NL Short Takes

Bell Canada launches IP telephony serviceCanada’s largest incumbent telephone company has introduced its consumer Voice over IP (VoIP) service Bell Digital Voice to the Greater Toronto Area and Hamilton areas. Bell Canada plans to roll out the service across Ontario and Quebec progressively. The company has also renamed its existing VoIP service, introduced in March in Quebec City, Trois-Rivières and Sherbrooke, Bell Digital Voice Lite. The two services offerings will be targeted at different market segments, with Digital Voice focusing on a user segment most likely to switch to cable company offerings and Digital Voice Lite targeting non-cableco services. Both services include advanced features such as voicemail via email, an online account manager, call forwarding and others. Entry level price for Bell Digital Voice is $40 per month, while Bell Digital Voice Lite is $34 per month. In other Bell Canada news, the company has applied to the CRTC for approval to price its VoIP offering differently in Ontario and Quebec. In a filing to the commission, the incumbent telco company points out that Cogeco’s services are about 10% cheaper in Ontario than in Quebec, and Vidéotron ltée is 22% to 29% cheaper in Quebec than Rogers in Ontario. Aliant expands reach of NF broadband networkMore people in Newfoundland and Labrador will be able to access the Internet at broadband speeds following an announcement from Aliant to expand it network to two more communities near Corner Brook. Protus IP introduces new version of Virtual FaxOttawa-based Protus IP Solutions is making it easier for companies of all sizes to implement Internet faxing with the introduction of Virtual Fax 5.0. "We are breaking new ground today in the Internet based fax space. Virtual Fax 5.0 is the best priced option for businesses that depend on reliable, professional looking, customized faxing, offering a previously unavailable combination of features for a highly competitive price," Protus IP CEO Joseph Nour said in a news release. The new version allows users to customize cover pages, adding graphics or logos, among others. Call centre affected by TELUS-TWU labour disputeDavidson & Company, a law firm in British Columbia, has written to TELUS Corp. to explain that its client Service Quality Measurement Group Inc., operating out of Vernon BC, is being adversely affected by the labour dispute between TELUS and the Telecommunications Workers Union. Davidson lawyer Ian Hawes notes in a September 1 letter to TELUS that the company had requested the installation of four T1 lines from its local telephone service provider Bell Canada. The installation was to have been completed on August 23, but has not yet been done because Bell contracts its service work in B.C. to TELUS. The T1 lines are needed to support the introduction of a predictive dialer system SQM had proposed to deploy. Davidson is blaming the labour dispute for its client current financial hardship which includes an investment of $150,000 for predictive dialer technology and contracts worth $750,000 that the company is unable to complete due to a lack of a predictive dialer system. "Where does this leave my client? The bottom line is the current situation is untenable for my client. I have repeatedly pointed out the disproportionate affect this labour dispute is having on my client. In the end, all my client wants is a firm date on the T1s will be installed. Needless to say, if the installation of the T1s continues to be delayed, my client will have no option but to pursue whatever remedies as may be available in order to recoup its losses," reads the letter. Axia NetMedia reports solid 2005 year-end resultsAxia NetMedia orchestrated a complete financial turnaround in 2005 reporting net income of $8.2 million compared to a loss of $9.2 million for fiscal 2004. Overall revenue for the company increased by 30% for the fiscal year jumping to $39.1 million from $30.2 million. Axia president Murray Wallace says a plan established at the beginning of the year to strengthen the company’s financial position was success and now it is poised to capitalize on that. "With the successful completion of the build and commissioning phase of the Alberta SuperNet, we are well positioned for future growth in our Interactive Network Services segment. With the recent divestitures in Interactive Media Services, we are exploiting our plan to strengthen our position in the elearning applications business," he said in a news release. Vidéotron continues to score VoIP victories in QuebecQuebec cable company Vidéotron ltée recently announced that it reached 75,000 subscribers to its Voice over IP service. Analysts are estimating the company will have approximately 140,000 subscribers by the end