NL People

telecom | 03/27/2000 5:00 am EST

AT&T Canada Inc has added a couple of prominent names to its staff. Mark Ethier, the new senior VP of business sales, joins the telco from Telus, where he was senior VP of sales. Emilio Taddio, most recently with Destia Communications and before that Fonorola, is the new senior VP wholesale.  There's beenmuch movement in the Bell boardrooms these days. Pierre Blouin is the new president of Bell Mobility. He...

Is bigger better?Jean Monty downplays fears that consolidation in cable and telecom will hurt consumers

telecom | 03/27/2000 5:00 am EST

Competition and consolidation in Canada's service sector appears to be the next major battleground for communications companies. Jean Monty, BCE Inc's president/CEO, drove this point home in a March 23 speech before the Canadian Club in Ottawa. Monty's message was a familiar one:...

NL Editorial

telecom | 03/27/2000 5:00 am EST

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports. Canada's capital has discovered that having a chronic skills shortage can produce some innovative and long lasting spin-off benefits. Rather than look to government to provide a unilateral solution, industry, academe and government have pooled their experience and vision to create the National...

NL Short Takes

telecom | 03/27/2000 5:00 am EST

Telus goes for poison pill just in case of takeoversBCT.Telus Communications Inc of Burnaby BC has adopted a poison pill for shareholders, even though the company admits it is not expecting a takeover bid. The board has already approved the plan. The proposal must still get regulatory approval and be voted on by shareholders at the May 3 annual meeting. 360networks becomes popular in the marketplaceVancouver-based...

Rights of way battles continue on two fronts; CRTC likely to arbitrate a settlement

telecom | 03/27/2000 5:00 am EST

Two of Canada's largest cities are digging in their heels to battle BCT.Telus Communications Inc, other telecom carriers and, if necessary, the CRTC over their right to charge market rents for access to public rights of way. The disputes - which are now before the commission as part of two separate proceedings - escalated in February when the City of Vancouver notified Telus that it will be canceling the telco's right of way and access agreements at the end of this year. The city wants to impose rates that will reflect costs and land value. Telus questions whether the municipality has the legal jurisdiction to do so. The issue will probably end up before the CRTC, which is...

Vancouver expected to follow Toronto’s lead in race to find more phone numbers

telecom | 03/27/2000 5:00 am EST

The group tasked with solving Canada's telephone number shortage wants Vancouver residents to begin using 10-digit dialing for local calls within two years. Public opposition to the recommendation is already mounting, but as the CRTC Industry Steering Committee (CISC) points out, the alternatives are even less...

Bell free to charge 75 cents for DA calls; CRTC turns down review and vary appeal

telecom | 03/27/2000 5:00 am EST

The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) isn't holding out hope that an appeal to the federal Cabinet would succeed in overturning a March 15 CRTC decision that upholds Bell Canada's right to charge for all directory assistance numbers, even when a number can't be found. When asked how her group may respond to...

Bell Canada asks FCC to be removed from American list of dominant carriers

telecom | 03/08/2000 5:00 am EST

Bell Canada may control most of the local and long distance service in six provinces but it still wants the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in Washington to take it off the list of foreign dominant carriers. In a petition filed in November, the huge Canadian telco maintained that "Bell Canada does not possess...

CRTC turning down review and vary appeal; Bell free to charge 75 cents for DA calls

telecom | 03/08/2000 5:00 am EST

The CRTC will be denying, by the narrowest margin possible, a review and vary application regarding Bell Canada's plan to charge for local and long distance directory assistance even if no information is provided. The regulator has yet to release its decision publicly, but Network Letter has learned that the commission...

Leading industry thinkers challenge gov’t’s foreign ownership limits

telecom | 03/08/2000 5:00 am EST

Canada's top telecom lawyers and academics say it's time the federal government dropped its longstanding restrictions against foreign ownership of telecommunications companies, arguing that even the government itself cannot produce any rationale for their continued existence. Underlying their concern is a fear that...

CRTC reorganizes telecom branch; streamlines structure for efficiency

telecom | 03/08/2000 5:00 am EST

The CRTC has reorganized its telecom directorate into six core groups and one converged section. The federal regulator expects the new system, which went into effect on February 1, will be more efficient as well as streamlined. Reporting to the executive director will be sections on Financial Analysis; Tariff and...

U of T to establish $20-million law centre for telecom, e-comm and IT

telecom | 03/08/2000 5:00 am EST

Ontario's six law schools are receiving $20 million and an influx of talent to improve the quality of research and education for law students who want to practice in the burgeoning fields of high tech and intellectual property. The University of Toronto's law faculty - which is taking the lead on this initiative -...

NL People

telecom | 03/08/2000 5:00 am EST

AT&T Canada Inc has added a couple of prominent names to its staff. Mark Ethier, the new senior VP of business sales, joins the telco from Telus, where he was senior VP of sales. Emilio Taddio, most recently with Destia Communications and before that Fonorola, is the new senior VP wholesale.  There's beenmuch movement in the Bell boardrooms these days. Pierre Blouin is the new president of Bell Mobility. He...

NL Short Takes

telecom | 03/08/2000 5:00 am EST

Newtel spends $40 million to upgrade in rural areasNewTel Communications is investing $40 million to upgrade technology in 310 Newfoundland communities. The company's network engineering and operations team will provide 112 of the firm's exchanges with digital systems connected to NewTel's fibre optic network. NewTel plans to upgrade 71 exchanges serving 228 communities this year, with another 41 upgrades in 82 communities being performed next year. The telco expects the improvements will increase network capacity, eliminate network congestion, and allow the provision of new services, including local dial access to the Internet. The new program, called Network 2000, is part of an ongoing project by NewTel, a subsidiary of Aliant. Last year NewTel invested $6.5 million in its modernization plan, upgrading the network in 19 locations. The telco has also been active in Labrador, implementing the first part of a $20 million digital telecom network link last year.  Dolphin pumps cash into Norigen, revealing Canadian...

NL Editorial

telecom | 03/08/2000 5:00 am EST

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports.It appears that after 120 years, the lion is finally awakening. And that's making a lot of business leaders and senior government officials more than a little anxious.Since Network Letter last published (Dec. 20/99), Bell Canada has finalized its majority purchase of Aliant Inc (Jan. 24/00), announced...