NL Short Takes

FCC dismisses Bell motion on non-dominance Bell Canada has been told by the Federal Communications Commission that it does not meet the criteria to be removed from the list of dominant carriers (NL, March 8/00).The FCC found Bell's 95% presence in the six provinces east of Manitoba make it too big to be added to the roster of non-dominant carriers. A related filing, asking the commission to waive the rule for good cause, was also dismissed. Telus Québec purchases Axxent assets in province Telus Québec has bought the Quebec-based assets of failed CLEC Axxent Inc. The purchase of the Montreal and Quebec City co-location facilities and equipment gives the Telus subsidiary coverage of 70% of the business community in the two areas. Bell retreats from touch-tone tariff try Bell Canada has withdrawn an application to the CRTC that would have required customers to pay $2.80 per month for touch-tone service. The approximately 285,000 subscribers in Quebec and Ontario still using rotary phones rebelled, forcing the telco to reconsider. Futureway obtains $40 million to fund further growth Richmond Hill ON CLEC Futureway Communications Inc has secured debt financing of $40 million from the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. The company intends to use the money to pay for further expansion, such as its purchase of assets from C1 Communications (NL, July 3/01). Regional Cable leases dark fibre to AT&T Canada Regional Cablesystems Inc of St. John's NF is leasing dark fibre in northern Ontario to AT&T Canada Inc. The deal is worth $700,000 to the cableco, which recently signed up its 7000th Internet customer. SaskTel retrains operators as credit specialists Provincial ILEC SaskTel is shifting nine operators in the Weyburn office to the credit services bureau. The move to keep surplus staff in their home communities began in Melfort, where 14 operators were retrained. SuperNet agreements inked between Alberta and telecoms The Bell Intrigna consortium has signed a deal with the Government of Alberta for the start of the SuperNet broadband project. Intrigna and Bell Nexxia will pony up $102 million, while the provincial government will provide $193 million. Another consortium member, Axia NetMedia Corp, has entered into a 10-year contract to manage, operate and conduct business affairs of SuperNet. Manitoba Telecom continues rollout of high-speed Internet Manitoba Telecom Services Inc has deployed its high-speed Internet service in Gimli, home of the annual Icelandic festival, and in Lorette under the Next Generation Services infrastructure program. The company has been plagued with consumer complaints about Internet service lately, but chalks them up to technical glitches. Total Telcom finishes British Columbia fibre build Edmonton's Total Telcom Inc has connected the final 17 km of its fibre network between Taylor and Fort St. John, both in B.C. The move completes the 700-km corridor that runs from Edmonton to Fort St. John. Competition Bureau issues warning on would-be registrar The Competition Bureau has alerted consumers to notices from the Internet Registry of Canada, which resemble federal government stationery and come from a firm not sanctioned by the Canadian Internet Registration Authority. The company says it has applied for registrar status from CIRA and is changing its logo. IDC makes over $2 million in international sales International Datacasting Corp of Ottawa reports sales of more than $2 million to companies in North America, Asia and Europe. The Canadian Broadcasting Corp has ordered 12 digital audio uplinks, while American firm SkyOnline has bought an uplink system for its IP network. Norway's Telenor has obtained satellite receivers for its European multicasting network and Korea Telecom has joined with Dong-in Satellite Network to purchase equipment for a satellite project. 701 Media buys connectivity from FibreWired Network Hamilton ON-based 701 Media Group has signed a hosting and server agreement with FibreWired Network also of Hamilton. The deal provides 701 Media with direct connections to the larger grids from AT&T Canada, Telus and WorldCom. Compaq wins $5-million deal from Manitoba Telecom Manitoba Telecom Services Inc has awarded a $5.2-million contract to Compaq Canada Corp. Compaq will supply the provincial telco with a customer care and billing system, systems integration services, and storage facilities. Orbit completes LD deployment to 25 nations Orbit Canada Inc, a VoIP telecom, has completed web interconnections between its grid and 25 countries around the world. The company says it can now offer LD service for a fraction of what conventional telcos charge. Email causes stress in workplace, prof maintains A study done by professor Christina Cavanagh of the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario finds that the inappropriate use of email is causing stress in offices. Executives and managers complain about the type of email sent, the volume, and the inability to respond quickly. Montreal telemarketer fined US$140,000 by FTC The Federal Trade Commission in Washington has levied a US$140,000 fine against Maurice Verrelli of Montreal. The deal settles a US$9.2-million civil judgment against Verrelli and his company Creditmart Financial Strategies Inc. Voice Mobility looks north for agreement Vancouver's Voice Mobility International Inc has signed a deal with Alaska Power and Telephone. The firms will conduct a six-month market test of a Voice Mobility platform before deploying the systems across the AP&T backbone. CRTC approves split rate manuals for Telus The commission has given approval for the split rate base manual updates filed by Telus Communications Inc and Telus Communications (B.C.) Inc. The ruling is contained in CRTC Decision 2001-421. Sympatico-Lycos sponsors online concert series Internet portal Sympatico-Lycos Inc is showing webcast concerts on its web site, with each segment archived for two weeks. Featured artists include Treble Charger in July, Blue Rodeo and The Guess Who the next month, with the series including the Technics-DMC DJ competition August 30. Telus predicts fast high-speed rollout in western Canada Telus Corp has revised its predictions on the rollout of ADSL service in Alberta and British Columbia. Once scheduled to be finished by 2005, the service should be deployed to 95% of all homes and businesses by 2003. The ILEC has also abandoned its no-limit, $19.95 LD package. The new plan caps LD calls at 800 minutes per month, with additional calls at 10 cents a minute or $3 a month for 200 additional minutes.

NL Short Takes

News | 07/30/2001 4:00 am EDT

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