User Coalition Picks Up Steam

CCT launches website, recruits individual companies The Coalition for Competitive Telecommunications (CCT) is embarking on a three-pronged effort to raise awareness of its existence and to solidify its role as the voice of the business telecom user community in policy and regulatory discussions. The business telecom user advocacy group has unveiled a website (www.telecomcoalition.ca) to serve as its online face, and to inform members of key happenings in the telecom industry. The CCT is also considering adding an interactive component to the site so that members will be able respond to survey questions about particular issues. In order to remain close to the opinions of its members, the Coalition is forming a National Business Telecom Customer Council. Formed initially by industry associations, the CCT has also decided to expand its membership base to include individual corporations, which will pay lower membership fees than associations. User-Only MembershipLorne Abugov, a lawyer with Osler Hoskin in Ottawa and telecom policy advisor to the CCT, says that the organization will remain independent of the forces currently driving telecom policy and regulatory change in the country, namely the carriers and the equipment makers, and those shops won’t be invited to join the group. The Coalition has penned in considerable time in its calendar over the coming months to meet with key constituents. Abugov says the face time will give the CCT a better handle on its constituents’ views. But the CCT isn’t limiting its fact-finding to talking to its members and stakeholders. The group will also sit down with the carriers to gain a better understanding of where they stand on telecom policy. "This is to make sure we understand everyone’s point of view," Abugov says. Cellcos to Act on Number PortabilityCanada’s major wireless operators have decided to save the CRTC the time and money of revisiting the thorny issue of Wireless Number Portability (WNP), opting instead to move on their own to offer the service. The first step, announced April 21 by the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA), is to find a consultant that, working with the carriers, will propose an implementation plan and schedule. CWTA CEO Peter Barnes tells Telemanagement that the process will take much longer than the half-year that it took to deploy inter-carrier text messaging. The issues are much more complex and require a coordinated effort among all players, he says. Bell Creates Small-Business Unit Bell Canada says it is strengthening its commitment to the small- and medium-sized business (SMB) market by creating Bell Business Solutions (BBS). This marks the second time in recent months that the company has addressed the business community with a divisional reorganization. Earlier this year, Bell Security Solutions was formed to address security concerns of the large enterprise market. Bell Business Solutions was created following the close of Bell Canada’s acquisition of Nexxlink Technologies. BBS, a new IT solutions provider to the SMB market, combines Nexxlink and recently acquired Charon Systems. The new unit’s portfolio of services will include: business applications and enterprise resource planning solutions; network infrastructure solutions (access, security and storage); hosting and managed services; hardware and software procurement; and technical services. Former Nexxlink chief executive Robert Courteau has been appointed president and CEO of the new division. Business Urged to Start Using 10 DigitsArea codes in 519, 613, 450, 514 and 819, covering much of Ontario and Quebec, are slated to shift to 10-digit dialing in June 2006. The Telecommunications Alliance (www.dial10.ca), a coalition of carriers in the affected areas, points out that 10-digit dialing works in most affected areas now and urges businesses to begin conversion now. Cisco to Resellers:‘Test Customer Networks’Cisco Systems is telling its IP telephony equipment resellers to test customers’ networks to make sure they are capable of supporting Voice over IP services. The advice was given at the company’s annual Partner Conference in Vancouver last month. Problems can arise if an enterprise’s internal Ethernet isn’t capable of handling voice traffic, which can require significant expense to manage. Some have suggested that Cisco require resellers to verify that companies’ networks can handle VoIP, but the company won’t go as far as to mandate the practice. Yak Acquires Navigata CustomersYak Communications has beefed up its business services division by acquiring the Ontario and Quebec local resale customer base and Centrex lines of Navigata Communications Ltd., a subsidiary of SaskTel. Yak has gained about 450 small- and medium-sized business customers, totaling more than 5,000 Centrex lines. The lines are used to provide resale services such as long distance, toll-free calling, private lines, Internet access, Web hosting, co-location and calling cards. The new customers and lines will be integrated into the company’s business division. RIM Teams with Microsoft and IBM for Instant MessagingInstant messaging and presence locator technologies from Microsoft and IBM will soon be available on Research In Motion’s BlackBerry devices. The three companies announced last month that they would work together to make this a reality by the end of this year. Cisco Equips Vancouver Airport Cisco Systems and Telus Business Solutions have upgraded the communications infrastructure at the Vancouver International Airport with the goal of improving its operational efficiency and creating new revenue opportunities. Cisco has added voice capabilities to the airport’s Cisco Intelligent Airport Solution. The updated system now supports 1,100 Cisco IP phones, 1,000 closed-circuit cameras and more than 1,500 television screens. The upgrades are already having an impact on the airport’s operations, and the airport says that self-serve kiosks are bringing capacity improvements of up to 300%. Telus and TWU Battle Heats Up AgainThe four and a half year collective bargaining exercise between Telus and the Telecommunications Workers Union is beginning to get ugly. Telus has opted to sidestep the TWU altogether and make an offer directly to employees. The five-year proposed agreement includes base salary increases of 2% in each year plus variable increases and lump-sum payments. Telus has also announced it will implement lockout measures against unionized employees "to encourage settlement." TLC Gets IP Call Centre TLCVision Corp., an eye care services company, has contracted Avaya to deploy an IP-enabled contact centre solution to improve customer service and operational efficiency. Over the past four years, TLCVision has experienced