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TELECOM UPDATE
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published weekly by Angus TeleManagement Group
http://www.angustel.ca
Number 535: June 23, 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:
** Siemens, Nokia to Combine Carrier Divisions
** Bell Operators Ratify Pay Equity Settlement
** MTS Offers Email on TV
** Bell Files Tariffs for "Regional Lines" Spinoff
** Nortel Settles Canadian Shareholder Suits
** Nokia to Stop Making CDMA Phones
** Mitel Unveils VoIP for Financial Traders
** Aliant Rebate Set at $2.69
** Sprint Offers Roaming EV-DO in Canada
** Nortel Names Technology Officer
** Preston Joins NTG Board
** U.S. Telcos Losing 150K Landlines a Month
** IP-PBX System Comparison
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SIEMENS, NOKIA TO COMBINE CARRIER DIVISIONS: Siemens and Nokia have
agreed to merge their telecom networking units that sell to the
carrier market. The two manufacturers will be equal partners in a
joint venture to be headquartered in Finland, with Nokia's Simon
Beresford-Wylie as CEO. Nokia Siemens Networks plans to lay off 9,000
employees, 15% of the combined workforce; its annual sales will be
about $22 billion.
** Siemens says it is in talks to sell a majority stake in its
enterprise telecom unit, which has yearly sales of about $5
billion. Dow Jones has reported that Nortel Networks is a potential
buyer.
BELL OPERATORS RATIFY PAY EQUITY SETTLEMENT: Close to 5,000 present
and former Bell Canada operators have voted by a 95% majority to
accept the $100-million settlement of their pay equity claim
negotiated on their behalf by the Communications, Energy and
Paperworkers Union. (See Telecom Update #530)
MTS OFFERS EMAIL ON TV: MTS Allstream's new Email on Demand enables
users of its TV and Internet services in Manitoba to access email on
their TV screens, using only their remote control.
BELL FILES TARIFFS FOR "REGIONAL LINES" SPINOFF: Bell Canada has filed
tariffs for the regulated services to be offered by its new "regional
lines" company. The telco wants approval in time for a service launch
on July 1, but says that date depends on "timely finalization of the
transaction and the receipt of all necessary approvals."
** The proposed tariffs include a four-month market trial of
"Accelerated Delivery Interval," which would allow
business customers to obtain early installation of certain
circuits for a one-time charge of $1,500/circuit.
NORTEL SETTLES CANADIAN SHAREHOLDER SUITS: Nortel Networks says that
it has reached agreement on five Canadian shareholder lawsuits related
to accounting irregularities. Resolving these suits was a condition of
the settlement of two related U.S. disputes. (See Telecom Update #521)
NOKIA TO STOP MAKING CDMA PHONES: The wireless technology that is used
by both Bell and Telus has lost a supporter. Nokia says it will "ramp
down its own CDMA R&D and manufacturing by April 2007." The company
says that high licensing fees charged by Qualcomm, which owns key
patents, have created a "financially prohibitive CDMA ecosystem."
MITEL UNVEILS VoIP FOR FINANCIAL TRADERS: Mitel Networks is beginning
customer testing of IP Trader Solutions, a portfolio of products aimed
at providing the high voice quality, mobility, and reliability needed
by financial trading operations.
ALIANT REBATE SET AT $2.69: All Aliant customers will receive a phone
bill credit of $2.69 per line, as compensation for poor service in
2004. The CRTC set the amount this week in a follow-up to Telecom
Decision 2006-27. (See Telecom Update #530)
SPRINT OFFERS ROAMING EV-DO IN CANADA: U.S. wireless carrier Sprint
says a new agreement allows its customers to send and receive EV-DO
data through Bell Canada's network in Greater Toronto, Greater
Montreal, Quebec City, Mont-Tremblant, Ottawa, Hamilton, Oakville,
Burlington, Muskoka, Halifax, St. John's, Charlottetown, Moncton, and
Fredericton.
NORTEL NAMES TECHNOLOGY OFFICER: Nortel has named John Roese as Chief
Technology Officer, replacing Gary Kunis, who resigned in 2005. Roese
previously served with Broadcom, Enterasys, and Cabletron.
PRESTON JOINS NTG BOARD: Ron Preston, who has held VP-level positions
at Bell Canada, MetroNet, and AT&T Canada, has been elected to the
Board of NTG Clarity Networks, a Toronto-based network infrastructure
planning company that works primarily with telecom carriers.
U.S. TELCOS LOSING 150K LANDLINES A MONTH: According to TeleGeography,
regional phone companies (RBOCs) in the U.S. have been losing 150,000
subscriber lines per month so far this year. An estimated 100,000 U.S.
lines are migrating each month to Voice over IP services.
IP-PBX SYSTEM COMPARISON: Angus Dortmans Associates is preparing an
Canadian IP-PBX Comparison Report/Buyer's Guide, scheduled for
November 2006. The report will encompass the state of the industry,
why organizations buy IP-PBXs, a comparison of key manufacturers'
offerings in Canada, end-user insights, questions buyers need to ask,
and more.
** For more information, email Michael Dunne at
mdunne@angusdortmans.ca.
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COPYRIGHT AND CONDITIONS OF USE: All contents copyright 2006 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
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Angus TeleManagement Group (jriddell@angustel.ca)