Telecom still a vital part of national economy, Industry Canada report finds

telecom | 09/29/2003 4:00 am EDT

 Telecom services continue to do well in the Canadian economy, with prices hovering below the national average and salaries remaining constant. These are among the key findings of Industry Canada’s most recent version of Telecommunications Service in Canada: An Industry Overview. The survey found that telecom as...

NL Short Takes

telecom | 09/29/2003 4:00 am EDT

Rock responds to foreign investment recommendationsIndustry Canada minister Allan Rock, in a letter to House of Commons industry, science and technology committee chair Walt Lastewka, says, "the government acknowledges the appropriateness of your conclusion that removing foreign investment restrictions would benefit the telecommunications industry." But in his response to the recommendations of the committee...

2300 MHz and 3500 MHz spectrum auction slated for mid-January

telecom | 09/23/2003 4:00 am EDT

Bidders for 2300 MHz and 3500 MHz spectrum will face a cap on the amount of spectrum they can acquire during and for two years following an auction now scheduled for mid-January, but the bidding will otherwise be a free-for-all for incumbent telcos and others alike. Industry Canada announced on September 20 that the...

Industry Canada abandons Ka-band licensing at the 107.3 orbital slot

telecom | 09/23/2003 4:00 am EDT

Industry Canada has abandoned the licensing of a precious satellite orbital position because there wasn’t enough time to complete the process and give potential licensees enough time to get a satellite in the sky. In a letter dated August 14, Industry Canada informed Pegasus Communications Corp., the only remaining...

In Motion Technology expands mobile hotspot offering into Toronto region

telecom | 09/23/2003 4:00 am EDT

The hype of anywhere broadband Internet access expanding beyond fixed locations such as households, coffee shops, airport lounges and hotels through a combination of Wi-Fi and cellular networks is now one step closer to becoming a reality as it hits the streets in the back of limousines. The move follows the launch of similar services on commuter trains in Canada and the United States (RoW, July 9/03; RoW Update, Sept. 2/03). Vancouver-based In Motion Technology Inc. believes the corporate transportation market represents significant potential for mobile Wi-Fi and as such has inked agreements with two of North America’s largest limousine operators. On September 16, In Motion announced...

CITO introduces new investment program, Ottawa company wins money

telecom | 09/23/2003 4:00 am EDT

Communications and Information Technology Ontario (CITO) has unveiled details of its new $1-million Accelerator Investment Program, the aim of which is to give emerging communications and IT start-ups a financial boost to prove their technology is viable. Ottawa-based TenXc Wireless is the first company to receive money...

TenXc Wireless gets boost from CITO for proof of concept of antenna technology

telecom | 09/23/2003 4:00 am EDT

TenXc Wireless will use a $100,000-loan from Communications and Information Technology Ontario (CITO) to prove the company’s antenna intelligence software can significantly increase network capacity for mobile wireless operators. The company, which is the first recipient to receive funding under CITO’s new Accelerator...

RoW Short Takes

telecom | 09/23/2003 4:00 am EDT

Price primary reason for wireless carrier selectionThe initial cost of a wireless phone or wireless device is the primary reason subscribers chose their current carrier, reports the Yankee Group’s 2003 Canadian Technologically Advanced Family survey. Slightly more than half of respondents (52%) said that improved coverage would be the main reason they would stay loyal to their current provider. Interestingly, 25%...

RoW People

telecom | 09/23/2003 4:00 am EDT

Alan Lolacher is departing Agilent Technologies Canada Inc. after 19 years with the company. He will be replaced by Lawrence Loo, who has been appointed as president and GM of Agilent Technologies Canada. Loo has more than 20 years of global technology-related management experience. Aliant Inc. has made two key management changes. Paul Kent has been appointed senior VP of Aliant and COO of the company’s xwave...

Make tower sharing mandatory and defer to municipalities: Alliance MP

telecom | 09/23/2003 4:00 am EDT

Canada’s national public consultation on antenna tower site selection procedures is in full swing. While the web site dedicated to the "e-town hall" has received hundreds of hits, the number of discussion threads remains relatively small after its first two weeks of operation. However, there have been a number...

RoW Editorial

telecom | 09/23/2003 4:00 am EDT

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports. In Motion Technology appears to have found another potential sweet spot for Wi-Fi use. Equipping limousines with hotspots has the ability to keep busy executives in touch with corporate happenings while traveling from the airport to the hotel, and allows them to make important business decisions on the...

NL Update

telecom | 09/22/2003 4:00 am EDT

Aliant sells Stratos Global stakeAliant Inc. has entered into an agreement to sell its majority stake in Stratos Global Corp. to a syndicate of underwriters led by RBC Capital Markets. Priced at $13 per share, the 26 million shares will bring in nearly $340 million to the regional telco. Aliant held 53.2% of company.CEP vows to fight foreign ownership changesThe Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada...

Bell Canada rollout of Nortel VoIP network offers more hope than substance

telecom | 09/16/2003 4:00 am EDT

 The much-ballyhooed deal between Bell Canada and Nortel Networks Corp. over IP telephony provides much less than originally presented, according to a telecom industry observer. Lawrence Surtees adds, however, that the agreement stands as a bellwether for the eventual rollout of Voice over Internet Protocol...

