NL Short Takes

Telus says complaints down, Northwestel disagreesNorthwestel’s Internet customers were without service on December 3 and the northern ILEC is blaming problems with Telus Communications Inc. for the disruption. Meanwhile, Telus says that, despite recent bad publicity on CBC-TV’s Marketplace, the number of quality of service complaints fell in November from October. Alcatel to cut jobs in Ottawa as part of global reorganizationAlcatel is eliminating 150 positions from its manufacturing plant in Ottawa as part of a global restructuring. The equipment manufacturer is also chopping 250 jobs in Plano TX, 470 positions in France and 890 jobs in Germany. Aliant workers vote to strike, Allstream staff settleMembers of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union voted 92.5% to give their negotiating committee the mandate to strike against Aliant Telecom Inc. Meanwhile, Allstream Corp. has signed a tentative agreement with the United Steelworkers of America local 1976 in Montreal on a three-year contract. Rogers, Call-Net accuse Bell of violating bundling rulesRogers Communications Inc. and Call-Net Enterprises Inc. have filed a joint application with the CRTC, accusing Bell Canada of violating bundling regulations. The two companies say Bell sales representatives will not give bundles to people who do not subscribe to Bell’s local service. Onlinetel introduces VoIP service in QuebecOnlinetel has unveiled its dial-around and VoIP services in Quebec. The company has also changed the name of its free call zone service from Freezone to Call Zone, after it secured a federal trademark. Manitoba Telecom files updated SIP numbersManitoba Telecom Services Inc. has submitted updated Phase II service improvement plan figures to the CRTC. The new numbers amend figures originally filed as part of Telecom Decision 2003-70. Canadian telcos fall short in online customer serviceA report by The Customer Respect Group says Canadian communications companies trail their American counterparts in how they treat online subscribers. Only four of the 10 Canadian firms studied registered above the 6.0 average on a scale of 10 the survey used. Cybersurf wins summary judgement against two firmsCybersurf Corp. announced it has won a summary judgement of $285,254 plus interest against Softech Internet Management Corp. and Growth Technologies ’98 Ltd. The Calgary ISP also said its Q1 2004 revenues were up 52%. CRTC approves employee discount for Bell workersIn Telecom Order 2003-491, the CRTC approved an employee discount plan of 35% for employees and retirees of Bell Canada and BCE Inc. Bell is required to file the specific services to which the discounts will apply. Nuvo and Infonet ink data services contractNuvo Network Management of Ottawa has signed a deal with Infonet Services Corp. of El Segundo CA for IT troubleshooting. Infonet will use Nuvo’s network monitoring and management services in its enterprise management service. MTS files review and vary on banding decisionsMTS Communications Inc. has filed a review and vary application with the CRTC seeking to overturn a series of rebanding rulings. The rulings in dispute are Telecom Decision 2003-70, Telecom Decision 2002-71 and Telecom Decision 2001-238-2. Western firefighters get fleeced by Telus CommunicationsTo thank the firefighters who fought the blazes in British Columbia and Alberta this summer, Telus Corp. is providing fleece pullovers to 4,000 people in the two provinces. It is asking the public to provide it with the names of any firefighters who may have been overlooked. VoIP equipment market to expand over next five yearsA study by In-Stat/MDR predicts the market for Voice over IP equipment and VoIP integrated circuits will grow strongly over the next five years. The report expects that IP revenues will increase from US$54.9 million in 2002 to US$141.1 million by 2007. Four ISPs form European advertising allianceWanadoo, Freeserve, Web.de and Libero are unveiling a pan-European advertising network alliance. The network will operate in Britain, France, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands and Italy and will be able to reach 30 million unique viewers. NTL introduces Broadband Plus service in BritainBritish ISP NTL Inc. has unveiled a premium content bundle called Broadband Plus. The service is available to 600Kbps and 1Mb subscribers and costs £3.99 (about $9) per month. Telmex boss says WTO hurts American telcosCarlos Slim, the owner of Mexican telco Telmex, says the United States came out worse in a recent World Trade Organization ruling over a bilateral termination fees dispute. Slim says the WTO decision recognized that American telcos are using a bypass to disguise voice calls as data calls and it could impose laws or measures to enforce a ban on bypassing. Computer programmer charged over spam threatsA Silicon Valley computer programmer was arrested for threatening to torture and kill employees of a Victoria BC firm that sent him spam. Charles Booher was released on a bond of US$75,000. Edmonton jail restricts inmates’ phone accessThe remand centre in Edmonton is installing a new telephone system that will only permit certain numbers to be called. The Solicitor General’s department says inmates will have their phone privileges restricted when the new system is operational early next year. MTS mascot buffaloes the competition in advertisingManitoba Telecom Services Inc.’s advertising campaign starring Morty the Bison won two awards at the recent Canadian Advertising Success Stories awards in Toronto. It is the second time the bushy bovine has been so honoured. Since the provincial ILEC introduced Morty in 1999, he has become a cultural icon in Manitoba, appearing on paraphanalia such as T-shirts, coffee mugs and mouse pads (NL, July 28/03). The advertising awards were in the sustained success category and the general services category.

NL Short Takes

News | December 8, 2003

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