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TELECOM UPDATE
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published weekly by Angus TeleManagement Group
http://www.angustel.ca
Number 523: March 31, 2006
Publication of Telecom Update is made possible by generous
financial support from:
** AVAYA: www.avaya.ca/
** BELL CANADA: www.bell.ca
** CISCO SYSTEMS CANADA: www.cisco.com/ca/
** ERICSSON: www.ericsson.ca
** MICROSOFT CANADA: www.microsoft.com/canada/telecom/
** 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:
** Bell and Rogers Offer Nomadic Broadband in 20 Cities
** Local Competition Allowed in Small-Telco Territories
** Cutback of Bell Work Causes Layoffs at CGI
** Ten-Digit Dialing Push Starts in Five Areas
** Phone Retailers Sue BCE
** New Spectrum Auction Planned
** Aliant Offers Businesses Wi-Fi Hotspots
** Bell High-Speed Metro Service Gets Final Approval
** Virgin Offers "Video Ringtones"
** Nortel Expands Services Business
** Cablecos May Take 27% of Home Phones
** Ballet School Adopts IP Telephony
** Four Arrested in Telemarketing Scam
** Rural Newfoundland to Get High-Speed Access
** Cygnal Records "Disappointing" Year
** SR Telecom to Outsource Manufacturing
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BELL AND ROGERS OFFER NOMADIC BROADBAND IN 20 CITIES: Bell Canada and
Rogers Communications have both begun offering wireless broadband
Internet service in 20 cities across Canada, using "pre-WiMAX"
technology developed by NextNet, a U.S. company owned by Craig
McCaw. The underlying wireless network is owned by Inukshuk Wireless,
a Bell-Rogers joint venture formed last year. (See Telecom Update
#497)
** The services are "nomadic," meaning the modem can be
easily moved from place to place within the coverage
areas.
** Bell's "Sympatico High Speed Unplugged" offers up to 512
Kbps download and 128 Kbps upload for $45/month, or up to
3 Mbps download and 384 Kbps upload for $60/month. The
modem is $99 on a 24-month contract.
** Rogers' "Portable Internet" offers up to 1.5 Mbps download
and 256 Kbps upload for $49.95/month. The modem is $99.95
on a one-year contract.
** Service is available now in Vancouver, Victoria, Red Deer,
Calgary, Edmonton, Whitehorse, Toronto, Barrie, London,
Windsor, Kitchener-Waterloo, Hamilton, Ottawa, Gatineau,
Quebec City, Montreal, Charlottetown, Halifax,
Fredericton, and St. John's. Inukshuk says it will extend
service to 45 cities and 100 rural and remote communities
by the end of 2008.
LOCAL COMPETITION ALLOWED IN SMALL-TELCO TERRITORIES: CRTC Telecom
Decision 2006-14 allows local competition in the territories served by
Canada's 38 independent telephone companies, and renews their price
cap regime, with modifications, for another four years. (See Telecom
Update #494)
** Resale of small-ILEC local services is now permitted.
** Small ILECs must file tariffs for competitor services,
including unbundled local loops, but only when they
receive a valid request from a competitor. They must
support "porting out" of phone numbers to competitors, but
may choose whether to also support "porting in."
** Their local rates are frozen for four years, except for
unused credits from the past price cap period. Rate
increases based on such credits are limited to $4 in any
12-month period.
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Decisions/2006/dt2006-14.htm
CUTBACK OF BELL WORK CAUSES LAYOFFS AT CGI: CGI Group says it will
eliminate 1,000 jobs this year, with "more than half" the cuts due to
lower-than-expected BCE work volumes.
** When CGI agreed to buy back part of BCE's stake in
December, BCE promised that CGI would remain its
"preferred IS/IT supplier" until 2016. (See Telecom
Update #510)
TEN-DIGIT DIALING PUSH STARTS IN FIVE AREAS: Local phone carriers have
begun urging customers in area codes 450, 514, and 819 in Quebec and
519 and 613 in Ontario to reprogram fax machines, modems, and other
autodialing gear to include the area code for all local
calls. Beginning June 17, calls dialed with 7 digits will receive a
recorded message advising them to dial 10 digits in future.
** Use of 10 digits will become mandatory in all five areas
between October 14 and November 4.
