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TELECOM UPDATE
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published weekly by Angus TeleManagement Group
http://www.angustel.ca
Number 540: August 4, 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:
** BCE Profits Dip 15%
** Telus Net Income Up 88%
** Rogers Profits Climb
** Oosterman Joins Bell
** New President for Bell Enterprise Sales
** Rogers Joins the Bandwidth War
** Consumer Safeguards Extended to All 900 Services
** Quebec ISPs Rebuffed on ADSL Complaints
** Aliant-Owned Call Centre Slashes Staff
** Aliant, Northwestel Expand Satellite Internet
** U.S. Tries to Stop AT&T Suit
** Nortel Sales Rise 5%
** Cable Cut Interrupts NW Ontario Phone Service
** New President at Axia
** Telus Chair Honoured
** AOL in Freefall
** Whatever Happened to Convergence?
BCE PROFITS DIP 15%: BCE reports second quarter revenue of $4.80
billion, 1% more than the same period a year ago. Net income declined
15% to $476 million; EBITDA was flat at $1.97 billion. In the business
segment, revenue rose 2.1%, but operating income was down 10%.
** Capital expenditure of $875 million was 3.3% lower than a year ago.
** Subscriber net activations in the quarter: access lines:
-134,000; high-speed Internet: +47,000; wireless: +90,000;
video: +19,000.
TELUS NET INCOME UP 88%: Telus operating revenues of $2.14 billion in
the second quarter were 5.8% higher than the same period a year ago.
EBITDA increased 3.7%; net income rose 88% to $357 million. Telus's
wireless division accounted for 44% of total sales.
** Capital expenditure of $311 million was 5.9% higher than a year ago.
** Subscriber net activations: access lines: -44,000; high- speed
Internet: +29,200; wireless: +123,900.
ROGERS PROFITS CLIMB: Rogers Communications had second quarter
operating revenues of $2.24 billion, an increase of 29% over a year
ago, or 15% if the effects of the Call-Net purchase are disregarded.
Net income was $277.5 million, compared to $14.9 million the previous
quarter and $19.2 million in the second quarter of last year.
** Subscriber net activations: cable connections: +38,900;
cable phone: +68,000; Internet: +21,600; wireless:
+130,000.
OOSTERMAN JOINS BELL: As expected (see Telecom Update #537), Wade
Oosterman has joined BCE, replacing Robert Odendaal as President of
Bell Mobility and Bell Distribution. Oosterman, who is widely credited
with leading very successful branding campaigns at Clearnet and Telus,
has also been named as Chief Brand Officer of Bell Canada.
NEW PRESIDENT FOR BELL ENTERPRISE SALES: Stephane Boisvert, former
Senior Vice-President of Global Client Solutions Sales for Sun
Microsystems, has been named President of Bell Canada's Enterprise
division.
** Boisvert replaces Isabelle Courville, who has held the post since
July 2003. Bell says it has offered Courville "an opportunity in
advanced management development this fall at a leading
international business school."
ROGERS JOINS THE BANDWIDTH WAR: Following announcements from Bell (16
Mbps) and Videotron (20 Mbps), Rogers Cable now says it will offer 18
Mbps Internet access by the end of the year. The $99.95/month service
will be available in areas where Rogers currently offers 6 Mbps
service. (See Telecom Update #537, 538)
CONSUMER SAFEGUARDS EXTENDED TO ALL 900 SERVICES: CRTC Telecom
Decision 2006-48 requires all 900 service providers and 900 service
content providers to comply with the consumer safeguards set out in
Decision 2005-19 (see Telecom Update #475).
** To enforce this ruling, the Commission is requiring all
regulated carriers to include consumer safeguard
compliance in their contracts with 900 service providers.
