners.

About Newell Brands
Newell Brands (NASDAQ: NWL) is a leading global consumer goods company with a strong portfolio of well-known brands, including Rubbermaid, Sharpie®, Graco®, Coleman®, Rubbermaid Commercial Products®, Yankee Candle®, Paper Mate®, FoodSaver®, Dymo®, EXPO®, Elmer’s®, Oster®, NUK®, Spontex® and Campingaz®. Newell Brands is focused on delighting consumers by lighting up everyday moments.

This press release and additional information about Newell Brands are available on the company’s website, www.newellbrands.com.

*Based on 2024 Baby Gear Brand Health Tracker Data

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/graco-snugride-turn–slide-brings-unique-turn-and-slide-innovation-to-families-302932865.html

SOURCE Newell Brands

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AI Search Is Killing the Click. Breaker Says B2B Growth Must Move Beyond Traffic

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As AI summaries reduce referral search clicks and automated traffic clouds website metrics, Breaker says B2B marketers need to turn increasingly valuable visits into identifiable, ongoing audience relationships.

AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Artificial intelligence is weakening a metric B2B marketers have long treated as evidence that content is working: the website visit. Pew Research Center found users clicked traditional search results in 8% of visits containing a Google AI summary, compared with 15% of visits without one. Links inside the AI summaries received clicks in only 1% of visits.

A company can now appear in an AI-generated answer without receiving a visit. Even when someone does click through, the visit alone may reveal little about the visitor’s identity or potential fit as a buyer. “Clicks and traffic that aren’t identifiable to a human are a poor signal,” said Ben Billups, founder and CEO of Breaker.

AI Visibility Does Not Guarantee Demand

Large language models (LLM) are already changing how people discover online content. The Interactive Advertising Bureau found that 95% of publishers it surveyed reported moderate or significant effects from LLM-driven discovery. For marketers, that changes what visibility can tell them. Billups said businesses still need to make themselves discoverable to AI systems, but appearing in an answer does not mean the system is recommending them.

An AI response may mention several companies, compare pricing or social proof, or surface an advantage held by a competitor. That makes the value of an AI-driven referral difficult to interpret. “We don’t have visibility into the chat that led to the traffic, so there’s no way to know definitively what context AI is putting your company into,” Billups said.

AI discovery can also be less predictable than traditional search. “As AI becomes more dominant, it’s more important to be discoverable and to have positive sentiment online, but reach is less deterministic,” Billups said. “What AI thinks is relevant to one user, it may not think is relevant for another.”

Anonymous Traffic Is a Weaker Signal

Traffic volume presents a separate measurement problem because a growing share of web activity is automated. Statista reported that bots generated 53% of global web traffic in 2025. For marketers, that makes a visit less useful as a signal unless they can determine who or what produced it.

For B2B companies, actions that help establish visitor identity can provide more information about actual buyer interest. Newsletter subscriptions, resource downloads, forms, and demo requests can help marketers distinguish potential buyers from bots and determine whether a contact matches the company’s ideal customer profile (ICP).

Billups uses a hypothetical example to illustrate the difference. “Let’s say that 50% of your traffic is bots, 50% is human, and 20% of the human traffic is actually in your ICP,” he said. “Versus with a newsletter, you can know in advance that 100% of the traffic is in your ICP and human.”

Post-Search Growth Starts With What Happens Next

Clicks still matter, but Billups says marketers should pay closer attention to what visitors encounter after arriving. What matters next is if that visit gives the business a way to identify a potential buyer and continue the conversation. “We still need clicks, but particularly in B2B, it’s the messaging that tells someone if they’re a good fit for your product,” Billups said.

Once someone subscribes to a newsletter, however, the interaction is longer than the visit. Once someone subscribes, the company can identify them, continue communicating over time, and nurture if they fit its ICP. That continuity is key in B2B, where a purchase decision may be months away. “Relationships are built on time, trust, and communication,” Billups said. “Simply knowing about a business or product is not enough.”

About Breaker    
Breaker is the only email platform that sends your newsletter and grows your list with high-value B2B prospects—on autopilot. Powered by advanced targeting, AI enrichment, and proprietary deliverability systems, Breaker ensures every email reaches the inbox while generating verified, sales-ready subscribers for as little as $1.50 each. Seamless CRM integrations, white-glove migration, and built-in analytics make it easy for marketers to scale outreach and convert engagement into pipeline. Built by marketers, for marketers. For more information, visit joinbreaker.ai.

References 

Gaudiaut, T. (2026, May 26). Bad bots are taking over the web. Statista. statista.com/chart/35950/share-of-global-web-traffic-generated-by-humans-and-bots-since-2018/Interactive Advertising Bureau. (2026, July 16). The AI discovery shift: How publishers are navigating the new search and discovery landscape. iab.com/insights/ai-insights-engine-july-2026/Chapekis, A., & Lieb, A. (2025, July 22). Google users are less likely to click on links when an AI summary appears in the results. Pew Research Center. pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/07/22/google-users-are-less-likely-to-click-on-links-when-an-ai-summary-appears-in-the-results/

Media Inquiries:
Karla Jo Helms
JOTO PR™ 
727-777-4629

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ai-search-is-killing-the-click-breaker-says-b2b-growth-must-move-beyond-traffic-302932960.html

SOURCE Breaker

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Byzfunder to Participate Alongside Leading Fintech Executives and Investors at Exclusive 2026 KBW Fintech Ecosystem Conference

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The invitation-only gathering brings together influential voices shaping the future of financial services.

NEW YORK, Nov. 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Byzfunder, a leading technology-driven provider of small business financing, today announced its participation in the 2026 KBW Fintech Ecosystem Conference, taking place November 10–12 at Convene 30 Hudson Yards in New York City.

The conference will feature executives from Visa, Mastercard, American Express, PayPal and Capital One, alongside participants from across the financial technology and investment communities.

Byzfunder’s participation underscores the company’s expanding presence within the financial technology industry and its continued investment in artificial intelligence, proprietary underwriting technology, risk analytics, and scalable financing infrastructure.

Led by CEO Ilya Fridman, Byzfunder has developed an integrated technology platform designed to transform small business financing through intelligent automation, advanced credit decisioning, and data-driven risk management.

“The financial services industry is undergoing a fundamental transformation, driven by artificial intelligence, automation, and increasingly sophisticated data analytics,” said Ilya Fridman, Chief Executive Officer of Byzfunder. “The KBW Fintech Ecosystem Conference brings together an exceptional group of industry leaders and institutional investors who are helping shape that transformation. We look forward to exchanging ideas and exploring opportunities as we continue building the next generation of technology-driven small business financing.”

Byzfunder’s ongoing investment in financial technology and institutional-grade risk management reflects its long-term strategy of combining innovation with disciplined, scalable growth.

About Byzfunder

Byzfunder is a leading financial technology company providing innovative working capital solutions to small and medium-sized businesses nationwide. Combining approximately two decades of industry experience with proprietary technology, artificial intelligence, advanced risk analytics, and automated underwriting capabilities, Byzfunder has developed a scalable financing platform designed to deliver efficient access to capital.

For more information, visit byzfunder.com.

Media Contact

Xin Hamilton, CMO

press@byzfunder.com

byzfunder.com

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SOURCE Byzfunder

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