NL Short Takes

UUNET now known as WorldCom Canada ISP UUNET is adopting the name of its parent company. Now the firm will be known as WorldCom Canada Ltd. It is also announcing a new range of products and services as it operates under its new name. BCE denies it is after larger stake in regional telcos BCE Inc issued a statement denying it wants to increase its holdings in Aliant Inc and Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. The conglomerate plans to keep its stake in the telcos at 53% of Aliant and 22% of MTS. Toronto mandates 10-digit dialing beginning next month Ten-digit dialing will become mandatory in Toronto as of Mar. 5. The Canadian Number Administration predicts Ottawa will have to adopt a similar system by 2006. CRTC establishes CISCs for area code relief The CRTC has set up Interconnection Steering Committees to look at area code relief for area code 613 and 819 (PN 2001-20) and area code 519 (PN 2001-21). The commission has also granted forbearance to wide area networking services from SaskTel (Order 2001-118), approved (with five dissents) the takeover of Câblevision du Nord de Québec inc by Télébec ltée (Decision 2001-45), removed the positive subscriber consent requirement for Vidéotron’s Internet service (Order 2001-119) and issued a letter on price cap review. Call-Net denied investigation into Bell Nexxia pricing The CRTC has turned down a request from Call-Net Enterprises Inc to investigate the activities of Bell Canada and Bell Nexxia (NL, Sept. 11/00). In Order 2001-120, the commission found the CLEC had not made a strong enough case to warrant a review. Bell to funnel content among subsidiaries BCE Inc has introduced a plan to converge content from its varied operations. It plans to combine satellite TV service Bell ExpressVu with Sympatico Internet access and content from Bell Globemedia, the holding company for CTV and the Globe and Mail. Petty squabble resolved in favour of ex-Telus chief The BC Supreme Court has ruled that Telus Corp owes former president and CEO George Petty $478,000 plus interest as a performance bonus. He left the telco after the board turned down his plan to purchase Clearnet Communications Inc. At the time he received $3.8 million in severance and other payments. Telus offers web-based mail service to business clients Telus Enterprise Solutions is joining with EPOST to provide online mail delivery service to Telus business customers. EPOST is the electronic division of Canada Post. Rhythms to offer DSL using line sharing Rhythms Canada Inc has introduced Value Links, a line-sharing DSL service that uses existing copper wires to deliver high-speed connection. Tube-e Communications of Richmond Hill ON will be the first ISP partner to provide the service to customers. AT&T Canada invests in solutions company AT&T Canada has joined with Intel Capital to invest in eAssist Global Solutions Inc. The telco and eAssist have also entered a multiyear strategic supply agreement. AT&T Canada also released its Q4 results, which showed a greater increase in bad debt expenses. CrossKeys makes sale into European market Ottawa’s CrossKeys Systems Corp has sold its Resolve software to COLT Telecom plc. Colt operates in 27 cities in 11 European countries. Group Telecom forms alliances, announces Q1 results GT Group Telecom Inc has signed strategic agreements with GWL Realty Advisors, a subsidiary of Great-West Life Assurance Co, and with O&Y Enterprise, a division of O&Y Properties Inc. The telco has also linked with content delivery provider Akamai to deploy Akamai’s service to Group Telecom’s customer base. The CLEC reported smaller losses at the end of Q1 2001. Call-Net shares moved to NASDAQ bulletin board Call-Net Enterprises Inc has been advised by the NASDAQ that its class B non-voting shares are now being traded on the OTC bulletin board. The Sprint Canada parent has been unable to sustain a closing bid of US$1 per share, which would permit it to be traded on the SmallCap Market. Axxent losses decline as new financing found Toronto-based CLEC Axxent Inc released its Q1 2001, which showed net losses of 68 cents per share, down a dime from the losses of Q1 2000. The company announced it has completed $82M in vendor financing and $70M in credit facility. Telecom regulation handbook issued by Toronto law firm Hank Intven, a lawyer with the Toronto firm of McCarthy Tétrault has edited the Telecommunications Regulations Handbook. The book, published in cooperation with the infoDEV program of the World Bank, lists methods used to regulate the telecom industry globally. Regional provides high-speed access in eastern Ontario Regional Cablesystems Inc has joined with Glen-Net to deliver high-speed Internet service in Alexandria ON. Glen-Net, a Galaxy Online subsidiary, will use coax and fibre-optic to provide access to customers in the eastern Ontario city. InfoInterActive introduces ICM in Rochester Frontier Telephone of Rochester NY is launching Internet call waiting using the Internet Call Manager technology of InfoInterActive Inc (IIA) of Bedford NS. IIA has also introduced ICM2000 , allowing Macintosh users to employ the device. Wireless whips pay phones, American study finds The increasing use of wireless is hurting the payphone industry, the American Public Communications Council reports. The number of payphones operated in U.S. markets has declined from 2.6 million in 1998 to 2.2 million this year. The monthly average number of calls has decreased from 715 in 1997 to fewer than 500 now.

NL Short Takes

News | 02/12/2001 5:00 am EST

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