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Decisions/2006/dt2006-48.htm
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Decisions/2005/dt2005-19.htm
QUEBEC ISPs REBUFFED ON ADSL COMPLAINTS: CRTC Telecom Decision 2006-49
rejects all points of last November's application by a coalition of
Quebec ISPs against Bell Canada. The ISPs had argued that Bell
Canada's wholesale ADSL rates were too high, and that its retail ADSL
offers were anticompetitive. (see Telecom Update #507)
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Decisions/2006/dt2006-49.htm
ALIANT-OWNED CALL CENTRE SLASHES STAFF: Salesbridge, a New Brunswick
call centre service bureau launched in 2003 by Aliant and
Maryland-based Marketbridge, laid off 270 of its 310 employees this
week. The company says its only major client, Ikon Office Solutions,
decided not to renew its contract.
ALIANT, NORTHWESTEL EXPAND SATELLITE INTERNET: Two BCE companies are
using Telesat's Anik F2 satellite to expand their high-speed Internet
footprints. Northwestel now offers the service to customers in Alberta
and Aliant is offering it throughout Atlantic Canada. Both provide
download speeds from 512 Kbps to 2 Mbps, at prices ranging from $59.95
to $199.95 a month.
U.S. TRIES TO STOP AT&T SUIT: The U.S. Justice Department has asked a
federal court to stop the Electronic Frontier Foundation's lawsuit
against AT&T. The civil liberties group accuses AT&T of illegally
allowing the National Security Agency to tap calls; the Bush
administration says that allowing the suit to proceed would endanger
national security.
NORTEL SALES RISE 5%: Nortel Networks' second quarter sales of US$2.74
billion were up 15.1% on the quarter and 4.8% on the year. Gross
margin was 39%, 1% higher than the previous quarter but down from 43%
a year ago. Net earnings of $366 million included a $510 million
accounting adjustment. With one-time items excluded, the operating
loss was $96 million.
** Sales of the enterprise and packet networks division were
up 23% on the quarter and down 1% on the year. Sales of
$139 million in Canada were 17% less than a year ago.
** CEO Mike Zafirovsky said that Nortel is considering selling its
UMTS wireless unit, which has sales of about $350 million a year.
CABLE CUT INTERRUPTS NW ONTARIO PHONE SERVICE: Thousands of homes and
businesses in Sault Ste. Marie, Algoma, and surrounding areas lost
9-1-1, LD, and Internet access for five and a half hours on Wednesday,
when a highway construction crew cut a fibre optic cable near Echo Bay,
Ontario.
NEW PRESIDENT AT AXIA: Geoff Thompson, former CEO and President of
Control-F1 Corporation, has been named President of Calgary-based Axia
NetMedia, which was a principal contractor for Alberta SuperNet. He
replaces Murray Wallace.
TELUS CHAIR HONOURED: Brian Canfield, the long-time BC Tel and Telus
executive who is currently chair of Telus's Board of Directors, has
been named to the Order of Canada.
AOL IN FREEFALL: America Online, once the biggest Internet provider in
the world, lost three million subscribers and 11% of its subscriber
revenue in the second quarter of 2006. The company is cutting 5,000
jobs, eliminating charges for many services, and is in talks to sell
its European Internet access business.
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO CONVERGENCE? It's rude to say "we told you so,"
but we can't resist. AOL's latest news reminded us of three editorials
that appeared early in 2000, just after the AOL and Time-Warner merger
was announced.
** The Globe and Mail wrote that "historians will look back on this
day as a defining moment for media." The National Post said the
merger "could radically transform huge chunks of our economy."
** And we wrote in Telemanagement: "To compete in the Internet age,
companies must be nimble, able to make decisions quickly, and turn
on a dime when necessary. That is not a good description of the
lumbering giant this deal will create.... Change the world? Not a
chance. The whole idea is just so twentieth century."
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TeleManagement Group Inc. All rights reserved. For further information,
including permission to reprint or reproduce, please e-mail
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Opinions expressed are based on interpretation of available
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John Riddell (jriddell@angustel.ca)