Louis Morin has been named VP sales and marketing at QuébecTel. He is a 17-year veteran of the telecommunications industry. QuébecTel is part of Telus Corp.

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Bell Canada spurs increase in BCE bottom line
BCE Inc has released its Q4 and year-end results, with Bell Canada contributing solidly to the conglomerate’s bottom line. Bell data revenue was up 29% while subscriptions to Sympatico high speed Internet service increased to 299,000. This represents 34% of the market.

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The National Broadband Task Force has finalized the membership of its four working groups. They will work throughout the mandate of the task force. The full complement of the task force will hold monthly meetings to coordinate the information before releasing its report in May.

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Developing e-business applications and keeping up with new technology are the two top issues for Canada’s information technology managers, a new study reports. The survey, released by Athabasca University and CIO Canada magazine, also concluded that Canadian businesses aren’t sure how successfully IT is being used, although they realize it is important to their jobs.

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SaskTel is taking Bell Canada to task for its attempt to reduce how much incumbents and wireless carriers will pay this year toward local phone subsidies. The two business partners are now finding themselves on opposite sides of the regulatory fence as Bell and some non-traditional allies attempt to convince the CRTC that its new contribution regime is coming too fast, and at too high a cost.

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A new American report says government-run telecoms distort the marketplace and should be discouraged. But Canadian commentators say the study itself is a distortion of reality. The 17-page paper, entitled Does Government Belong In The Telecom Business?, was written by Jeffrey Eisenach, the president of the Progress & Freedom Foundation. The PFF is a Washington DC-based group that studies the impact of the digital revolution and its implications for public policy.

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The ongoing saga over public rights of way hit a critical turning point last Thursday when the CRTC ruled that Vancouver has the right to recover costs, but not as much as the municipality proposed. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) says it will appeal to the Federal Court on the grounds the CRTC does not have jurisdiction over municipalities. A review and vary application to the commission is also a possibility.

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