Telcos hope to negotiate access terms of Ledcor decision with municipalities

telecom | 09/16/2003 4:00 am EDT

 The Supreme Court of Canada’s decision not to hear the final appeal in the Ledcor case should close the books on the more than two-year-old case. Telecom companies now have a clear picture of the rules they need to follow to negotiate agreements with local governments, but the lobby group representing Canadian municipalities vows to carry on the fight in the political arena. Chris Peirce, senior VP regulatory and government affairs for Allstream Corp., heralds the court ruling. He looks forward to getting back to negotiations with municipalities, talks that had been put on hold until the Ledcor case concluded. "We have taken the position that agreements that may have been...

Telus hires additional staff to deal with service complaints from customers

telecom | 09/16/2003 4:00 am EDT

 The letter was straightforward in its complaints about the incumbent telco. The British Columbia woman told the CRTC of her problems with service and getting that problem corrected. "I am so exasperated with the Telus monopoly and its high handed way of dealing with customers," Audrey Vaile wrote in...

Cabinet to consider foreign investment rules but action may be far away

telecom | 09/16/2003 4:00 am EDT

 The federal Cabinet will soon be considering its response to a parliamentary committee’s recommendations on foreign ownership in the telecom sector. But the crowded legislative calendar has combined with the realities of partisan politics to ensure that little of substance will happen on the topic until next year at...

VoIP expected to dominate numbering committee meeting in Ottawa this week

telecom | 09/16/2003 4:00 am EDT

 The Industry Numbering Committee (INC), the North American group responsible for numbering issues, is meeting in Ottawa this week to consider matters affecting Canadian and American telcos, but the meeting will likely be hijacked by the potential regulatory implications associated with Voice over IP...

Printing on yellow paper not so super, Yellow Pages Group says

telecom | 09/16/2003 4:00 am EDT

 A decision to print a telephone directory on yellow paper has the publisher of a competing telephone directory company seeing red. The Yellow Pages Group is sending out fliers to people in the Ottawa area warning them about competition from another phone book. "We wanted to let you know you’ll soon be...

NL Short Takes

telecom | 09/16/2003 4:00 am EDT

BCI reaches tentative agreement with Caisse de dépôtBell Canada International Inc. has reached an interim agreement with the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec over a lawsuit the CDP recently filed (NL Update, Sept. 8/03). BCI is examining the suit to see if it conforms to a similar class action suit filed by other shareholders. If it does, the CDP suit will be held and settled based on the final outcome of the other case.   AOL Canada rolls out DSL broadband serviceAs previously announced, AOL Canada Inc. is rolling out residential broadband in Ontario and western Canada (NL, June 16/03). The company has chosen Bell Canada as its carrier and will deploy DSL. Canadian delegation speaks with U.S. embassy on Arar affairA group of Canadian human rights advocates, including former external affairs minister Flora MacDonald, met last week with officials of the American embassy in Ottawa to discuss the case of Maher Arar but reports no progress. The Syrian-born Canadian telecom engineer was deported from the United States...

NL People

telecom | 09/16/2003 4:00 am EDT

Tal Bevan is the new executive VP sales for Allstream. He had been president business operations for Group Telecom/360networks and is a former president of WorldCom Canada.  Peter Daniel will become executive VP communications for BCE and Bell Canada next month. He served in the federal public service for 20 years, including stints at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and NATO, and spent 15...

Information sector still drives economy, Michael Sabia tells Vancouver audience

telecom | 09/16/2003 4:00 am EDT

 Michael Sabia, CEO of BCE Inc. and Bell Canada, spoke to the Vancouver Board of Trade one day after the company announced its IP agreement with Nortel. An edited version of his remarks appear here. The full speech can be found here. When it comes to innovation we don’t follow. We lead: the first commercial cellular...

NL Editorial

telecom | 09/16/2003 4:00 am EDT

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports. One of the great clichés of public discourse is "There oughta be a law!" Despite the fact that we spend most of our time complaining about politicians and how they don’t listen to us or stick their noses in places where they don’t belong, whenever something upsets us we call upon our...

RoW Update

telecom | 09/15/2003 4:00 am EDT

Alliance MP to introduce bill on antenna tower sitingCanadian Alliance MP Gary Lunn plans to introduce a private member’s bill on antenna tower siting issues in the House of Commons after the house returns from the summer recess. Lunn made the comments in a written submission to the National Antenna Tower Review, which is currently seeking input from Canadians in the form of an e-town hall on a variety of issues...

Studentphonestore.com helping wireless carriers boost penetration among students

telecom | 09/09/2003 4:00 am EDT

A two-year-old company is helping three of Canada's national wireless operators boost penetration levels in the university student demographic by offering the student community sweetheart airtime packages and cell phone prices. Toronto-based Studentphonestore.com has already secured agreements with Bell Mobility, Rogers...

RoW Short Takes

telecom | 09/09/2003 4:00 am EDT

Capital Hill Group sues LinCsat CommunicationsThe Capital Hill Group Ottawa Inc. is suing LinCsat Communications Inc. for not paying nearly $31,199.40 in services. Additionally, the Ottawa-based lobby firm is seeking interest on the unpaid amount of 24% per year. The Capital Hill Group filed a statement of claim on August 19 in Ontario Superior Court of Justice claiming that LinCsat has refused to pay for services...

