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TELECOM UPDATE
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published weekly by Angus TeleManagement Group
http://www.angustel.ca
Number 500: October 7, 2005
Publication of Telecom Update is made possible by generous
financial support from:
** 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/
** NEC UNIFIED SOLUTIONS: www.necunifiedsolutions.com
** ROGERS TELECOM: www.rogers.com/solutions
** VONAGE CANADA: www.vonage.ca
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IN THIS ISSUE:
** Ten Years of Telecom Update
** Rogers Telecom Buys GT Fibre From Bell
** Cellcos Oppose Early Number Portability
** Rogers Signs 18,000 Phone Subscribers
** Bell, Matthews Join for Business Applications
** Wireless Revenues Jump 16%
** Emerson May Favor Local Deregulation
** Starbucks and Bell Begin Wi-Fi Rollout
** Bell Not Required to Collect Directory Bills
** Aliant Wants Automatic Contract Renewals
** Bell Seeks Higher Rural Business Rates
** Meriton Acquires Mahi Networks
** Telecom Ottawa Adds SONET, WDM
** RFP Seeks Ontario Optical Net
** Aliant Offers Flat-Rate Cellular LD
** Cygnal Restructures Debt; CFO Quits
** One Week to Telemanagement Live
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TEN YEARS OF TELECOM UPDATE: Happy Birthday to us! This is issue
number 500 of Telecom Update. We launched it in September 1995 as an
experiment in electronic publishing, and it soon became the most
widely read telecommunications newsletter in Canada.
** Telecom Update is distributed free of charge, thanks to
generous support from our sponsors. All 500 issues are
available on line at www.angustel.ca, providing a unique
outline history of a decade of dramatic change.
ROGERS TELECOM BUYS GT FIBRE FROM BELL: Rogers Telecom (formerly
Call-Net) has paid $23.6 million to Bell Canada to purchase 7,700
route kilometres of fibre in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and
Quebec. The fibre was formerly owned by Group Telecom, which was
acquired by Bell in 2004. (See Telecom Update #435, 458, 480)
** Rogers has an option to buy more GT fibre in Ontario,
Quebec, and Newfoundland by the end of 2006.
CELLCOS OPPOSE EARLY NUMBER PORTABILITY: Replying to a CRTC request
for ways to speed up wireless number portability, the Canadian
Wireless Telecommunications Association says that preparing alternate
scenarios would be costly and time-consuming, and that the original
plan to implement WNP nationally by September 2007 is "both aggressive
and reasonable." (See Telecom Update #497)
** The major cellcos agree, saying that an earlier target
date would create many technical problems and would be
unfair to consumers.
www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Letters/2005/lt050923.htm
** The CRTC has received over two dozen comments from
consumers, all irate at waiting another two years for WNP.
www.crtc.gc.ca/PartVII/eng/2005/8620/c12_200510934.htm#4b
ROGERS SIGNS 18,000 PHONE SUBSCRIBERS: Rogers Communications says its
cable-based local phone service, launched on July 1, now has more than
18,000 subscribers. (See Telecom Update #488)
** Rogers expects to add between 600,000 and 650,000 wireless
subscribers in 2005, about a third more than its previous
forecast. Net 3Q additions: 213,000.
BELL, MATTHEWS JOIN FOR BUSINESS APPLICATIONS: Bell Canada and Wesley
Clover Corp. have jointly launched an Advanced Solutions Innovation
Centre in Kanata, Ontario, to develop IP-based business
applications. Wesley Clover, a holding company chaired by Terry
Matthews, owns Mitel Networks, March Networks, and NewHeights
Software.
WIRELESS REVENUES JUMP 16%: Statistics Canada says wireless telecom
revenues grew 16%, to $2.5 billion, in Q1 2005. Canada now has over 15
million wireless subscribers, a penetration rate of 47%. Wireless now
generates nearly one-third of total telecom revenues in Canada.
** Wireline revenue fell 1.2% to $5.6 billion, and wireline
network access lines fell by 1.2%, the thirteenth
consecutive quarterly decline.
www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/051004/d051004a.htm
EMERSON MAY FAVOR LOCAL DEREGULATION: Interviewed by Bloomberg News
this week, Industry Minister David Emerson said that eliminating the
requirement for incumbent phone companies to get prior approval for
price changes could improve the industry's efficiency. However, a
spokesperson for the Minister later said he would not make any major
moves in telecom before receiving the Telecom Policy Review panel's
report.