of the year and will have about 350,000 by the end of 2006. A recent study from the SeaBoard Group indicates that while cablecos will hold a clear advantage in VoIP subscriber additions, the telephone companies will begin to make up significant ground in the latter half of 2007. (The chart on page 1 provides more information on estimated VoIP subscriber growth in Canada.) March Networks selected by Mexican bank for DVRsGrupo Financiero Scotiabank Inverlat has chosen March Networks for a deployment of digital video surveillance equipment and enterprise management software. The bank, located in Mexico City, has already upgraded about half of its more than 400 branches March Networks’ digital video recorders and software with the remaining to be completed by mid-next year. "This new banking customer represents the significant opportunity ahead of the company in international markets as banks around the globe migrate to best-of-breed video surveillance systems," Peter Strom president and CEO of March Networks, said in a new release. Syndesis secures deal for network optimizationToronto-based Syndesis has unveiled a partnership with Toyo Corp. at the TeleManagement World conference in Japan. The two companies will work together to deliver "network-aware service delivery management solutions that will help to achieve the efficiencies such as first-time-right fulfillment, continuous inventory accuracy, less revenue leakage and the ability to optimize network deployment," reads a news release. Minacs opens new facilities in Saskatchewan and OntarioMinacs Worldwide Inc. has announced that it will open two new contact centres. One will be in Chatham ON and the other will be located in Saskatoon SK. The Chatham facility will be built in two phases and will total approximately 36,000 square feet. The company plans to hire 300 new positions. Recruitment has already begun with the facility expected to open early in 2006. The facility in Saskatoon will be about 30,000 square feet and will house a new multimedia contact centre, staffed by approximately 400 employees. The contact centre is scheduled to open late this year. Innocor gets distribution dealOttawa-based Innocor, a broadband testing company, has announced that TRS-RenTelco is adding Innocor’s TestPoint TS-10 to its inventory. The move is to meet growing demand for the Innocor product. "The TS-10 is a comprehensive and unique offering that will allow TRS-RenTelco to respond to the increasing demand for testing multiple 10 Gigabit Ethernet line rates," Gary Robinette, a product manager at TRS-RenTelco said in a news release. eBay bids US$2.6 billion for VoIP player SkypeThe Voice over IP (VoIP) market looks like it could get a lot more competitive following the acquisition of Skype Technologies SA by online auction company eBay Inc. Skype will continue to operate as a separate unit with founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis responsible for the business. The deal is valued at US$2.6 billion with the potential to rise to US$4.1 billion and allows eBay to surpass the likes of Microsoft Corp., Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. in developing Internet telephony services. EBay says that acquiring Skype gives the company the ability to allow buyers and sellers on its online auction site to communicate with each other, potentially leading to quicker sales cycles. "By combining the two leading ecommerce franchises, eBay and PayPal, with the leader in Internet voice communications, we will create an extraordinary powerful environment for business on the Net," eBay CEO Margaret Whitman said in a statement. Skype is considered by some to be the most popular Internet voice application with approximately 140 million downloads to date, and some estimates put Skype usage considerably higher than other VoIP services. "Our vision for Skype has always been to build the world’s largest communications business and revolutionize the ease with which people can communicate through the Internet," said Zennstrom. "We can’t think of any better platform to fulfill this vision to become the voice of the Internet than with eBay and PayPal." An analysis by Sandvine suggests that nearly half of all Internet voice minutes (46.2%) and approximately 40% of bandwidth used in North America are from Skype users. The broadband management company notes that Skype accounts for more than 35% of all VoIP callers on North American networks. "So this is not like five guys who figured out they could call Slovenia 24 hours in a row; this is a mass market phenomenon," says Steve McGeown, Sandvine’s director of product management and main architect of the research.

NL Short Takes

News | 09/16/2005 4:00 am EDT

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