NL Short Takes

Call-Net settles lawsuit with ex-CEO, abandons ASP Call-Net Enterprises Inc has reached an out-of-court settlement with its former CEO, Juri Koor, who sued the company following his dismissal two years ago (NL, Nov. 1/99). No terms of the agreement were released. The Sprint Canada parent has also announced that it is shutting down it ascenda Inc subsidiary. The company said it would no longer take part in the ASP business. 360networks to announce Q2 results next month Beleaguered fibre builder 360networks Inc will release its second quarter results sometime in mid-October. The delay is the result of requirements from its creditor proceedings. The firm is providing a default status report every two weeks until Q2 results are issued. UTC's Canadian conference postponed until spring The Canadian divisions of the United Telecom Council have delayed their conference that had been scheduled for Vancouver next month. Murray Matiowsky of Manitoba Hydro tells Network Letter it will be rescheduled for next March but will still take place in the B.C. city. Police warn of phone scams following attacks in U.S. PhoneBusters, the call centre run by the RCMP and the Ontario Provincial Police, has issued an alert about fraudulent charities seeking to help victims of the terrorist attacks in the United States. It cautions subscribers to make sure they know who they are donating to and for what purposes the money will be used. Tense situation cancels meetings in Canada and the United States The chaos in New York and Washington has forced the cancellation of a meeting of the Industry Numbering Committee that was scheduled for this week in Montreal. The group, a division of the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions, is holding a videoconference all this week instead. The Federal Communications Commission was forced to call off a technological advisory council session last Thursday since travel to the District of Columbia was restricted. British Columbians sue Nortel executives over disclosures The Klein Lyons law firm in Vancouver has filed suit against Nortel Networks Corp and four executives over the release of sensitive financial data. Named in the suit are John Roth, Frank Dunn, William Conner and Chahram Bolouri. Two recent studies predict additional layoffs will be necessary at the telecom manufacturer. BMO Nesbitt Burns forecasts 15,000 people will be shown the door, while TD Newcrest puts the number at a more modest 10,000. CRTC seeking input on number exhaust in Ontario The supply of telephone numbers is depleting in the 519 NPA, serving such cities in southwestern Ontario as Windsor, London, Kitchener-Waterloo, and the birthplace of the telephone, Brantford. The CRTC has issued Public Notice 2001-101 asking for possible solutions to the problem. The commission also approved a standard non-disclosure agreement for third-party Internet access services in Order 2001-701 and the final CAT for the Cochrane Public Utilities Commission in Order 2001-702. CIRA seeks comments to solve domain name problems The Canadian Internet Registration Authority wants to preclude any possible squabbles over cybersquatters by establishing rules for domain name dispute resolution. The final draft has been released and CIRA is accepting comments on the suggestions until Oct. 12. Orbit inks deal with Cisco Systems for VoIP development Orbit Canada Inc has signed a memorandum of understanding with Cisco Systems Canada Co to help Orbit develop voice and data products. It is expected the deal will help Orbit expand its VoIP network into the United States. Bell boosts business Internet to 3 Mbps Bell Canada has introduced 3 Mbps high-speed Internet service to business customers in Ontario and Quebec. Subscribers will be able to upload at speeds up to 640 Kbps and download up to 100 times faster than with a 28.8 Kbps modem. Aliant to deploy ASG product in switching network Aliant Inc has inked a letter of intent with Atlantic Systems Group Inc to deploy ASG's Passwerks product across the Aliant switching network. Installation will begin in Saint John NB next month with full rollout in Q4. Nortel signs backbone agreement with China Unicom Nortel Networks Corp has signed a US$18- million deal to provide China Unicom with optical Ethernet products and multiservice backbone networks. The systems will be deployed in Beijing and nine other areas of eastern and central China. The Canadian manufacturer has also provided its media processing server platform to SRC Telecom of the United Kingdom. It will use the platform to host telephony-based speech recognition applications. In addition, Nortel has introduced an IP contact centre product, using IP-based PBX solutions. Kontron Communication of Montreal is already using the contact centre product. Primal Technologies sells interface to service provider Toronto's Primal Technologies Inc has introduced its latest version of Primal Connect with messaging ASP United Communications Corp of Toronto. Primal Connect is a graphical user interface that permits subscribers to initiate and manage phone calls, voice messages and email. BCI raises $475 million credit facility from banks, BCE Bell Canada International Inc has arranged credit facilities worth $475 million. The facilities, which mature next March, are held by a consortium of financial institutions and BCI parent BCE Inc.The money is in the form of $400 million in secured loans and another unsecured loan of $75 million. Clinidata gets telehealth deal for east and west Ontario Teleservices firm Clinidata Corp has been awarded the service contract to provide telehealth in the 519 area code, serving southwestern Ontario, and the 613 NPA, serving the eastern section of the province. The company already has contracts for the 416, 905, 705 and 807 NPAs. Stratos named fastest growing tech firm in Canada The Deloitte & Touche annual Canadian Fast 50 survey lists Stratos Global Corp as number one on its list this year. The Aliant Inc subsidiary, an international telecom service provider, reported revenue growth of 73,000% from 1996-2000. EXFO upgrades multi-wavelength meters Quebec City's EXFO Electro-Optical Engineering Inc has upgraded its FTB-5320 and IQ-5320 multi-wavelength meters. It has improved wavelength accuracy and increased its dynamic range to 55 dB. BridgePoint inks co-location agreement with KMC Telecom Montreal application infrastructure provider BridgePoint International Inc has signed a five-year deal with KMC Telecom IX LLC of Bedminster NJ. The American firm will use co-location services from BridgePoint's New York and Los Angeles data centres. Sympatico-Lycos launches its own Top 10 search list Internet portal Sympatico-Lycos Inc has introduced a weekly Top 10 list, naming the most popular search topics on its site. The initial roster included the NFL, flags and Terry Fox, but not Pamela Anderson, Britney Spears or hockey, which has some of us more than a little suspicious. Bell hosts special online exhibit for TV spokesman Bell Canada is hosting a virtual exhibit on its web site celebrating the 100th commercial from Mr. B. The character, a creation of comedian Benoît Brière, has been a Bell spokesman since 1992. Here's one election that doesn't have hanging chads Northwestel has started to solicit votes for the artwork on next year's telephone directories. Voting will continue until Oct. 5, with the winners for the three regional phone books being announced in mid-month. There are 75 entries, with 40 from the Yukon and northern British Columbia, 27 from the Northwest Territories and eight submissions from Nunavut. A prize of $1500 will be awarded to each of the three winners.

NL Short Takes

News | September 24, 2001

Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need.

FREE TRIAL

SUBSCRIBE

Inside The Wire Report

Information

Hill Times Publishing

Get in Touch With Us