CNM Short Takes

Mad Catz makes first quarter a good one
Videogaming accessory maker Mad Catz Interactive Inc. released financial results for its first quarter of the 2007 fiscal year, which ended on June 30. The Toronto-based firm recorded more than $18 million worth of sales during the three-month period, up 22.6% on the total sales figure for the same quarter in the 2006 fiscal year. Gross profit, meanwhile, was up more than 60%, from $2.3 million last year to $3.7 million at the end of Q1 2007. According to a media release announcing the results, the figures were even more impressive considering that major console game manufacturers are transitioning to new platforms, such as Sony Corp.’s Playstation 3 and the Wii from Nintendo Co. Ltd., making the task of manufacturing and marketing accessories somewhat more challenging. Mad Catz also publishes Real World Golf, a live-action console-based golf game that the company says is driving strong North American results – overall sales have gained 29% in the US and 89% in Canada thanks in part to the game. Cost-cutting has also been a focus, said Mad Catz president and CEO Darren Richardson in the release: "In addition to generating revenue growth and diversification through our strategy of offering select game software, we also succeeded in reducing operating expense as a percentage of net sales from year-ago levels."

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Quickplay sets sights on carriers in US with new VC funding


Every year, the world’s biggest mobile telecom players converge on CTIA Wireless IT and Entertainment – the largest wireless data event in the US – and use it as a backdrop for making important announcements. This year, QuickPlay Media Inc. joined them, with two news items coming out of the conference.

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Review exemption order, plan for future now: new media associations


Canada’s provincial new media associations presented a united front in calling for a timely, cross-departmental government analysis of the interactive media sector in the comments they filed with the CRTC as part of Public Notice 2006-72.

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Ringtones not the right starting point for an online music tariff, say CSI opponents


If you can’t find a frame of reference for online music services, you can’t set a tariff on them. That seemed to be the argument advanced by a coalition of digital music retailers, ISPs and others at the Copyright Board of Canada over the past two weeks.

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NL Editorial

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports.

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Telecom reform required as quickly as possible: CCT

The Coalition for Competitive Telecommunications notes in its comments on the proposed Policy Direction to the CRTC that there is ample evidence to support less regulation of incumbent telephone companies. It suggests that the Policy Direction should be adopted by Parliament as it’s written as quickly as possible. Below is an edited excerpt of the CCT’s comments.

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NL People

Telesat Canada, a subsidiary of BCE Inc., has announced that its president and CEO Larry Boisvert has decided to retire after 13 years in the position and nearly 34 years with the Ottawa-based company. He will remain a senior advisor to the satellite operator.

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NL Short Takes

Telus announces major investment in broadband network
Telus Corp. has announced that it will be investing $600 million to enhance its broadband network in British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec by the end of 2009. The telco will be installing advanced Internet equipment in more than 7,000 sites across its network as well as running fibre-optic cable closer to homes to drive Internet access speeds of 15 to 30 Mbps and beyond. "Access to high-speed Internet enriches the lives of rural Canadians by providing tremendous opportunities for economic development, education, healthcare, and other services," said Darren Entwistle, president and CEO of Telus, in a news release. The upgrades began earlier this year with Telus investing approximately $160 million. The additional $600 million will see the upgrades rolled out to Telus’ top 38 communities in the three announced provinces.

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Cable companies capturing majority of ILECs local telephone customers

New data from Statistics Canada indicates that cable operators have been the main beneficiaries of competition on the local telephony market. Government figures show that between the end of the first quarter of 2005 and Q1 2006 incumbent telephone companies have lost 5.3% of their total local access lines or approximately 656,000 lines.

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New pricing focus for Bell apparent in Optimax strategy: Cope

Bell Canada’s decision to launch its Optimax fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) high-speed Internet service with metered pricing is a sign of things to come from the incumbent telephone company, says George Cope, president and COO. He made the comments at the BMO Capital Markets Media and Telecom conference on September 12.

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