** Ten-digit dialing will also be required for local calls
from 418 to 819, and from 705 to 519, 613, and 819.
PHONE RETAILERS SUE BCE: Seventy-nine Bell Canada retailers are suing
BCE for $135 million, saying that BCE reneged on a verbal agreement to
permit the store owners to transform their properties into an income
trust. BCE says the company will "vigorously defend our position."
NEW SPECTRUM AUCTION PLANNED: Gazette Notice DGTP-002-06 says Industry
Canada will shortly open consultation on an auction of wireless
spectrum in the 2500 MHz band. Unlike previous licenses in this band,
these would allow mobile services.
** Existing MCS licensees (the key one is Inukshuk) are reminded that
their licence conditions allow them to offer only fixed
services. (see Telecom Update #226)
** MDS broadband licensees (including Look and Skycable), currently
authorized to provide "wireless cable" broadcasting service, may
now apply to offer fixed Internet service as well.
** Current MCS or MDS licensees that want to offer mobile service in
this band must apply for new licences and return part of their
spectrum for the auction.
http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/insmt-gst.nsf/en/sf08551e.html
ALIANT OFFERS BUSINESSES WI-FI HOTSPOTS: Aliant will now install Wi-Fi
hotspots for businesses that want to provide Internet access to
customers. The service, which uses infrastructure and software from
Halifax-based SolutionInc, is already operational in 19 hotels.
BELL HIGH-SPEED METRO SERVICE GETS FINAL APPROVAL: CRTC Telecom Order
2006-65 gives final approval to Bell's High Speed Metro service (see
Telecom Update #388, 435).
** The Commission denies an MTS Allstream request that Bell
be ordered to offer a wholesale version, but notes that
Bell said it would propose such a service if competitor
demand actually materialized.
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Orders/2006/o2006-65.htm
VIRGIN OFFERS "VIDEO RINGTONES": Virgin Mobile is now selling video
clips that play on a cellphone when the phone rings. The clips,
marketed with cellphone screensavers as "the Groove," cost from $1.50
to $4.95 each.
NORTEL EXPANDS SERVICES BUSINESS: Nortel Networks says it is expanding
its services business and has announced four new offerings in this
area. It is also simplifying this business into five areas where it
has "unique strengths and expertise."
CABLECOS MAY TAKE 27% OF HOME PHONES: The new edition of "The Battle
for the North American Couch Potato," published by Convergence
Consulting, predicts that Canadian cablecos will have 12% of the
residential telephone market this year and 27% by 2009.
http://www.convergenceonline.com/06CouchPotatoSample.pdf
BALLET SCHOOL ADOPTS IP TELEPHONY: The National Ballet School in
Toronto is installing a customized NEC Univerge IP-PBX to serve 1,100
users. Special services include digital signage, channels for
emergency response, wireless VoIP, and customized call-home
facilities.
FOUR ARRESTED IN TELEMARKETING SCAM: The Competition Bureau says four
people have been charged with deceptive telemarketing related to a
Quebec-based office-supplies scam that brought in $7.8 million between
2000 and 2004. The Bureau received 619 complaints about this
operation.
RURAL NEWFOUNDLAND TO GET HIGH-SPEED ACCESS: Industry Canada's BRAND
program, which funds high-speed Internet access in remote regions, has
pledged $542,723 toward a Kittiwake Economic Development Corporation
project to provide broadband access in 18 communities along the
northeast coast of Newfoundland.
CYGNAL RECORDS "DISAPPOINTING" YEAR: Cygnal Technologies lost $27.6
million last year compared to a loss of $7.2 million in 2004. Revenues
fell 10% to $126 million. CEO Jos Winterman said the results are
"obviously disappointing, but I believe the difficulties are largely
behind us."
SR TELECOM TO OUTSOURCE MANUFACTURING: SR Telecom, which supplies
fixed wireless equipment, is outsourcing its manufacturing
operations. The transition, to be completed by the end of May, will
eliminate 70 staff positions.
** Revenues for 2005 were $76 million, down 23% from the
previous year. The net loss rose 6% to $91 million.
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TeleManagement Group Inc. All rights reserved. For further
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e-mail jriddell@angustel.ca.
The information and data included has been obtained from sources which
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Angus TeleManagement Group (jriddell@angustel.ca)