NL Short Takes

Yellow Pages to acquire MTS directoriesMTS Allstream has announced that it has reached an agreement to sell its telephone directories business to Yellow Pages Group Co. for $281 million, of which $275 million will be paid in cash. "This transaction is a clear sign of our commitment to create and deliver long-term value for our shareholders," MTS Allstream, president and CEO Pierre Blouin said in a news release. "Our directory business is performing strongly, but as a publishing enterprise it is outside the scope of our core telecommunications franchise." The transaction has been approved by MTS Allstream’s board of directors and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2006.Under terms of the agreement, all employees of MTS’s directories business will be offered employment by Yellow Pages. Telus to participate in VoIP security web conferenceTelus Communications Co. engineering manager of technology and strategy Richard Polishak will participate in a web conference exploring VoIP security on September 20. "Beyond the benefits of VoIP, the number and variety of threats is ever-increasing. So far, the biggest threats to VoIP have been network-based. Attackers are continually coming up with new methods to probe VoIP networks for weaknesses and vulnerability," reads a news release announcing the conference. Polishak will be among a panel that will discuss how to identify today’s network-based attacks and how to develop a security infrastructure for VoIP networks. The web conference can be found at http://xtalks.com/voip.ashx. Shaw declares support for new CableLabs standardShaw Communications Inc. has lent its support to a new standard from CableLabs that when implemented will enable download speeds of 160 Mbps or higher and uploads speeds of 120 Mbps or higher. "Shaw is committed to implementing these initiatives as quickly as possible so we can continue to offer our customers tomorrow’s technologies, today," Shaw president Peter Bissonette said in a news release. Vidéotron expanding VoIP serviceQuebec largest cable provider Vidéotron ltée is broadening the reach of its Internet telephony service by expanding it to another 24 markets. The cable telephone service will be expanded in the Saguenay-Lac St-Jean and Monteregie regions, bringing an additional 90,000 homes online. Nearly three-quarters of Vidéotron’s serving territory can now receive its cable telephone service. By the end of the June 30 quarter, Vidéotron counted 283,000 telephone customers, an increase of 120,000 in the previous six-month period. "Vidéotron’s cable telephone service represents a very attractive alternative to conventional telephone service, and residents in these regions will now have the opportunity to take advantage of it," Manon Brouillette, VP of marketing and product development for Vidéotron’s consumer division, said in a news release. Rogers Cable bumps up Internet access speedsRogers Cable has announced that it high-speed elite broadband Internet offering will now provide speeds up to 18 Mbps. The company says the service should be available in the fourth quarter of this year. The monthly fee will be $99.95 and will give customers 100 GB of usage. Additional bandwidth will be available at $1.25 per GB. "Rogers will always offer customers innovative new services with a wide range of choices and at a price that is packed with value," said Terry Canning, Rogers’ VP and GM of Internet services, in a news release. Cogeco Cable increases Internet speedsCogeco Cable has bumped up the maximum speed of its standard and premium Internet service to 10 Mbps and 16 Mbps, respectively. The company has announced recently increased the amount of bandwidth customers use with their services. Pro service customers will get 100 GB; Standard customers will get 60 GB; and Lite users will get 10 GB. Open Text and Hummingbird reach agreement on acquisitionOpen Text Corp. and Hummingbird Ltd. have entered into a definitive acquisition agreement under which Open Text will pay US$27.85 per share for Hummingbird. The total value of the acquisition is US$489 million. "With its historic presence in the legal and government verticals, Hummingbird is a strategic fit with our focus on solutions aimed at vertical markets and regulatory compliance," Open Text president and CEO John Shackleton said in a news release. The deal requires, among some regulatory conditions, approval from two-thirds of Hummingbird’s shareholders at a meeting, scheduled for late September. The deal is expected to close in early October. Increased transparency for TPC: BernierIndustry Canada Minister Maxime Bernier has announced changes to the much-maligned Technology Partnerships Canada (TPC) funding program that are expected to improve the transparency and accountability requirements for all future projects funded. "The improvements we have made to the contribution agreement will ensure that Canadians will be aware of any breaches of the agreements that companies have entered into, and that companies that behave inappropriately will be held accountable for their actions," Minister Bernier said in a news release. One of the more significant changes is the right of the government to publish the names of companies that have been found to have breach conditions of the agreement with the government. This was previously not possible. QCISP loses battle with Bell over wholesaleThe Quebec Coalition of ISPs (QCISP) has lost a battle with Bell Canada over ADSL. In a decision released on August 3 (Telecom Decision 2006-49), the CRTC denied to invalidate the $100 early contract termination fee or to declare that a 12-month promotional rate can’t be renewed. The commission also denied a request to reclassify certain tariff items as Category 1 Competitor Service because Coalition members have access to alternatives. Bell Canada wins case against TelusThe CRTC has ruled in Telecom Decision 2006-50 that Telus Communications Co. has to publish within 30 days wholesale rates for Ethernet and DSL services offered in its Quebec territory. As well, "During the period in which TCC is performing its own Phase II cost studies, the commission directs that these services be offered (1) at Bell Canada rates, and (2) plus an additional multiplicative factor of 8.7% for Category Competitor 1 Services," reads the decision. 511 goes to weather serviceThe CRTC has allocated the 511 three-digit code to a weather and traveler information service, rebuffing an application to use the code for suicide prevention. "The decision paves the way for a cross-Canada, 24-hour telephone service providing Canadians with vital weather and traveler information through one easy-to-remember, three-digit telephone number," reads a news release from the Canada 511 Consortium, a group of companies that applied to use the number.

NL Short Takes

News | 08/17/2006 4:00 am EDT

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