RoW People

telecom | 09/09/2003 4:00 am EDT

International Datacasting Corp. (IDC) executives Ron Clifton, president and CEO, and CFO Marc Santerre have agreed to sit on Storm Internet Services' strategic advisory board. IDC recently finalized the sale of Storm to 4177347 Canada Inc. See news brief in this issue for more information on the sale. Former Group Telecom executive Tal Bevan joined Allstream as executive VP of sales this month. Most recently,...

RoW International Short Takes

telecom | 09/09/2003 4:00 am EDT

Camera phones penetration will double by year-endThe number of consumers that will own camera-enabled cell phones will more than double by the end of 2003 to 55 million from the 25 million units sold last year, according to a new report from the ARC Group. The U.K.-based research firm notes that there will also be an increasing number of replacement...

RoW Editorial

telecom | 09/09/2003 4:00 am EDT

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports. The Canadian government's decision to introduce amendments to the Radiocommunication Act, effectively giving it more teeth to combat the illegal grey and black satellite TV market, will certainly be welcome news to the broadcasting industry (see short article in this issue for more details). But it will also please public safety organizations, including law enforcement and search and rescue groups, in that they could have greater assurance that a blip on some radar screen is a locator beacon from a crashed airplane and not from some Joe stealing ESPN and HBO from a U.S. satellite TV provider. It may be too early to talk about the ramifications of the amendments since we only have the general sense that they will make it harder for people to import illegal satellite equipment and impose stiffer fines for those who do. But can we really expect that these amendments will decrease the number of Canadians...

Hotspot operators to discuss roaming agreements at meeting this week

telecom | 09/09/2003 4:00 am EDT

Canada's three largest independent hotspot operators will be meeting in Toronto today (September 9) to discuss the development of roaming agreements, Report on Wireless has learned. Fatport Corp., Spotnik Mobile Inc. and BOLDstreet Wireless Internet were recently shunned from any participation in the mobile wireless...

Sprint Canada proceeds with soft launch of new wireline-wireless bundles

telecom | 09/09/2003 4:00 am EDT

Sprint Canada Inc. will officially unveil details of two new wireline-wireless bundles for the local residential market on September 10, an initiative it announced in conjunction with Microcell Telecommunications Inc. earlier this year (RoW, July 9/03). The Toronto-based competitive local telephone and long-distance...

Industry, Heritage announce Radiocomm Act overhaul to protect DTH players

telecom | 09/09/2003 4:00 am EDT

The departments of Industry Canada and Canadian Heritage will soon introduce amendments to the Radiocommunication Act guaranteeing better protection for the Canadian direct-to-home (DTH) satellite TV industry against the illegal satellite grey and black market. The decision to make changes to the Act follows a Supreme Court...

Canada’s MDS operators seeking flexibility in delivering cable television services

telecom | 09/09/2003 4:00 am EDT

The country's major wireless cable operators are seeking greater regulatory flexibility from the CRTC in the way they use spectrum holdings to deliver television signals to subscribers. Craig Wireless International Inc., Image Wireless Communications Inc. and Look Communications Inc. are each...

Rogers to boost SMS office staff as carrier scrambles to meet demand

telecom | 09/09/2003 4:00 am EDT

Rogers Wireless Inc. says it will bolster its back-end office staff to deal with mounting demand for short messaging service (SMS)-based marketing campaigns. As the number of SMS users increases by nearly 25% each quarter, Rogers VP John Boynton told a recent conference on mobile marketing that the company is struggling to keep potential customers on top of growth in the industry, and to meet demand for co-branded campaigns between the carrier and other companies.  At the Mobile Marketing Boot Camp in Toronto last month, Boynton told an audience of mainly interactive marketing boutiques that SMS messaging is rapidly becoming a key ingredient in advertising campaigns across a spectrum...

NL Update

telecom | 09/08/2003 4:00 am EDT

Supreme Court refuses to hear Ledcor caseThe Supreme Court of Canada has rejected a leave to appeal the case of City of Calgary, et al. v. AT&T Canada Corp., et al., better known as the Ledcor case. This brings to an end a process that began more than two years ago (NL, Jan. 29/01). The Federation of Canadian Municipalities is urging Parliament to get involved. Cities and telcos now understand the rules for...

Fires, power blackout do not seriously affect national telecom networks

telecom | 09/02/2003 4:00 am EDT

 Communications networks responded favourably during recent emergencies in British Columbia and Ontario. While some subscribers were temporarily inconvenienced, they did not have to wait long for service to return. Telus Corp. found itself involved with the crises in both provinces. It operates as an ILEC in B.C.,...

CATA takes over Smart Toronto as questions linger about financing

telecom | 09/02/2003 4:00 am EDT

 The lobby group representing many of Canada’s high-tech companies has swallowed up one of Toronto’s technology organizations, leaving several new media producers wondering if their interests can truly be protected under the new arrangement. The Smart Toronto Technology Alliance (STTA) is becoming a division within...

Broadband market grows but ISPs must look beyond price, Yankee Group warns

telecom | 09/02/2003 4:00 am EDT

 Internet service providers can’t continue to compete on price alone, and they must find ways to offer more services to attract and keep subscribers, according to a new study by the Yankee Group. These are two warnings the research and consulting firm makes in its latest report despite noting that Canadian...

