NL Update

Supreme Court refuses to hear Ledcor caseThe Supreme Court of Canada has rejected a leave to appeal the case of City of Calgary, et al. v. AT&T Canada Corp., et al., better known as the Ledcor case. This brings to an end a process that began more than two years ago (NL, Jan. 29/01). The Federation of Canadian Municipalities is urging Parliament to get involved. Cities and telcos now understand the rules for negotiating payment for local rights-of-way. Bell and Nortel join forces on IP telephonyBell Canada is working with Nortel Networks Corp. to build a next-gen network based on IP. Bell is investing $200 million over three years for Nortel equipment. The companies, along with Aliant and Bell West, are also opening an innovation centre in Ottawa to work on IP telephony.Caisse sues BCE over BCI recapitalizationThe Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is suing BCE Inc. over the issuing of common shares in Bell Canada International. The shares were issued as a result of BCI’s recapitalization. A common shareholder of BCI has also filed a Statement of Claim in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice over the share issue. The telecom giant vows to fight the two claims.Nortel discourages below-market bidNortel Networks Corp. is advising its shareholders to reject an offer from TRC Capital Corp. to buy shares in the equipment manufacturer. TRC is making a below-market offer of $4.25 per share and seeks up to 30 million common shares. Nortel warns that some of the conditions may not be in stockholders’ interests and that the price offered is several cents lower than the current market price. The company has also declared its preferred share dividends.Sprint unveils wireline-wireless packagesSprint Canada Inc. is set to introduce two wireline-wireless bundles on September 10 – one priced at $44.95/month and the other at $64.95/month. The Call-Net Enterprises Inc. subsidiary is working with Microcell Telecommunications Inc. to offer cellular service to its customers. Details of the bundles can be found here. The CLEC also commissioned a survey on the telephone habits of Canadians.Telus begins craft surplus canvas in B.C.Telus Communications Inc. is conducting is third and final round of craft surplus canvas in the lower mainland of British Columbia this week. The canvass applies to regular employees of the telco and will run until September 15. There are 17 surplus positions in the lower mainland.YAK releases July performance reportYAK Communications Inc. announced its sales for July were approximately US$6 million. Its dial-around service accounted for the greatest portion of that figure – US$4.5 million – with managed resale service to business making up another US$1.5 million. The Toronto-based company is hoping to expand its range of services (NL, Apr. 22/03).Bell West connects 88 communities to Alberta SuperNetBell West Inc. and Northern Fiber Inc. have joined forces to construct a fibre grid connecting seven Alberta cities and nearby communities to the provincial SuperNet. The 525-km network will connect 588 sites in 88 communities. Among the places attaching to the network are Vermillion, Myrnam and Camrose.Northwestel issues prepaid phone cardsNorthern ILEC Northwestel has issued a prepaid phone card that costs 16 cents per minute for calls in North America. The card is available in $5, $10 and $20 denominations. The instructions and customer support are trilingual – English, French and Inuktitut.SaskTel buys office space in SaskatoonSaskTel is part of a consortium that is buying the Saskatoon Square building. The telco will be a major tenant in the 17-storey office tower. Other members of the consortium are the Saskatoon Health Region, MLT Management and Commerce Holdings.INTERNATIONAL NEWSVerizon averts strike, signs five-year contractVerizon Communications has reached an agreement with the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers on a new contract. The five-year deal includes a wage freeze for one year and protects job security. The agreement covers almost 79,000 workers in 13 states.AT&T files racketeering charges against MCI and Onvoy over Canadian caperAmerican telco AT&T Corp. has filed federal racketeering charges against MCI and Onvoy Inc., accusing the two companies of routing calls through Canada to avoid paying AT&T connection fees. The company is also objecting to the MCI/WorldCom Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors’ request for discovery. Six WorldCom officials, including former CEO Bernard Ebbers, have pleaded not guilty to charges they violated Oklahoma fraud and securities laws over a three-year period when the firm improperly accounted for US$11 billion. UTC collects blackout dataThe United Telecom Council has sent out a questionnaire to its members in districts hit by the power outage last month. The lobby group for utels wants to know how communications systems worked during the blackout. The UTC is working with the North American Electric Reliability Council on studying the causes and results of the outage (NL, Sept. 2/03).

NL Update

News | September 8, 2003

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