NL Short Takes

Bell ready to connect sea-to-sky corridorBell Canada has announced the final groundbreaking for the laying of fibre optic cable from Vancouver to Whistler. Once completed, the 120-kilometres of cable will be the backbone for all communications needs for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. This will include live broadcasting feeds to more than a billion viewers worldwide, Internet sharing of news stories and photos and VoIP requirements. The installation will also help provide local businesses and consumers with enhanced telecommunications products and services. "While this milestone is a key part of Bell’s technology solution for the 2010 Winter Games, it further showcases our commitment to investing in the connectivity and regional growth of Western Canada," said Justin Webb, Bell’s VP of Olympic services, in a news release. New Brunswick is one of the most connected provinces in CanadaThe New Brunswick Broadband Initiative has been finished six months ahead of schedule. The program was a collaboration between the governments of Canada and New Brunswick and Aliant Inc., and provides all regional healthcare centres, business parks, First Nations communities and residences and businesses, with access to high-speed Internet service. "New Brunswick is leading the way in providing the highest-quality technology to its businesses, residents and its healthcare centres," said New Brunswick premier Bernard Lord in a press release. The Government of Canada provided $16.5 million for the project from the Strategic Infrastructure Fund, while Aliant chipped in $15.6 million and the provincial government supplied $12.5 million. Installation and upgrades of broadband equipment extended coverage to 327 communities. Nortel selected for program management by Homeland SecurityThe US Department of Homeland Security has selected Nortel Government Solutions to provide program management, acquisition and administrative services to the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS). The selection will allow the USCIS to be more flexible and cost-effective while carrying out its mandate. Nortel Government Solutions has been providing strategic planning, financial and investment planning, pricing analysis, expense tracking, services acquisition and other services to USCIS under a one-year agreement that began in June 2005. The new agreement will extend Nortel’s services until May 2007. Navtel expands test solutionsMarkham ON-headquartered Navtel Communications Inc. has expanded its test solutions to include large-scale TLS security, Theft of Service, Rogue Media and DoS/SIP Flood attacks test capabilities. The solutions will also add H.263 video and H.264 video, AMR and ILBC audio and DTMF to its list of media test capabilities. "Carriers deploying IMS and Voice over IP services are concerned that an all IP network will be vulnerable to Theft of Service, Rogue Media and SIP Flood Attacks which can significantly impact the carriers’ revenues and degrade the quality of their users’ experience," said Alvin Francis, Navtel’s VP of maketing, in a news release. "Navtel’s security test solution is designed to validate the functions of these security appliances and test their ability to scale to support large number of users and high rates of signalling with audio, video and DTMF media, while providing acceptable levels of user experience." Ivrnet buys Voicelink Technology and OperationsWeb-telephony products and services provider Ivrnet Inc. has acquired the customer operations and rights to voice recognition technology from Calgary-based Voicelink Technologies. Ivrnet obtained the rights after its partner PBS Systems Inc. purchased Voicelink, which uses voice recognition to provide automated attendants, telephone surveys, information lines and custom voice applications. "The deal between Ivrnet and Voicelink solidifies Ivrnet’s standing as a leader in voice response and voice recognition technologies," said Eric Lowther, VP of client services at Ivrnet. Primus’ TalkBroadband now selling at Glentel storesPrimus Telecommunications Canada Inc.’s TalkBroadband home VoIP service is now available at Glentel Inc.’s retail mall locations across Canada. Consumers can subscribe to the service by visiting any of Glentel’s WirelessWave, The Telephone Booth or La Cabine Téléphonique locations. "Teaming up with Glentel, a trusted communications supplier, makes our TalkBroadband Home Phone service available to more Canadians searching for quality, value, enhanced features and an alternative to traditional phone service," said Rob Warden, Primus’ VP of marketing, residential services, in a news release. Primus Canada’s start-up kit begins at $19.95 and includes the first three months of service free with no installation fee and no mandatory purchase of the VoIP gateway hardware. Conference Board: focus on hub citiesCanada should