NL Short Takes

Group Telecom takes over C1 assets in Atlantic CanadaToronto-based CLEC GT Group Telecom Inc is spending $70 million to buy C1 Communications Inc’s assets in Atlantic Canada. The telco, which recently purchased Cable Atlantic’s telecom service, is taking over the fibre network, on-net buildings, customers and employees of C1 Communications. Telus unveils major projects in advance of New York listingEdmonton will be the home of the consumer division of Telus. That is one of several announcements the western telco has made recently. It is also offering Internet faxing through its MyBC.com and Alberta.com portals and is extending its 5-meg ADSL service into Ontario. The company has also announced that its takeover of Clearnet Communications Inc is completed. The firm’s non-voting shares are now being traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Total Telcom signs pacts across North AmericaEdmonton fibre builder Total Telcom Inc has inked three deals. Its Canadian subsidiary has signed a $650,000 agreement with Northern Fiber Inc to run fibre optic cable between the Alberta cities of Bonnyville and St. Paul. Its American division has entered into a $850,000 deal with a telecom manufacturer and a material and service agreement with a wired and wireless carrier. South American connection completed by 360networksVancouver’s fibre powerhouse 360networks Inc has finished lighting its 6700-km undersea network between Tuckerton NJ and Fortaleza, Brazil. The company expects to be providing 80-gigabit capacity by next March. Nortel creates new company to handle broadband cableNortel Networks Corp of Brampton ON has realigned its interest in Arris Interactive to create a new firm to develop broadband cable access. Nortel is transferring its 81.25 per cent stake in Arris to Antec Corp of Duluth GA for cash and a 46.5 per cent share of the new company, to be dubbed Arris Inc. AT&T Canada to provide its streaming media to business Toronto CLEC AT&T Canada Inc has joined with infrastructure services company Activate Canada Corp to provide Canadian companies with live event, on-demand and 24/7 streaming media services. The deal calls for the two telecom firms to work together on co-marketing and on an expanded application-hosting regime. CRTC approves Bell application and cost order to NGOs The commission gave the okay to Bell Canada’s application on call forwarding charges in Order 2000-961. Meanwhile in Costs Order 2000-15, the CRTC allowed costs to the Action Réseau Consommateur, the Consumers’ Association of Canada and the National Poverty Organization for their interventions in the local competition hearings. The costs were assessed to Bell Canada and Telus Communications Inc. Jitec and Canada Payphone explain details of agreementMontreal’s Jitec Inc, a new generation telecom manufacturer, has added further details on its pact with Canada Payphone Corp signed August 4. The deal will see CPC distribute 45,000 of Jitec’s business computing advantage terminals over the next 30 months on a best efforts basis. The phone firm will be given exclusive rights in the hospitality sector in this country. Telus chooses EarlyRain to provide smart cardsTelus Communications Inc has selected EarlyRain Inc of Calgary to supply its smart cards. The deal runs until December 31, 2002 with three extension options, each for one year’s duration. Feds and provinces to fund rural telecom and Internet needsThe Treasury Board of Canada is joining with provincial and local governments to provide infrastructure funding on the prairies. Among the secondary priorities is rural and remote telecommunications and high speed Internet access for public institutions. The total package will be $180 million in Manitoba and $170 million in Saskatchewan; it sounds like there must be an election in the offing. Ottawa may officially become Ontario high-tech capitalOttawa-area member of provincial parliament Brian Coburn has introduced a private member’s bill in the Ontario legislature that will officially designate the city as "Ontario’s high-tech capital". The high-tech sector now rivals the government as the region’s chief employer. Voice Mobility sells software to American Internet providerVancouver-based Voice Mobility International Inc is selling its Unified Communications product to Lakes Internet Inc of Mankato MN, Minnesota’s largest rural ISP. The software unites voicemail, office, home, cell phone, pager and fax numbers into a single phone number and mailbox. Montreal in top five cities for new economy employmentA study lists Montreal in the top five, per capita, of North American cities in high tech job density. The report by PricewaterhouseCoopers surveyed Toronto, Montreal and 13 U.S. centres. Ottawa regional chair endorses 211 conceptBob Chiarelli, the chair of the Ottawa-Carleton regional municipality, has come out in favour of the idea of using 211 as a health care information line (NL, June 19/00). He is currently running to become mayor of the newly merged city of Ottawa. Sorry, really wrong numberHuman Resources Development Canada had to destroy six million envelopes containing pensioners’ T4 slips because of a printing error. A toll-free number listed was out of service in Canada but led to a U.S. company promising phone sex. South of the border Verizon Communications sent out 250,000 letters with a similar typo. An estimated 70,000 subscribers received the missive before the telco halted distribution. Phone book will now be name@address.com Verizon Communications, the former Bell Atlantic, is experimenting in New York City. Residential subscribers will be able to list e-mail addresses and personal pages in the telephone directory for a yearly fee of US$36 for each additional item. Diocese has devil of a time getting phone connectionIt is easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than it is for the Catholic New World to get phone service. The official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Chicago has been attempting to get phones installed into its new offices since August 30 to no avail. Editor and GM Thomas Sheridan says he is praying for phones and Ameritech, its telco. Ameritech is a shareholder in BCE Inc. Lycos creates voice portal in five American locationsInternet media network Lycos, which entered into a partnership with Bell subsidiary Sympatico last February, has introduced a voice portal that permits callers to give commands orally to receive free Lycos web content. The pilot project is underway in New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

NL Short Takes

News | 10/23/2000 4:00 am EDT

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