STARBUCKS AND BELL BEGIN WI-FI ROLLOUT: Bell Canada and Starbucks say
they will begin offering Wi-Fi service in 140 Starbucks outlets in
Ontario this week, and will eventually deploy it in more than 400
stores across Canada. Bell has subcontracted installation and
management of the networks to Ottawa-based Wi-Fi pioneer Boldstreet
Inc.
** Customers can have their Wi-Fi internet access billed to a
cellphone bill, or pay by credit card.
BELL NOT REQUIRED TO COLLECT DIRECTORY BILLS: Following an expedited
hearing on September 23 (see Telecom Update #498), the CRTC has ruled
that billing and collection for directory advertising is not a
telecommunications service, so Bell does not have to perform the
service for YP Corp. if it does not wish to.
www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Decisions/2005/dt2005-57.htm
ALIANT WANTS AUTOMATIC CONTRACT RENEWALS: In Tariff Notice 178, Aliant
Telecom asks the CRTC to approve a procedure for automatic renewal of
contracts for Centrex and other business local services, effective
October 31. Under the proposed rules, the telco must advise the
customer 60 days in advance of the renewal, and the customer will be
allowed to cancel up to 30 days after the renewal. Similar rules have
been previously approved for other telcos.
www.crtc.gc.ca/8740/eng/2005/a53/tn178.pdf
BELL SEEKS HIGHER RURAL BUSINESS RATES: Bell Canada Tariff Notices
6907 and 6908 propose increases of 8.5% to 9.9% in the monthly rates
for individual business lines and for Local Link service in the rural
and remote rate bands E, F, and G. Bell wants the CRTC to okay the
rate hikes in time for implementation on December 4.
** The increases would not apply to sub-bands E1, F1, F3 and
F5, which are part of larger exchanges.
www.crtc.gc.ca/8740/eng/2005/b2/tn6907.zip
www.crtc.gc.ca/8740/eng/2005/b2/tn6908.zip
MERITON ACQUIRES MAHI NETWORKS: Meriton Networks, an Ottawa-based
provider of high-speed optical networking systems, is buying New
Jersey-based Mahi Networks, which makes reconfigurable optical
add/drop multiplexers.
TELECOM OTTAWA ADDS SONET, WDM: Telecom Ottawa now offers SONET, WDM,
and storage extension services, using Ciena technology, as part of its
10-Gigabit Ethernet connectivity in the Ottawa region.
RFP SEEKS ONTARIO OPTICAL NET: CANARIE and ORANO have issued a joint
RFP for a next-generation network across southern Ontario with
possible extensions to Montreal, Albany, and New York City as well as
from Windsor to Chicago, as a basis for experiments with novel optical
architectures over the CA*net 4 and ORION networks.
www.canarie.ca/canet4/rfp8.html
ALIANT OFFERS FLAT-RATE CELLULAR LD: Aliant cellular customers can now
make unlimited long distance calls within Atlantic Canada for $20 per
month.
CYGNAL RESTRUCTURES DEBT; CFO QUITS: Cygnal Technologies has obtained
about $25 million in new financing to pay off bank debt and provide
working capital.
** CFO David Horsley has resigned; his interim replacement is
Michael Conway.
ONE WEEK TO TELEMANAGEMENT LIVE! Canada's premier business telecom and
networking event will be held October 17-19 at the Metro Toronto
Convention Centre, Canada's top conference and tradeshow
facility. Over 35 in-depth sessions will address the most important
challenges facing enterprise telecom and network managers in Canada
today.
** This year's program also features the announcement of the
first members of Canada's Telecommunications Hall of Fame,
at a gala celebration and dinner.
** Space is limited: register now at www.telemanagementlive.com
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HOW TO SUBMIT ITEMS FOR TELECOM UPDATE
E-mail ianangus@angustel.ca and jriddell@angustel.ca
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TELECOM UPDATE is provided in electronic form only. There are two
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COPYRIGHT AND CONDITIONS OF USE: All contents copyright 2005 Angus
TeleManagement Group Inc. All rights reserved. For further
information, including permission to reprint or reproduce, please
e-mail jriddell@angustel.ca.
The information and data included has been obtained from sources which
we believe to be reliable, but Angus TeleManagement makes no
warranties or representations whatsoever regarding accuracy,
completeness, or adequacy. Opinions expressed are based on
interpretation of available information, and are subject to change. If
expert advice on the subject matter is required, the services of a
competent professional should be obtained.
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Angus TeleManagement Group (jriddell@angustel.ca)