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TELECOM UPDATE
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published weekly by Angus TeleManagement Group
www.angustel.ca
Number 468: February 11, 2005
Publication of Telecom Update is made possible by generous
financial support from:
** ALLSTREAM: www.allstream.com
** AVAYA: www.avaya.ca/en/
** BELL CANADA: www.bell.ca
** CISCO SYSTEMS CANADA: www.cisco.com/ca/
** ERICSSON: www.ericsson.ca
** MITEL NETWORKS: www.mitel.com/
** SPRINT CANADA: www.sprint.ca
** UTC CANADA: www.canada.utc.org/
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IN THIS ISSUE:
** European Cellular Penetration Hits 80%
** CRTC VoIP Report Expected in Q2 2005
** Sprint U.S. to Phase Out iDEN
** Bell Wants Higher Business Rates
** Nortel and RIM Plan VoIP on BlackBerry Platform
** CUPE Signs Contract with Telus Quebec
** AT&T Settles Brand-Name Fight with Vonage
** FCC Outlaws Cellular Spam
** MTS to Provide DSL to CLEC-Served Loops
** CRTC Amends Data Collection Process
** Aliant Launches 10-Megabit Internet
** Cisco Sales Growth Slows
** Cellphone Users Drive Like Old Folks
** Mark Your Calendars Now
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EUROPEAN CELLULAR PENETRATION HITS 80%: Eurostat, an agency of the
European Union, reports that Europe now has 80 mobile telephone
subscriptions for every 100 inhabitants. Cellular penetration by
country ranges from 45.5% (Poland) to 120.2% (Luxembourg).
http://epp.eurostat.cec.eu.int
** A new study by Merrill Lynch finds that the top six
handset makers sold 159 million handsets worldwide in the
fourth quarter of 2004, a remarkable 19.6% increase over
the third quarter.
CRTC VoIP REPORT EXPECTED IN Q2 2005: CRTC Chair Charles Dalfen says
that the Commission now expects to release its VoIP decision in the
second quarter of this year.
SPRINT U.S. TO PHASE OUT iDEN: Last year U.S. wireless carrier Sprint
bought Nextel, a competitor whose service uses Motorola's iDEN
technology. Yesterday, Sprint executives told financial analysts they
will migrate all of the iDEN customers to CDMA by 2008. Motorola says
it remains committed to iDEN, but the loss of its largest customer
raises concerns about the technology's long-term viability.
** In Canada, iDEN is used by Telus Mobility for its Mike
service.
BELL WANTS HIGHER BUSINESS RATES: Bell Canada has asked the CRTC to
approve an increase of 80 cents/month for individual business lines,
including those on one- and three-year contracts, in most of Ontario
and Quebec.
www.crtc.gc.ca/8740/eng/2005/B2.htm#200501207
NORTEL AND RIM PLAN VoIP ON BLACKBERRY PLATFORM: Nortel Networks and
Research In Motion are collaborating to allow users of RIM's
BlackBerry 7270 to make and receive IP telephony calls and access
multimedia features over a wireless LAN connected to Nortel's MCS
5100. They previewed the technology at the VoiceCon conference in
Florida this week.
** RIM is also working to link the BlackBerry handhelds to
3Com IP-PBXs.
CUPE SIGNS CONTRACT WITH TELUS QUEBEC: 81% of the 540 first- line
managers at Telus Quebec represented by CUPE have voted to accept a
new three-year contract. The deal provides for wage increases ranging
from 4.55% to 20.54%, coupled with a work-week increase to 37.5 from
35 hours, beginning in September.
AT&T SETTLES BRAND-NAME FIGHT WITH VONAGE: AT&T has settled a dispute
with Vonage, which claimed that the name of AT&T's VoIP phone service
(CallVantage) would confuse consumers and weaken Vonage's
trademark. (See Telecom Update #427) AT&T has agreed always to call
its service "AT&T CallVantage."
FCC OUTLAWS CELLULAR SPAM: The U.S. Federal Communications Commission
has posted a list of 189 wireless e-mail domains to which it will be
illegal to send unsolicited commercial messages after March 9. No
comparable prohibition exists in Canada.
** A study released February 9 by the University of St.
Gallen, Switzerland, found that eight out of ten mobile
users worldwide have received spam messages. The study
surveyed users in eight countries, including Canada.
MTS TO PROVIDE DSL TO CLEC-SERVED LOOPS: MTS Allstream says it can
now, through a manual process, provide retail DSL Internet service to
Manitoba residential and business customers whose local telephone
service is provided by a CLEC using local loops leased from MTS
Allstream.
www.crtc.gc.ca/8740/eng/2005/M59.htm#200501058
CRTC AMENDS DATA COLLECTION PROCESS: The CRTC has announced revised
procedures for its 2005 data collection and registration process for
telecom carriers and service providers. Providers who fail to register
could find themselves unable to obtain numbers, interconnection
agreements, or advantageous competitor rates on network services.
www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Circulars/2005/ct2005-4.htm
ALIANT LAUNCHES 10-MEGABIT INTERNET: Aliant has begun Internet service
at 10 Mbps and will have 30 Halifax apartment buildings connected by
July. The telco is also conducting a trial in Bedford, Nova Scotia of
Fibre to the Home at 30 Mbps.
CISCO SALES GROWTH SLOWS: Cisco System's sales for the three months
ended January 29 were US$6.1 billion, an increase of 12.3% from a year
earlier, but up only 1.5% from the previous quarter. Profits of $1.4
billion were double last year's level and the same as the previous
quarter. During the quarter, Cisco sold its four millionth IP phone.
CELLPHONE USERS DRIVE LIKE OLD FOLKS: A study published in the winter
edition of the journal Human Factors concludes that young drivers
talking on cellphones "drive like elderly people" -- they move and react
more slowly, increasing their risk of accidents. "If you put a
20-year-old driver behind the wheel with a cellphone, their reaction
times are the same as a 70-year-old driver who is not using a
cellphone," says University of Utah Psychology professor David
Strayer, principal author of the study.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS NOW: Two conferences not to be missed:
** ICCM Canada 2005 (formerly Call Centre Canada). Metro
Toronto Convention Center. March 21-23, 2005.
www.iccmcanada.com
** Telemanagement Live! Conference and Exposition on business
telecom and networking. North Hall, Metro Toronto
Convention Centre. October 17-19, 2005.
www.telemanagementlive.com
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FAX: 905-686-2655
MAIL: TELECOM UPDATE
Angus TeleManagement Group
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Ajax, Ontario Canada L1T 2Z7
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Angus TeleManagement (jriddell@angustel.ca)