Onlinetel raises a glass to success of first year of beer-sponsored telecom service

telecom | 09/02/2003 4:00 am EDT

 An Ontario-based long-distance telephone reseller is brewing up healthy profits by aligning itself with one of the country’s major beer companies. Onlinetel Corp. hopes to parlay a successful relationship with Labatt Breweries into greater subscriber growth for its other telecom services. The Kitchener-based...

NL Short Takes

telecom | 09/02/2003 4:00 am EDT

Liberal MP promises to introduce anti-spam lawOntario MP Dan McTeague says he will introduce a private member’s bill establishing a Do Not Spam list. The three-term Liberal MP would ban repeat bulk advertisements unless users gave their consent.   CRTC gives interim approval to ILEC price cap ratesThe CRTC has issued interim approval to the major ILECs for their rates arising out of Telecom Decision 2002-34,...

NL People

telecom | 09/02/2003 4:00 am EDT

The CRTC has named Philippe Tousignant as manager of media and parliamentary relations at its communications branch. He had been manager of consumer policy in the telecom directorate of the commission, where he has worked since leaving the Action Réseau Consommateur in September 2000.  Dawn Tinling has been appointed VP communications for Axia NetMedia Corp. Before joining the Calgary company, she was manager of...

FTC chair doubts that Do Not Spam legislation will be panacea

telecom | 09/02/2003 4:00 am EDT

 At the recent Cyberspace and the American Dream summit in Aspen CO, Federal Trade Commission chair Timothy Muris spoke about the role his agency is playing in protecting consumers in a high-tech world. His section on anti-spam efforts appears here, edited from a speech that appears in full at...

NL Editorial

telecom | 09/02/2003 4:00 am EDT

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports. The kids are back at school, the leaves are changing colour and the Blue Jays and Expos drift further from playoff contention. Obviously it is autumn in Canada. But one season remains constant in the telecom world. It is litigation season.   Last month, the Federal Communications Commission south of the border issued a phone book-sized set of local telecom rules. One New York City attorney gleefully chortled, "My children will go to college on this stuff. This is a lawyer’s dream." Surveying the Canadian landscape, one suspects there won’t be many children of Canuck legalists applying for student loans. The docket is filled with cases, large and small, that should intrigue telecom observers. The most anxiously awaited is probably the Ledcor case. The CRTC originally ruled on the matter more than two years ago (NL, Jan. 29/01). But the Federation of Canadian Municipalities is seeking...

RoW Update

telecom | 09/02/2003 4:00 am EDT

Sprint Canada unveils wireless bundle priceSprint Canada Inc. has priced its soon-to-be-launched local residential wireless-wireline bundle at $44.95/month, the company announced in an August 31 news release. Earlier this summer, the company said that it was working with struggling wireless operator Microcell Telecommunications Inc. to offer a wireless-wireline local residential service bundle (RoW, July 9/03). Details...

RoW Editorial

telecom | 08/26/2003 4:00 am EDT

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports. Canada’s wireless operators’ decision to work together to develop interconnection, roaming and billing standards between each other’s hotspots and digital cellular networks shows they are preparing for widespread adoption of Wi-Fi. While carriers don’t yet appear to know how they can make money...

Control of Look in question after Craig files suit against wireless ISP and cable provider

telecom | 08/26/2003 4:00 am EDT

Craig Wireless International Inc. has taken its fight for control of Look Communications Inc. to the courts, filing a statement of claim last month against the company seeking to undo transactions made in the months leading up to and during Look’s annual general meeting (AGM) on May 14. Craig...

CRTC opts for soft deadlines in deployment of E911 by wireless operators

telecom | 08/26/2003 4:00 am EDT

The CRTC has asked Canada’s mobile wireless operators to make their best effort to implement wireless enhanced 911 (E911) service within six to 12 months, but stopped short of imposing firm deadlines for the deployment of the service in Telecom Decision 2003-53. In the August 12 decision, the commission ruled that all...

Challenges facing the Canadian wireless industry: a Q&A Part III

telecom | 08/26/2003 4:00 am EDT

Canada’s mobile wireless industry will face a number of challenges in the coming years as it struggles to maximize investment in infrastructure to generate profitable operations. In the previous issue of Report on Wireless, the heads of Canada’s national mobile wireless operators talked about the evolution of the competitive landscape, regulatory issues and third-generation wireless. In the third and final installment of this comprehensive question and answer, the CEOs of Microcell...

Wi-Fi represents significant opportunity for bundling of services: SeaBoard report

telecom | 08/26/2003 4:00 am EDT

Bell Canada is riding the potentially lucrative crest of ubiquitous Wi-Fi access as the technology represents a substantial opportunity for ILECs to offer new bundling packages and a new "amenity" to buildings and enterprises, concludes a new report from the SeaBoard Group. The research firm points to offerings...

RoW Short Takes

telecom | 08/26/2003 4:00 am EDT

Tower review begins in Sept. The national antenna tower consultation will begin next month with the launch of an e-town hall at http://www.antennareview.ca/. The site states that the public launch will be September 3. David Townsend, a law professor at the University of New Brunswick and chair of the National Antenna Tower Review Committee, had previously told Report on Wireless that the national online consultation, an...

