NL Short Takes

CRTC grants licences to aspiring CLECsCombined Telecom Inc and Combined Xchange Telecom have received Class B licences from the CRTC, thus clearing the way for the firms to become CLECs. In other commission news, Public Notice 2000-124-1 grants an extension to those seeking to file comments on access to multi-dwelling units, in-building wiring and riser space. The new deadline is October 31. Télébec’s 1999 final contribution rate was approved by Order 2000-861, while Québec-Téléphone had its 1999 rate adopted through Order 2000-860. Contribution exemptions were granted to MaxLink Communications Inc under Order 2000-862 and to RSL Com Canada Inc through Order 2000-864. The Atlantic Provinces Telecommunications Council learned of its new toll-free payphone rates in Order 2000-863. QuebecTel has also been given approval to introduce its Basic Listing Interchange File service. Telus lumbers along with SoftCare agreementSRI Strategic Resources, a division of Telus, has signed a letter of intent with SoftCare Electronic Commerce Inc of North Vancouver BC to create an e-com portal. The telco will use SoftCare’s OpenEC platform to develop a B2B site for forest industry procurements. Alternative telcos introduce new home pricing plansTwo new entrants to the telco system have presented new pricing plans. For $39.95 per month, subscribers to Primus Canada get unlimited LD in Canada on evenings and weekends, unlimited Internet access and a free pager. Distributel is offering a $19.95 residential plan featuring unlimited use in Ontario, calls for 12 cents per minute to other Canadian locations and 15 cents per minute to the United States. Nortel and NHC hasten delivery of Digital Subscriber LinesNortel Networks Corp has introduced three new programs to increase the availability of DSL solutions. QuickStart DSL, WorkDSL and DSL Interoperability are available to business and residential customers. Montreal’s NHC Communications has combined its VCCS solution to work with the next generation DSLAM of ECI Telecom Ltd of Morristown NJ. Bell ActiMedia to launch B2B portal this autumnBell ActiMedia Inc, a subsidiary of BCE Inc, is just as busy as the rest of its corporate clan. The group’s VP Luc Filiatreault has revealed the company will be establishing a B2B portal geared for SMEs. The portal is slated to begin operations this fall. Cable Satisfaction launches European cable telephonyCable Satisfaction International Inc (Csii) of Montreal has instituted residential telephony over cable in Portugal. The company’s Portugese subsidiary is marketing the service, which applies to local and LD, under its IPhone brand name. Telefficiency adopts Rebel.com technology for SMEsToronto-based telecom systems manufacturer Telefficiency is employing the NetWinder OfficeServer solution from Ottawa’s Rebel.com. The package will allow small companies a single source for telephony, Internet and data networking services. Ottawa cracking down on telemarketersThe Competition Bureau has received guilty pleas from Stephen Clark, the director of three Montreal-based telemarketing firms. He faced three counts of misleading advertising. The bureau has also laid 35 charges against Marvin Redler, principal director of two firms and five telemarketers. Old directories provide assistance for Alberta hospitalsTelus has begun to recycle its old Calgary phone directories, making a donation to the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation and the Children’s Health Foundation of Northern Alberta for each tonne of paper recycled. Last year the company gave a total of $54,860 based on the 2744 tonnes of paper recycled in the province. Unilingual phone system not much help to immigrantsAn automated social services phone system is drawing criticism in Hamilton ON. Members of the immigrant and refugee community complain that they are unable to access the English-only service, as many new residents have not yet learned the language. It’s not just contribution that’s frozen in TorontoFledgling CLEC Cannect Communications Inc of Vancouver surprised Toronto pedestrians by handing out "Cannect Sicles" on city streets. The re-branded, wrapped freezies are part of a marketing push by the telco. Global Light building submarine fibre networkVancouver-based Global Light Telecommunications Inc has begun construction of the ARCOS-1 submarine broadband fibre optic cable network through its New World Network Holdings Ltd affiliate. The network, which will be installed later this month, will run from the Bahamas to the Turks and Caicos Islands. DataWave wins DTM contract for Philly airportDataWave Systems Inc of Vancouver has been granted the right to install 25 DataWave Telecard Merchandisers (DTMs) at locations throughout the Philadelphia International Airport. The company also has installations at other airports, train stations and amusement parks like Disney World and Universal Studios. Voice portal system gives users gas, but they like itVancouver’s GTG Technologies has sold its GasToGo voice portal service to Nuance Communications Inc of Menlo Park CA. The system permits drivers to find the nearest, or cheapest, gas station in the area. Photonic company invests $50 million in Quebec plantITF Optical Technologies of Saint-Laurent QC has opened a new photonic components plant in its hometown. The $50-million, 40,000-sq ft facility will eventually bring ITF’s total workforce to 700 people. NAC Orchestra strikes up the broadband in IsraelThe National Arts Centre Orchestra is joining up with CANARIE Inc and others for its "Dialog Through Music". While the NACO plays Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in the Middle East, students in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Ottawa will be linked up through a live video broadband network. New database provides numbers worldwideThe All Nations Telephone search engine is the latest way for users to locate phone numbers throughout the planet. By providing the name and dialing prefix for the country you are calling from and calling to, the database links to over 700 online international telephone directories. The system links users to English-language search engines.

NL Short Takes

News | September 25, 2000

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