NL Short Takes

Bernier apparently tackling foreign ownership in telecom issueIndustry Minister Maxime Bernier apparently believes that deregulation of the telecommunications industry wouldn’t be complete without removing foreign investment restrictions in the sector. According to news reports, the minister is now tackling the foreign ownership file.t’s unclear at this time when the minister will make his intentions known, but given his previous actions on VoIP, local forbearance and the policy direction to the CRTC it stands to reason the minister will do something. As well, interested parties and industry players shouldn’t expect the minister to want to undertake massive consultations with sector stakeholders either.Both the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology and the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage conducted comprehensive hearings with key stakeholders including telecom companies, cable operators, broadcasters, investment bankers, lawyers, consultants and the unions a few years ago. The committees released massive reports and made several recommendations to Parliament. While both came to completely different conclusions, the minister can be assured that the issue has been studied to death. If Bernier does decide to intervene and lift foreign ownership restrictions in telecommunications, he will have to introduce legislation to do so. He has been accused by the Industry committee of subverting the Telecommunications Act with his policy direction to the CRTC. Opposition members also criticized the minister for not presenting the committee with any substantial legislation since he’s been in office.Two firms point to benefits of structural separationA report from Bear Sterns and research from Bernstein Research suggest that structural separation will unlock value and provide the best return for telcos and cablecos. Both argue that telcos and cable companies will have a difficult time competing on services and applications against innovation coming from the likes of Google, Joost, Microsoft, Amazon and others. The two reports suggest that telcos and cable operators should unlock the value of their last mile through structural separation and focus on a solid regulated return rather than trying to compete in the dynamic applications and services sector.Nortel offering IPT 1-2-3 to new customersNortel Networks Corp. is now allowing new customers to take advantage of its IPT 1-2-3 program that offers a ready-to-use VoIP solution with advanced features and unified communications. "Each package is a field-proven configuration benefiting from years of rigorous testing and subsequent enhancements," Net Payne VP of North America marketing at Nortel said in a news release. "Added to that, the new service packages are simple to quote, purchase and implement. The result is reduced installation time and hassle which ultimately benefits the bottom line for the customer."SaskTel upgrading province-wide networkSaskatchewan’s incumbent telephone company is spending $118 million to maintain and upgrade its network, providing residents and businesses with greater access to communications and entertainment services. As part of the investment, SaskTel will be bringing fibre closer to the home, evolving its Max entertainment services, as well as expanding the reach of its broadband network to more communities in the province. "Since 1987, SaskTel has invested more than $2.8 billion in its provincial network, and the company is committed to providing the people of Saskatchewan with highest quality services at the lowest possible price," Deb Higgins, the minister responsible for SaskTel said in a news release.Total Telcom sells fibre inventoryKelowna BC-based Total Telcom Inc. has agreed to sell, on a conditional basis, fibre inventory held by its former wholly owned subsidiary Total Telcom Fiber Inc. to an Alberta-based company. Total proceeds of the deal are $750,000 but are conditional on the buyer’s due diligence. The deal is expected to close in April. "This sale represents about a third of the fibre inventory that Total Telcom Inc. has a vested interest in," company CEO Neil Magrath said in a news release.Wal-Mart now selling Vonage serviceMore than 100 Wal-Mart stores across the country will now sell Vonage’s VoIP phone service, making it the first VoIP service to be sold by Wal-Mart in Canada. Joe Parent, VP of marketing and business development at Vonage, said in a news release that with Wal-Mart jumping on the VoIP bandwagon that means VoIP is moving from early-adopter to mass-market product. The SeaBoard Group predicts that nearly six million Canadians will have made the switch to VoIP by 2010. There are currently more than one million VoIP subscribers in Canada.Telus inks five-year IP deal with Best BuyTelus Corp. has signed a multi-million dollar, five-year contract with Best Buy Canada Ltd. to connect all of the entertainment and technology retailer’s stores across Canada with an IP network. The network will carry voice, video and data over a single infrastructure, enhancing Best Buy’s communications capabilities while reducing its costs. "To maximize the opportunities the digital age affords us, we need a foundation that supports our guiding principle and Telus is the industry leader in delivering innovative solutions," said Brian Martin, Best Buy Canada’s CTO, in a news release." Our Telus IP network reduces operating costs and improves the experience for our customers who will enjoy the new efficiencies that let us better serve them."EXFO launches VDSL2 test solutionQuebec City-based EXFO Electro-Optical Engineering Inc. has launched the first handheld test set to support Internet Protocol and high-definition television over a VDSL2 test module. This announcement is the latest in a series of test modules for the CoLT-450P, a handheld, battery-powered test set for the installation and maintenance of applications on copper-based broadband access networks. According to their press release, once equipped with a new VDSL2 test module, EXFO’s CoLT-450P allows network service providers to confirm upstream/downstream connection rates, signal levels, VDSL2 error statistics and other important parameters of the VDSL2 link up.Retail VoIP growing quickly: In-StatAccording to Scottsdale AZ-based high-tech research firm In-Stat, the Unites States market added 3.8 million VoIP households in 2006. Key findings from the recent In-Stat research are: consumer VoIP adoption will push wholesale VoIP revenues to $3.8 billion by 2010 from $1.1 billion in 2006; international wholesale VoIP termination/orientation revenues are experience declining growth rates; and long-haul wholesale VoIP will experience major migration of TDM services, forming a majority of the international market by 2009. While international VoIP represents the largest market segment, In-Stat expects the market for local services to increase from 12% of all revenues in 2006 to 27% by 2010.Skype expands business featuresIn response to demand from business around the world wanting to use Skype to communicate with customers and colleagues, the Internet phone company has added new features to its Skype for Business offering. Skype can now be easily installed on multiple computers using the Windows Installer package, giving IT administrators greater control over how Skype communications traffic runs across their corporate networks. Skype has also been working with its partners on a range of new business productivity tools including the Convenos Web conference and collaboration service, a package called Unyte which enables users to share the view off their PC desktop, and a Skype-enabled call-centre offering called Skype ACD.

NL Short Takes

Brief | February 2, 2007

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