RoW People

telecom | 08/26/2003 4:00 am EDT

Carolyn Meacher has been appointed VP marketing of Rogers Wireless Inc. In this role, Meacher will be responsible for the marketing communications team and will oversee development of all advertising, media, packaging, retail collateral, point-of-purchase and sponsorships for the company. Most recently, she was senior VP and managing partner of BBDO Canada. Prior to joining BBDO, Meacher spent three years at Key...

RoW Intrnational Short Takes

telecom | 08/26/2003 4:00 am EDT

Yankee Group shows landline replacement significant A new Yankee Group survey shows that a significant number of 18-24 year olds have or will replace their landline phone with wireless devices in the near future. The research firm’s 2003 Mobile User Young Adult Survey shows that of all those who have cut the cords on landline phones, 12% are from the...

NL Update

telecom | 08/25/2003 4:00 am EDT

360 purchases American utel360networks has bought the fibre assets of bankrupt American utel Touch America Inc. The failed company’s customer base is being sold to Buyers United Inc. The moves came just as the CBS-TV program 60 Minutes reran its segment on the demise of Touch America.Landlords seek leave to appeal CRTC MUD decisionThe Canadian Institute of Public and Private Real Estate Companies has joined with the...

Public safety given welcome assurances of additional spectrum in 700 MHz band

telecom | 07/31/2003 4:00 am EDT

Public safety operators and associated stakeholders can now rest assured that they will have spectrum dedicated for their use in the future, but they shouldn’t expect to get their hands on the airwaves anytime soon. Industry Canada expects to issue a policy paper soon concerning analog TV channels 63 and 68, on which it...

Consumer bill of rights gets thumbs up from majority of Canadians: Decima poll

telecom | 07/31/2003 4:00 am EDT

A majority of Canadians endorse the establishment of a consumer bill of rights (CBOR) even though they believe disputes with their telephone company are settled fairly. A July 2003 survey conducted by Decima Research Inc. for Decima Publishing Inc. asked more than 2,000 Canadians about their relationship with their...

Challenges facing the Canadian wireless industry: a Q&A Part II

telecom | 07/31/2003 4:00 am EDT

Canada’s national mobile wireless operators face a number of challenges over the next few years. In the previous issue of Report on Wireless the heads of the operators talked about a number of...

Globalstar Canada slashes long-distance/ roaming rates, aims for greater penetration

telecom | 07/31/2003 4:00 am EDT

Globalstar Canada has followed the lead of its parent company and slashed rates on long-distance airtime and roaming rates in a bid to become more competitive in the international market. The international rate cuts follow a decision last year to decrease rates on domestic plans (RoW, Sept. 3/02). Steven Bell, the new GM of Globalstar Canada, tells Report on Wireless that the company can now be more aggressive in its battle against the competition internationally. "Our strategy had always been to concentrate and really own the domestic markets and that was really driven by the fact that we were so uncompetitive in the international market due to the prices we had to pay the various...

RoW Short Takes

telecom | 07/31/2003 4:00 am EDT

Nortel Networks receives order from Western WirelessNortel Networks Corp. has received a US$90-million order from Western Wireless to deploy wireless infrastructure equipment to expand the operator’s coverage across the western United States. Under this agreement, Nortel will deploy CDMA-based equipment. This is the second contract Nortel has signed with Western Wireless since May when the companies agreed that Nortel...

RoW People

telecom | 07/31/2003 4:00 am EDT

Peter White is leaving Globalstar Canada as GM and is being replaced by Steven Bell, former director of sales. White, currently assisting in the transition, will pursue other business opportunities. SkyWave Mobile Communications has appointed Doug Reid as president and CEO. The satellite telematics provider began looking for a new chief executive last year. Reid was formerly VP for the surveying and engineering...

RoW International Short Takes

telecom | 07/31/2003 4:00 am EDT

Comarco releases new cell phone test systemComarco Wireless Test Solutions has introduced a new mobile wireless test system that it claims is the industry’s first dual calling-module system. The Seven.Five Duo can easily switch from evaluating network performance in an in-building or pedestrian environment to drive testing of cellular...

RoW Editorial

telecom | 07/31/2003 4:00 am EDT

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports. Would it be a good idea for Industry Canada to publicly announce how much money it collects from the mobile wireless industry? That question was put to the heads of Canada’s four national mobile wireless operators in a wide-ranging Q&A with Report on Wireless (see story in this issue). For...

Public opinion ahead of regulator as telemarketing decision still in limbo

telecom | 07/28/2003 4:00 am EDT

 The CRTC continues to drag its feet on setting rules and regulations that would govern the telemarketing industry even as the public clamours for action on the issue, says the Canadian Marketing Association (CMA). More than two years after the commission began studying the contentious issue, it can’t provide any concrete information as to when a ruling might be issued. "We expect to issue something before the end of the year," Denis Carmel, director general of communications for the CRTC, writes in an email to Network Letter. "Sorry, I cannot narrow it down more." The commission kicked off the process in March 2001 when it issued Public Notice 2001-34,...

Majority of Canadians in favour of consumer bill of rights: Decima poll

telecom | 07/28/2003 4:00 am EDT

 Even though a vast majority of Canadians believe their disputes with telcos are settled fairly, they still endorse the concept of a consumer bill of rights (CBOR), according to a new poll. A July 2003 survey commissioned by Decima Publishing Inc. and conducted by Decima Research Inc. polled more than 2,000 Canadians...