a significant increase in customer phone calls and emails; it needed a mid-market communications solution to deal with the deluge of customer communication. Qwest, Verizon Still Contending for MCINeither Qwest Communications, nor Verizon Communications are backing away from the fight to control MCI. After MCI agreed to accept a lower bid from Verizon, Qwest again upped its offer to US$30 per share or about $9.75 billion—30% higher than the previous Verizon offer. As we go to press, Verizon is considering its next move. Hamilton Trials Wi-Fi MetersAn Ontario government mandate to put 800,000 smart hydro meters into service by the end of 2007 could eventually see the city of Hamilton blanketed by broadband wireless. Hamilton Utilities Corp. will begin a six-month trial of meters equipped with Wi-Fi technology in the next couple of months. Telehop LD Business GrowsTelehop Communications provided 26.5 million minutes of long distance calling in March, a 23% increase compared to January 2005. Telehop has also fielded Reseller Program, a suite of services for long distance resellers. Lucent Offers Managed IP TelephonyLucent Technologies has become the latest player to enter the hosted IP-PBX market with services to be available within the next few months. Negotiations with an initial customer are already under way, according to reports out of the United States. Visitors to the company’s booth at the VON show in March were treated to a preview of the hosted IP-PBX. Lucent is planning a higher-profile launch at Supercomm in June. Quick Hits from VON CanadaGentek Marketing Shows Off VoIP Highway: The Toronto-based company showcased its VoIP Highway product at the VON Canada conference April 19-21 in Toronto, a platform that allows subscribers of Internet Telephony Service Providers (ITSPs) to make IP-to-IP calls without having to interconnect with the public switched telephone network. Vonage to Offer Videophones: Vonage Canada president Bill Rainey told VON Canada that the company was about to introduce videophones to the U.S. market and that a Canadian launch of similar devices will occur in the next couple of months. The VoIP provider already offers Wi-Fi VoIP phones in the United States, and Rainey says they will come to Canada this month. Skype Going Wireless: According to Skype co-founder and CEO Niklas Zennström, the company will soon break out of its traditionally PC-centric focus and move into the mobile market. Skype is currently undecided on what platform it will use—Linux, Symbian or Windows Mobile. The Wi-Fi-equipped handsets now being released create a substantial opportunity for Skype, Zennström says. Wi-Fi Challenges Cellcos: Alain Mouttham, CEO of SIPquest, said during a VON presentation that between 40% and 50% of mobile calls in Europe were made from Wi-Fi hotspot locations. Enterprise users will certainly see this as a way to significantly reduce cellular phone charges by allowing mobile professionals to make VoIP calls from any number of hotspots. Wireless carriers will be challenged to encompass this technology without erosion of revenue. Centrex User Groups in FluxThe National Centrex Users Group took on a new name and a new mission at its annual conference, held in Las Vegas March 20-23. Now called the International Telecommunication Professionals Exchange (ITPX), it takes up not only Centrex service but the wide variety of services and equipment with which Centrex can be combined. ITPX is open to all telecom professionals, whether or not they work with Centrex. End user attendance was up from the previous year, and the 50-strong Canadian delegation was larger than ever before. The next conference is in Orlando, March 26-29, 2006. For information, call 800-515-6284 or go to www.itpx.org. Nortel DMS Centrex UsersA month before the Las Vegas conference, the DMS Centrex Users Group (DCUG), uniting recipients of Centrex services from Nortel Networks’ DMS switches, folded its tents. Some DCUG insiders say that Nortel’s decision to reduce its role in the user group contributed to the dissolution; Nortel says it did not pull back from support but wished the group to be more self-directing. After a survey of members, the DCUG steering committee judged that "the commitment/interest of the general membership to be insufficient" to sustain the group. Nortel’s global users group, International Nortel Networks Users Association, continues. To contact its Canadian affiliate, go to www.cannua.ca. Bell Launches VoIP in QuebecThree Quebec cities are the first to see Bell Canada offer Voice over IP services. The company introduced the "access independent" service on March 30, in a move that many believe to be a contravention of CRTC rules. Opponents of the service say what Bell is offering is a telecommunications service and thus requires prior tariff approval, something the company has not obtained. Supporters say the service is access-independent, a term coined by Telus during the VoIP hearings, and thus is an Internet application and doesn’t require CRTC approval. Telus has yet to comment on its prospective VoIP launch date. Vonage Canada to Open Call CentreVonage Canada says it will open a call centre in this country in June in order to field a dramatically increased number of inquires into its Voice over IP service. Globally, the company has more than 600,000 lines in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. Vonage Canada’s VP of marketing and business development Joe Parent tells Telemanagement that the company will soon be launching a VoIP service offering targeted at the small business community. Parent recognizes that there is a steep learning curve for the SMB community, but says it’s incumbent on all players to undertake education initiatives. Most Shaw Phone Subscribers Won from Other ProvidersShaw Communications Inc. reports that 75% of customers registering for its digital phone Voice over IP service are switching from other providers. Further, 95% of current VoIP subscribers are extremely satisfied, according to the company. Shaw is offering an all-you-can eat package of services for $55 per month. Vidéotron Expands Service Quebecor subsidiary Vidéotron Telecom has expanded its telephony offering to the city of Laval in Quebec. Phonetime Deploys VoIP Platform from NexTonePhonetime Inc., a Mississauga, Ontario-based long distance service provider, has deployed VoIP session management technology from NexTone Communications. The new platform will allow Phonetime to manage up to 30,000 simultaneous VoIP calls. The company is now marketing its Canadian network capacity to Tier 1, 2 and 3 carriers as well as VoIP providers around the world.

User Coalition Picks Up Steam

News | 04/26/2005 4:00 am EDT

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