NL Update

Hold your horses, incumbent telcos tell commission on VoIP proceedingIncumbent telcos are telling the CRTC that it should slow down with its Voice over IP proceeding and conduct a “complete” review of the emerging technology’s impact (NL, April 14/04). In an April 15 filing to the CRTC, Bell Canada, TELUS Communications, Aliant Telecom, Manitoba Telecom Services and SaskTel suggest that the timeline set out by the commission in Telecom Public Notice 2004-2 should be amended “to allow sufficient time for the preparation and filing of evidence and to allow for such other procedures as may be required.”In an interview with Network Letter, BCE Inc. executive VP Lawson Hunter says the commission has set deadlines that make it difficult to compile evidence. The filing (not yet posted on the commission’s web site) states: “the complexity of the factual underpinnings and the policy issues to be decided in this proceeding as well as the potential prejudices that may be caused to the companies from adoption of the commission’s preliminary views warrant a more complete procedure.”The incumbents are also worried that the commission hasn’t provided any evidence to support the preliminary views it expressed in 2004-2. The Canadian Cable Television Association is opposed to any changes in the commission’s timetable, and filed a letter with the CRTC late last week outlining its arguments. Michael Hennessy tells Network Letter: “We’re very afraid, actually, that the recent request to delay the whole process so that people can file a lot of expert evidence is just going to potentially delay the rollout of the VoIP services. I’ve said before, while we may have disagreements on some of the rules, the rules allow it today and that would be a real shame if we got into unnecessary debate.”A more detailed discussion of the incumbents’ filing will be presented in an upcoming issue of Network Letter. March Networks looks to add other IP-based services to portfolioMarch Networks is exploring the possibility of adding additional IP-based services to its portfolio of digital video products. The Ottawa-based company is a major provider of IP-based digital video products for the security, healthcare and other markets. In a recent conference call announcing the appointment of Peter Strom as president and CEO, Strom said it was a distinct possibility that the company would decide to layer additional IP services such as Voice over IP onto its existing digital video IP platform. Strom took over the new position from Terry Matthews earlier this month. Network Letter will have more on the company’s decision to explore new product areas in an upcoming issue. Primus Canada bolsters subscriber base through acquisition of MagmaPrimus Telecommunications Canada Inc. has boosted its subscriber base by approximately 30,000 customers, by acquiring Ottawa-based Magma Communications Ltd. The telco reseller and emerging VoIP provider gains a significant beachhead in the nation’s capital through the purchase and now counts a total of more than 100,000 subscribers. In addition to increasing its subscriber base by nearly 50%, Primus will now also have a much larger subscriber base to which to market its VoIP services. The company launched its TalkBroadband service in January to customers in seven Canadian cities. Earlier this month, the Toronto-based provider expanded service to another eight cities and upgraded the offering to include 911 services. This is Primus’ second major acquisition in the last six months. On Dec. 1, 2003, the company announced its acquisition of Toronto-based wireless Internet service provider Mipps Inc. CRTC denies Télébec contribution increase requestThe CRTC has denied a request by Société en commandite Télébec for additional contribution for the year 2001 (Telecom Decision 2004-25). The Quebec-based telco filed an application on Nov. 14, 2003 requesting that the commission remit to it an additional $700,000 in contribution payments for 2001. In its filing, Télébec submitted that while the commission set its contribution requirement at $27.3 million, it only received $26.6 million. The company noted in its applications that this shortfall wasn’t in the spirit of the contribution mechanism set out in the contribution ruling of November 2000 (Decision 2000-745). The commission concluded in its ruling that, prior to 2000-745, it didn’t provide for a reconciliation process with regards to actual and forecast long distance minutes or contribution. It adds that in the November 2000 ruling, it simply changed the method of collecting contribution without introducing a reconciliation process. For these reasons, the CRTC denied Télébec’s request. New Peer 1 subsidiary to provide wholesale