Fibre-to-the-home on the horizon but still cost prohibitive for major rollout

telecom | 07/28/2003 4:00 am EDT

 The concept of providing fibre to every home is still an ideal in the telecom world, but costs still have to come down substantially before it is a viable project. The development of alternative technologies, such as power line communications, may mean that deployment options have to be scaled back. Many smaller...

Attempts to change LCA rules just cash grab by resellers, telcos and cities allege

telecom | 07/28/2003 4:00 am EDT

 A battle between incumbent telcos and two resellers is brewing over newly established rules pertaining to local calling areas (LCA) that allow the ILECs to recoup revenue from lost long distance revenue. The two resellers say they should be afforded the same benefits as incumbents, but the ILECs charge these smaller...

Bison buyers boost broadband brand as Manitoba’s Morty becomes a star

telecom | 07/28/2003 4:00 am EDT

 Manitoba Telecom Services Inc.’s mascot, Morty the Bison, has been so popular on the prairies that the provincial telco is using it to exploit secondary sales opportunities and branch out into other products. While other telcos are content to sell voice, data and wireless services to their customers, MTS is...

NL Short Takes

telecom | 07/28/2003 4:00 am EDT

Readers split on proposal for Communications Department Respondents to the most recent Decima Publishing Reader Poll are divided on the question of re-establishing a federal Department of Communications. Nearly 41% rejected the idea, with an identical number endorsing the proposal. Another 19% were undecided. Allstream and AT&T sign network support agreementAllstream Corp. has signed a deal with AT&T Corp. of...

NL People

telecom | 07/28/2003 4:00 am EDT

Leitch Technology Corp. has named Stan Kabala as interim president/CEO. The Rogers Communications and Unitel veteran replaces Margaret Craig, who has resigned. The Toronto firm has also appointed Salil Munjal as COO. He had been VP corporate development and once served as general counsel for the company.  Kamil Khan is the new vice-chair at Datex. He spent 30 years at Bell Canada, serving as CIO for a decade and as...

Consumers weigh in on consumer bill of rights as letters flow to CRTC

telecom | 07/28/2003 4:00 am EDT

The CRTC is currently asking Canadians for their input on a consumer bill of rights (NL, July 2/03). Although the commission wants to discuss rights that already exist, many people have other suggestions. Some are constructive, some don’t understand the process and some are just plain weird. A few take the same approach...

NL Editorial

telecom | 07/28/2003 4:00 am EDT

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports. It is obvious that the public is enthusiastic about establishing a national Do Not Call list. Canadians see how eagerly Americans have flocked to their version of the roster and want to see it duplicated. Many probably do not even know that the proposals put forth by the Canadian Marketing Association...

RoW Update

telecom | 07/28/2003 4:00 am EDT

Industry Canada overhauls spectrum web siteIndustry Canada has redesigned its spectrum management and telecommunications web site. To view the new streamlined and cleaner look of the Canadian government’s primary wireless telecommunication portal, click here.Canada and U.S. sign WCS spectrum sharing arrangementIndustry Canada has cleared another barrier to licensing wireless communications service (WCS) spectrum in the 2305-2320 MHz and 2345-2360 MHz frequency band pairings. Late last week, the Federal Communications Commission announced that it had reached an agreement with Industry Canada on the principles and mechanisms for WCS spectrum sharing along the Canada-U.S. border. Industry Canada began looking at licensing the WCS band and the 3500 MHz band two years ago when it released DGRB-006-01 (RoW, Aug. 21/01). Earlier this year, Fern Léger, director of spectrum and radio services at Industry Canada, told Report on Wireless that the process governing the auction of the 3500 MHz band would be taking another step forward this...

Special event broadcaster gets CRTC go ahead to offer service via mobile devices

telecom | 07/22/2003 4:00 am EDT

Montreal-based World Audio-Visual Entertainment Systems Inc. (W.A.V.E.S.) has received the green light from the CRTC to broadcast special sporting and cultural events to spectators on specialized mobile devices, something the company has already been doing for nearly a year under special permission from the commission....

Craig Wireless to launch next-gen wireless cable gear for Vancouver customers

telecom | 07/22/2003 4:00 am EDT

Craig Wireless BC Inc. is set to deploy new next-generation fixed wireless gear to eliminate line-of-sight problems associated with wireless cable and wireless Internet access in multipoint distribution service (MDS) spectrum. Next month, the company will begin deploying equipment from U.S.-based IP Wireless Inc. Boyd...

RoW Short Takes

telecom | 07/22/2003 4:00 am EDT

Decima Reader Poll, May/June 2003The debate over cuts to Canadian television funding, lifting foreign ownership limits on telcos, cablecos and broadcasters, as well as rifts over Copyright Act changes has many ICT industry leaders and even MPs discussing a return to the days of the Department of Communications (DoC). Should the government combine the functions of Canadian Heritage and Industry Canada into a resurrected...

RoW People

telecom | 07/22/2003 4:00 am EDT

Kamil Khan has been appointed as vice-chair of the board of directors of Datex providing strategic advice for new partnership opportunities for the company. Khan will help the company as it prepares for growth and new business opportunities. He brings significant experience to the table having served for 30 years with Bell Canada. During his tenure there he held the CIO position for more than 10 years. In 1993, he was...

