One more utility company is getting ready to enter the telecommunications market, as officials at Hydro Ottawa are preparing to spin off a new division that will utilize the power firm’s network assets. Telecom Ottawa Ltd. is expected to be fully operational by the end of this year or early 2002.

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Telus Corp. is appealing two CRTC decisions affecting the contribution scheme and will ask for Cabinet help if it is not successful in the first round. The company emphasizes it needs a rapid decision so it can begin making financial plans.

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TMI wants to use satellite spectrum to provide terrestrial service
A joint venture between TMI Communications and Motient Corp. wants to be able to use slices of satellite spectrum to improve the coverage of satellite services throughout Canada and is seeking Industry Canada approval to do so. The department has launched a consultation process on the issue and has invited interested parties to file comments by Dec. 11.
The use of satellite spectrum to improve coverage of satellite networks has already been raised south of the border and has proven to be quite a contentious issue. Earlier this year, the new ICO Global and TMI and Motient filed applications to use portions of the 2 GHz band with the Federal Communications Commission. Both want to use the spectrum to introduce ancillary terrestrial services that would complement current or planned satellite services. The application created an uproar and was met with considerable opposition from the mobile wireless industry.
The U.S. wireless industry claimed that giving ICO and Motient the right to use their spectrum, which was given to them for free, in a terrestrial network would given it an unfair advantage over its mobile wireless counterparts. The mobile wireless industry paid billions of dollars for its spectrum through several auctions and claims that satellite players shouldn’t be granted the right to implement terrestrial services.
The satellite companies counter that the mobile satellite industry provides valuable services to rural and remote communities and should be afforded the ability to offer expanded services using a terrestrial network.
It’s unclear how the Canadian wireless industry will react to such an application here. The benefits of allowing satellite companies to use portions of their satellite spectrum to provide ancillary terrestrial services may prove to be greater than the opposition from the wireless industry. More details:

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