Nortel suffers from the gripes of Roth as lawsuits pile up
The Quebec Association for the Protection of Shareholders, along with some Ontario investors, are suing Nortel Networks Corp over comments CEO John Roth made during a webcast that apparently revealed dire forecasts before they were publicly released. Company stock tumbled shortly afterward. Meanwhile, JDS Uniphase Corp has announced it will not pursue legal action against the company over the sale of a laser plant in Switzerland. Much of the transaction involved Nortel shares.

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As the CRTC struggles with finding enough phone numbers to service Canadians’ needs, it must also determine how soon those numbers will exhaust entirely. Contingency plans are already being considered for the day when even 10-digit dialing will reach a saturation point in Canada’s largest cities. The expanded dialing code is already being introduced in Toronto, with Vancouver to follow (NL, Mar. 27/00; May 23/00).

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Just as one union is attempting to organize low level managers at Bell Canada, workers at another telco are being asked to forfeit their guild membership. The Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP) is seeking to represent tier D and C managers at the country’s largest telco. The move came about last fall when the Association of Telephone Management Employees (ATME) found a majority of its 8,500 workers wanted to join a union. ATME contacted CEP, which began its campaign on Oct. 1. It has six months to complete the drive.

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It appears that another wave of consolidation is about to hit the telecom market, and it’s one that could put increased pressure on Industry Canada to lower or eliminate foreign ownership limits, an industry analyst predicts.

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Local politicians say the Ontario government is moving too quickly to privatize a provincial-owned telco, saying the communities most affected have not been consulted. Premier Mike Harris announced plans last year to sell off all operations of O.N. Telcom, the telecom arm of the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission. ONTC serves 60,000 customers throughout northeastern Ontario, including the premier’s riding of North Bay.

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Quebecor expects to announce before summer who will be buying its Vidéotron Télécom division, with at least one investment analyst predicting there could be more than one new owner.

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