Quebec seeks to bolster Internet penetration with tax credits and subsidies

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

The Quebec government is offering a $15-million incentive package for companies that bring fibre and coaxial cable networks to less populated regions of the province. Announced as part of its March 14 budget, Quebec is committing a total of $340 million to improve the province's high-speed networks, and to get families...

Calling Canada costs US consumers less

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

WTO agreement leads to lower LD rates on largest intern'l traffic routes, FCC report.Rates for US consumers for international service and international settlement rates have both declined since the adoption of the World Trade Organiza-tion (WTO) agreement, according to a study by the Federal Communications Commi-ssion in the United States. The...

Canadians not clamouring for faster speed

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

Nearly 80% of Canadian ISP customers are happy with their service, according to a Decima Research Inc poll conducted for Decima Publishing Inc. The telephone survey of 926 Canadians found 39% are "satisfied" with their ISP, while 40% said they are "very satisfied". Similar figures — 44% "satisfied" and 39% "very...

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: Canada needs large, consolidated industries to compete internationally, and to accomplish that, he said Canadian companies need to benefit from economies of scale. He suggested that current regulations prevent service industries from achieving that scale. "The service sector is the bellwether sector," he said. "As it fares, so will the nation's economy. Our service sector must...

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...

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...

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...

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 has voted 7-6 against an appeal by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) to review and vary Telecom Order 99-741, which allows Bell to begin charging 75 cents every time it responds to a DA query. The PIAC is not sure what it will do when the CRTC dismisses its application. Appeals to the Federal Court of Canada on legal grounds -- or to the cabinet on policy...

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...