NL Short Takes

Manitoba Telecom releases third quarter resultsManitoba Telecom Services Inc. reported revenues of $210.7 million in the third quarter of 2002 and $717.7 million in the year-to-date. The provincial telco also announced that its high-speed Internet market share has increased to 42%, with attendant revenue growth of 35.4%. BCI shows profit by not running a businessBell Canada International Inc., now operating strictly as a holding company, had earnings of $2.2 million in Q3 2002 as opposed to a loss of $345 million a year earlier. This resulted in earnings of $0.06 per share this year, an improvement over the previous loss of $534.28 per share. Manitoba wants to criminalize non-emergency 911 callsGord Mackintosh, the justice minister in Manitoba, is urging his federal counterpart to make it illegal to make nuisance calls to 911 emergency numbers. His letter to Martin Cauchon comes following the release of the results of an inquest into the murder of two Winnipeg women whose calls to the emergency line were ignored. Industry Canada extends bandwidth in NunavutIndustry Canada is rolling out Internet bandwidth to the government of Nunavut. The territorial government will use the backbone for education and health services and expects to have it operational by this spring. BC Institute of Technology latest school to join BCNETThe British Columbia Institute of Technology is the latest partner to sign on to BCNET. It is the fifth school to join the network, following Simon Fraser University, the University of British Columbia, the University of Northern British Columbia and the University of Victoria. Télébec rolls out high-speed Internet in two locationsRegional telco Télébec is rolling out its high-speed Internet service in the Magdalen Islands and in Radisson QC. The BCE Inc. subsidiary is deploying a residential and a business package for subscribers. Northwestel improves LD service in two communitiesNorthwestel has installed new fibre cable that should improve the LD service in the NWT communities of Fort Smith and Fort Resolution. The northern telco also announced that its new service improvement plan should enhance its service in the NWT, Yukon and northern British Columbia. PIAC endorses Bell Canada stand on service improvementThe Public Interest Advocacy Centre has sided with Bell Canada in its Part VII application regarding its service improvement plan. PIAC agrees that the telco should focus on permanent residences rather than seasonal premises such as cottages. Ottawa schools move toward high-tech researchOttawa’s Algonquin College has opened a $23-million Advanced Technology Centre, which will offer programs such as photonics and network technology. Across town, Carleton University has joined the Research Partner Program sponsored by Alcatel. CRTC rules on unbundled loops, access tandem ratesIn Telecom Decision 2002-68, the CRTC has clarified the service interval section of its rules for unbundled loops. The commission approved revised access tandem rates for four ILECs in Telecom Order 2002-412.Competition Bureau lays charges over telemarketingThe Competition Bureau has laid charges against the Internet Registry of Canada and its principals over misleading invoices the company sent to domain name owners. The bureau also laid telemarketing fraud charges against a company doing business under the names First Capital Consumers Group, U.S. Guardian United Consumers and Trans America United Benefits Group. More job losses in Ottawa high-tech sectorHaving just purchased the optical component business of Nortel Networks (NL, Oct. 8/02), Bookham Technology is reported to be shifting 300 jobs from its Ottawa site to a facility in Britain. Marconi Communications is cutting 50 research positions in the capital and moving them to Pittsburgh. Canada Payphone inks five-year pact with Avondale FoodVancouver’s Canada Payphone has signed a five-year agreement to install phones in Avondale Food Stores in western Ontario. The B.C. company expects to bring in revenues of $1.25 million from the 138 Avondale locations. DataWave signs phone card deal with Mac’s Milk storesDataWave Systems Inc. will now be the exclusive supplier of point-of-sale activation equipment for LD and wireless phone cards for Mac’s Milk convenience stores in western Canada. The company has also signed agreements that permit it to distribute the prepaid cards of all the national carriers in the country. Qwest fined US$20 million by California PUC for slammingThe California Public Utilities Commission has fined Qwest Communications International US$20.3 million for slamming thousands of LD subscribers. The telco has 90 days to provide refunds to its customers and tell them they have the right to whichever LD carrier they prefer. Two Malaysian telcos to merge, gov’t increases stake in firmTelekom Malaysia Bhd. has signed a deal to sell its wireless division to Celcom (Malaysia) Bhd., which will then merge the two units. In return the government-owned Telekom Malaysia will have a 47.9% stake in Celcom. Czech Telecom to light grid in major European markets\Czech telco Cesky Telecom has announced plans to deploy its network in other European cities by the beginning of next year. The company will connect data centres in Frankfurt, Bratislava and Vienna in Q1 2003 and hopes to have Warsaw and Budapest connected by December 2002. Verizon subscribers exempt from spammer’s messagesVerizon Communications has settled a lawsuit it filed last year against Additional Benefits LLC. Under the deal, Additional Benefits will no longer send spam messages to Verizon’s 1.64 million Internet customers in 40 American states. Internet backbone network launched in MarylandThe state government of Maryland is rolling out a US$18-million backbone network. Dubbed networkMaryland, it will connect public sector groups like schools, police and municipal governments to the Internet, although they will be responsible for paying for their connection to the grid. American CLECs to show EBITDA profit this year: studyThe Association for Local Telecommunications Services predicts the 19 publicly-held CLECs in the United States will register a collective EBITDA profit in 2002. The group’s report warns, however, that full profitability is still some time off. Montreal residents want Bell to remove phone boothsPeople in downtown Montreal are complaining that phone booths along Ontario Street are being used by hookers and drug addicts. They have asked Bell Canada to remove the booths, an option the telco says is unlikely, although it may close the booths down overnight.

NL Short Takes

News | November 4, 2002

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