VoIPPeer 1 Network Enterprises Inc. has formed Symmetric Broadband Inc., a subsidiary that will provide wholesale VoIP to both VoIP providers and other carriers. The company will not only offer wholesale, it will provide VoIP termination and origination services for domestic and international carriers as well as other VoIP providers. “The key to this undertaking is that we leverage Peer 1’s existing high performance and redundant infrastructure, dramatically reducing our upfront expenses and time to market. This will ensure that Symmetric can offer an extremely high quality of service at a fraction of the cost of the competition while greatly reducing customer provisioning time,” Symmetric’s GM and VP of business development Ken Thorpe said in a news release.EXFO releases new product for fibre-to-the-home networksEXFO Electro-Optical Engineering Inc., Quebec City, has released a new test product for fibre-to-the-home (FTTH), access and metropolitan networks. The FTB-7000D Optical Time Domain Reflectometer (OTDR) is the company’s latest in a series of test modules, providing “unparalleled performance with the shortest even dead zones in the industry at 1 m.” The introduction of the FTB-7000D coincides with the release of a new optical network tool kit that allows for the testing through “high-port-count splitters up to 1x32 ports, as well as multi-trace comparison to accelerate multi-fibre analysis while installing a new high fibre count cable.” Etienne Gagnon, EXFO’s VP of physical layer management, said in a news release: “Our customers are more and more concerned about the full characterization of their fibre network, even between their transmission equipment and the centre office’s fibre distribution panel. The new FTB-7000 OTDR generation will fully meet that requirement.” Shaw debuts super high-speed InternetShaw Communications Inc. has launched its High-Speed Xtreme-I super high-speed cable Internet access service. Announced on April 14, the service is available currently in Vancouver, Winnipeg and Calgary, with Edmonton to be added in the coming months, and offers customers 5 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload speeds. “This turbo-charged service is perfect for customers whose Internet experience includes online gaming and exploring rich multimedia sites. They can now enjoy the ultimate, most vivid online service available for as little as $10 more per month,” Shaw president Peter Bissonnette said in a news release. For the second quarter ended Feb. 29, 2004, Shaw had nearly 970,000 Internet customers increasing by about 35,500 during Q2. For the first six months of the fiscal year, the company recorded an increase in Internet subscribers of about 83,350. Call-Net to release Q1 results on May 6Call-Net Enterprises Inc. will release its first-quarter financial results and hold its annual general meeting (AGM) of shareholders on May 6. The company’s AGM will be held at the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto and will begin at 2:00 p.m. The quarterly results conference call will begin at 3:30 p.m. NorthernTel seeks forbearance on WAN servicesNorthernTel LP has asked the CRTC to forbear its wide area networking (WAN) services from regulation. In an April 8 Part VII application, the Northern Ontario-based telco wants the commission to forbear its WAN services because it would be in line with recent rulings on the matter. It noted Telecom Decision 2004-7 with respect to the commission’s decision granting TELUS Communications (Quebec) Inc. forbearance. The company argues in its application that the WAN services market is sufficiently competitive to “protect the interests of users, and that forbearance will not impair the continuance of a competitive market for WAN services.” In that light, “NorthernTel requests that the commission approve this application as soon as possible to ensure an equal playing field,” it writes in its April 8 application. Price increase approved for AliantThe CRTC has approved a price increase requested by Aliant Telecom Inc. for Centrex services (Telecom Order 2004-121). Aliant may now increase the rate for non-contracted Centrex service by $2 a month.The price increase isn’t across the board, though. It will only apply for smaller volume bands (up to 1,500 lines) for customers in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island. The price hike will, however, be applicable to all volume bands in New Brunswick. Revisions to Aliant’s affected tariffs will be effective May 15, 2004.

NL Update

News | 04/19/2004 4:00 am EDT

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

FREE TRIAL

SUBSCRIBE

Reuse & Permissions

Inside The Wire Report

Information

Hill Times Publishing

Get in Touch With Us