RoW International Short Takes

telecom | 07/22/2003 4:00 am EDT

Commerce Department proposes agency combinationThe secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Don Evans, has asked Congress to pass a bill that would allow for the combination of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration with the Technology Administration and the electronic commerce functions of the International Trade Administration. Evans says this would allow for the better coordination of spectrum and telecom policies in general. "This administration understands that our global marketplace has changed and that telecom and technology operate together, not separately. We need to adjust our thinking and adjust our structure to keep pace with the world, our economy and innovation," he said in a statement. EU rules favourably on 3G network sharingThe European Commission (EU) has ruled favourably on 3G network sharing between T-Mobile and O2 in Germany, confirming that site sharing in itself does not raise concerns over competition. The EU’s investigation also proved that national roaming agreements...

RoW Editorial

telecom | 07/22/2003 4:00 am EDT

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports. As with any emerging business proposition it’s always difficult to determine whether it will succeed or fail and Wi-Fi is no different. Even the once thought to be solid business case of the telecom industry took a dramatic fall a couple of years ago. This past experience should only serve to...

Industry Canada launches broadcast satellite licensing process

telecom | 07/22/2003 4:00 am EDT

Industry Canada is under the gun to license an additional 14 new satellites capable of offering telecommunications and broadcasting services to Canada and beyond. The department failed to license several satellites under a previous process launched last yer (RoW, June 11/02). In DGRB-002-03, the department invites...

Spotnik Mobile to deploy 500 hotspots by year-end, top $3.5 million in revenue

telecom | 07/22/2003 4:00 am EDT

 Emerging Wi-Fi operator Spotnik Mobile plans to deploy approximately 500 hotspots by the end of the year with a substantial portion of those going in Timothy’s World Coffee locations across Canada. The two companies announced an agreement on July 18 to begin deploying next month hotspots in all 134 Timothy’s...

Challenges facing the Canadian wireless industry: a Q&A Part I

telecom | 07/22/2003 4:00 am EDT

Canada’s wireless industry is faced with a number of key challenges as it transitions from a phase of rapid subscriber growth to one marked by a greater focus on achieving profitability. Not only...

NL Update

telecom | 07/21/2003 4:00 am EDT

Call-Net wins high-speed Internet fightIn Telecom Decision 2003-49, the CRTC has ordered Aliant Telecom Inc., Bell Canada, SaskTel and Telus Communications Inc. to provide DSL service to customers who may subscribe to a CLEC’s local service. The ruling was in response to a Part VII application filed by Call-Net Enterprises Inc. (NL, Jan. 28/03). The commission has directed MTS Communications Inc. to show why it should...

Bundling fight heats up as Rogers and EastLink file complaints to CRTC

telecom | 07/15/2003 4:00 am EDT

 The battle over bundling has ratcheted up a notch as Rogers Communications Inc. filed a Part VII application with the CRTC late last month asking it to prohibit the packaging of local telephony with other services offered by ILECs. At the same time, a regional cableco has accused its rival incumbent of not adhering to...

Bell Canada’s meteoric rise in R&D spending not as significant as advertised

telecom | 07/15/2003 4:00 am EDT

 The spectacular rise in Bell Canada’s ranking in a list of Canadian corporate R&D spenders in 2002 is not quite as momentous as it appears at first blush, the telco says. The boost from 119th place in 2001 to sixth last year is attributable to changes in how the spending was calculated. "The...

Major Canadian political parties still receiving big bucks from telcos

telecom | 07/15/2003 4:00 am EDT

 Canada’s five major political parties are still able to rely on the telecom and communications sectors to help fund them. The most recent Political Party Financial Transactions Return just released by Elections Canada shows that telcos and other companies continue to be key contributors to the political...

Ottawa company accuses ICANN of seeking monopoly on discarded domain names

telecom | 07/15/2003 4:00 am EDT

 An Ottawa Internet company is accusing the global governing body for the web of seeking to create a monopoly on the sale of deleted domain names. If the practice is not halted, Pool.com alleges, consumers will be forced to pay inflated prices to obtain names that others have failed to renew. Earlier this month, the firm, a subsidiary of Ottawa’s Momentous.ca, launched a lawsuit against the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the body that oversees the accreditation of registrars within the Internet registry system. The system has two components: a registry run by Network Solutions Inc. (NSI) that issues domain names exclusively, and several commercial...

Newfoundland wants province-wide 911 after call redirected to Nova Scotia

telecom | 07/15/2003 4:00 am EDT

 A recent misdirected 911 call has highlighted the need to expand the emergency number to remote sections of the country. But one long-time advocate for the service wonders if the political will exists to provide the necessary funding. Late last month, a garage caught fire in the Newfoundland community of Cupids,...

NL Short Takes

telecom | 07/15/2003 4:00 am EDT

CRTC says lite Internet subject to resale rulesIn Telecom Decision 2003-47, the CRTC ruled that third-party access rules apply to high-speed Internet services with slower speeds. The ruling is a victory for the Independent Members of the Canadian Association of Internet Providers (IMCAIP), which had filed a complaint about the resale of lite Internet products (NL, Nov. 19/02).   Next wave of broadband business...