focus municipal investments in its hub cities instead of spreading it out across the country on a per-capita basis, according to a report released by the Conference Board of Canada earlier this month. "When the economically leading city in a province prospers, so does the rest of the province as whole," said Mario Lefebvre, director of the Conference Board’s metropolitan outlook service. "Economic growth in a provincial or regional hub has a coat-tail effect driving an even faster rate of growth in small communities within that province." Canada’s Hub Cities: A Driving Force of the National Economy identifies Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton, Regina and Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Toronto, and Montreal as hub cities for their respective provinces, and Halifax as the hub for Atlantic Canada. Bell leverages fibre optic technology in MontrealBell Canada has launched Sympatico Optimax, a high-speed Internet service that consistently delivers maximum speeds of 10 or 16 Mbps. The service, which is now available in Montreal, brings Bell’s fibre optic network closer to consumers’ homes than ever before, resulting in faster Internet access all day. "Sympatico Optimax builds on Bell’s new fibre optic network to provide consumers a combination of bandwidth and reliability that’s unmatched in the Canadian marketplace," said Bell’s president of residential services Kevin Crull in a news release. The 10 Mbps version of Optimax is available for $65 per month, while Bell is offering the 16 Mbps version for $80 per month. Availability and pricing of the service in Toronto will be announced at a later date. Axia NetMedia wins broadband concessions in FranceCalgary-based Axia NetMedia Corp., through its joint venture with Vinci-Networks of France, has been awarded two network concession contracts in France. The Axia-Vinci Networks joint venture will build broadband networks in the city/community of Clermont-Ferrand, which will provide service to 21 communities, and in Sicoval, a set of 36 communities. "When these networks are completed, these two sets of communities will have access to next-generation IP network performance combined with the benefit of creating competition in their marketplace," said Axia chairman and CEO Art Price in a press release. Axia is the operator of the Alberta SuperNet and created the joint venture with Vinci in February 2006. Australia university selects Nortel for security solutionMacquarie University in Sydney, Australia has chosen Nortel Networks to protect its information infrastructure from internal and external threats. The school decided to overhaul its systems after an audit last year revealed numerous weaknesses in its existing infrastructure. The solution from Nortel and channel partner 3D Networks will replace multiple firewalls and ad-hoc security gateways with a network of secure routers connected to a central firewall, and will cost AU$1 million. "Macquarie is world renown as a research institution, and we store a large amount of sensitive research and commercially viable data on our network," said Peter Hole, infrastructure services manager at the university, in a media release. "With the technology from Nortel, we’re protecting our reputation as much as our users." Vidéotron ups Internet access speedQuebec’s largest cable company Vidéotron ltée has increased the speed of its fastest high-speed Internet service to 20 Mbps without any jump in monthly rates. The service, which was announced on July 17 and went into effect the next day, is available throughout the company’s service area or 2.4 million homes passed. "Today’s announcement also fulfills our commitment to offer our customers technological services tailored to their needs," Vidéotron president and CEO Robert Dépatie said in a news release. "We are pleased to see that our offerings are spurring the entire telecommunications industry to be more competitive and more cutting edge, which is good for all consumers across Canada." Open Text enters race to acquire HummingbirdWaterloo ON-based Open Text Corp. has tendered an offer of US$27.75 per share for Hummingbird Ltd., upping the ante in the fight to acquire the enterprise software maker. In late May, Hummingbird announced that Symphony Technology Group issued an offer of US$26.75 per share to purchase the company. Open Text, a provider of enterprise content management (ECM) software, tendered its offer on July 5. "Size and global reach are critical to success in ECM and the addition of Hummingbird will further solidify Open Text as the leading global ECM player," Open Text president and CEO John Shackleton said in a news release. "Hummingbird is a strong strategic fit that adds to our solutions focus and increased the reach of our global partner program."

NL Short Takes

News | July 24, 2006

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