NL People

telecom | 07/15/2003 4:00 am EDT

Eugène Marquis has resigned as president/CEO of Vidéotron Télécom ltée. A statement from parent company Quebecor hinted that disputes between it and minority shareholder the Carlyle Group contributed to Marquis’ departure.  Karen Sheriff has assembled the team that will be working for her as president of Bell Canada’s small and medium business unit (NL, May 20/03). Kris Emmet, a 13-year veteran of Bell, is...

NL International News Briefs

telecom | 07/15/2003 4:00 am EDT

Verizon ordered to rehire 2,300 laid-off workersVerizon Communications Inc. has been told to reinstate 2,300 workers who had been laid off last December. The arbitrator also ordered the American telco to pay the employees seven months’ worth of back pay.   British regulator introduces new rules for network carriersBritish telecom regulator...

NL Editorial

telecom | 07/15/2003 4:00 am EDT

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports. The fella that covers television for The Globe and Mail put it best, albeit in another context. "One gang of moneygrubbers is accusing another gang of moneygrubbers of being in it for the money." John Doyle was referring to the move by the Canadian Cable Television Association to carry American specialty TV channels, much to the chagrin of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters. But the notion applies equally well to the bundling dispute before the CRTC.   Those of us who subscribe to Rogers Cable Inc. service are used to hearing from telemarketers beseeching us to get Rogers wireless phones and opening our bills to find special offers on video rentals at Rogers stores and magazine subscriptions from Rogers Publishing. Yet the cableco thinks the ILECs shouldn’t be able to bundle their services. It points to the supposed level of competition available in the television sector. But the...

RoW Update

telecom | 07/14/2003 4:00 am EDT

W.A.V.E.S. gets green light to go ahead with event broadcasting in CanadaAll the regulatory pieces are now in place for World Audio Visual Entertainment Services (W.A.V.E.S.) Inc. to put the peddle to the metal and speed ahead with the launch of its business plan in Canada. Last week, the CRTC issued a blanket licence exemption to companies like W.A.V.E.S. to operate a low-power special event TV service.The company had...

RoW International Short Takes

telecom | 07/09/2003 4:00 am EDT

More than half of Italian school children use wirelessA survey conducted by the University of Trieste discovered that 56% of Italian school children aged 9 and 10 owned wireless phones. A total of 68% reported they never turn their phones off, 80% kept them on during church and 86% kept them on in class. American ISP turns its customers into Wi-Fi...

RoW Editorial

telecom | 07/09/2003 4:00 am EDT

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports. Since Microcell Telecommunications Inc. and Sprint Canada announced their co-marketing agreement last month, financial analysts have been coy with their opinions as to the potential benefits of the deal. Several analysts began covering Microcell again after it emerged from bankruptcy protection in May,...

Moratorium on MDS spectrum licensing issued, more on the horizon

telecom | 07/09/2003 4:00 am EDT

Industry Canada has halted the licensing of spectrum in two major bands as it prepares to undertake a comprehensive review of under-used and unused blocks of airwaves. Late last month, the department sent a letter to the CRTC informing the commission that it had imposed a moratorium on multipoint distribution services (MDS)...

Bell Mobility Wi-Fi pilot project still offering free service

telecom | 07/09/2003 4:00 am EDT

Bell Canada continues to treat free access to its BellZone Wi-Fi hotspots for consumers and business professionals as a market experiment and will continue to offer free access until the end of this year.  In a wide-ranging interview with RoW, Bell Mobility president Michael Neuman admits that the service is still free...

BOLDstreet dares to be different in marketing and business strategy

telecom | 07/09/2003 4:00 am EDT

The head of one-year-old BOLDstreet Wireless Internet says using a direct sales force approach to build out a national Wi-Fi network makes bad business sense and could ultimately lead to the failure of some of the industry’s budding players. The Ottawa-based firm has opted for a channel sales model and has convinced some...

Wireless City deployment in Calgary shows off different business model

telecom | 07/09/2003 4:00 am EDT

Wireless Internet service providers (WISPs) in Calgary have a head start on their colleagues in other municipalities after Calgary Technologies Inc. lit up four Wi-Fi hotspots last month on a not-for-profit basis. The hotspots are part of the Wireless City initiative. Project director Richard Belzil says publicly owned...

Allstream not interested in buying wireless providers, may deploy fixed wireless

telecom | 07/09/2003 4:00 am EDT

The rebirth of AT&T Canada as Allstream Corp. may feature some fixed wireless equipment to deliver service, but the company has no plans to enter the commercial wireless market. Vice-chair and CEO John McLennan told a news conference late last month that the rechristened telco will concentrate on the large enterprise...

Landmark decisions reached at WRC-03

telecom | 07/09/2003 4:00 am EDT

The International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-03) concluded on July 4 after four weeks of negotiations with a number of landmark decisions being reached. Of the more significant developments, there were additional spectrum allocations made for mobile wireless access (WAS), a path was carved out for the deployment of public protection and disaster relief (PPDR) communication systems, and agreement reached to look beyond IMT-2000 or 3G. On the wireless access front, the ITU member states established new allocations for mobile WAS, including radio local area networks (LANs), in the 5150-5350 MHz and 5470-5725 MHz bands. Portions of the 5 GHz band are already being used to provide wireless access in a fixed environment in Canada and the...