THE VOIP REVOLUTION could end with a single phone call.
No, not by a call from the CRTC deregulating the incumbent telcos, but by one dropped 9-1-1 call.
I’ve often wondered why, since the launch of VOIP, the newcomers came to market without 9-1-1 service. When Primus and Vonage and others began, buried in their marketing materials in teeny type, were notes mentioning their service can’t offer some of the basics people have come to expect, like, oh, 9-1-1.
While they’ve since moved to offer the emergency calling feature, I thought its absence was unconscionable at launch.
Personally, if I’m…
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TORONTO – Trust Ted Rogers to have a sense of history.
Twenty years to the day after his company (which employs a corporate historian) launched wireless telephony in Canada through Rogers Cantel with a phone call between then-Toronto mayor Art Eggleton and then-Montreal mayor Jean Drapeau, Rogers Communications is officially getting into the wired voice business through voice over Internet protocol and plain old circuit-switched telephony on Friday, July 1st.
But, it’s nothing like the launch of Cantel, or Rogers’ earlier wired telephony attempt, Unitel. The company hits the ground not only running, but in a leadership position. The…
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CALGARY – When you just want to get away from it all – and take some of it all with you, namely, your television – Star Choice has a system for you.
The Shaw Communications-owned DTH company today announced a partnership with Explorer Satellite Systems Inc., which will provide RV owners with access to Star Choice’s digital video and audio service, with the added convenience of mobility.
The ExplorerSC2000 mobile satellite system attaches to the rooftop of any RV, and automatically seeks out and locks on to both of Star Choice’s satellites, Anik F1 and F2. This system eliminates…
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OTTAWA – When it does launch its digital television service, Telus doesn’t want to jump through the Commission’s hoops every time it needs to make a competitive move to match Shaw, the western telco has told the CRTC.
Telus needs to be competitively nimble, so to have to ask the Commission for permission to make certain programming additions or alterations poses problems, it says, because it won’t be able to respond in a timely enough manner in its markets.
When contacted by www.cartt.ca today, and asked about the application, which was filed on December 13, 2004 and only made…
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ENGLEWOOD, Colo – Former Bell ExpressVu and Bell Mobility chief Michael Neuman today was named president and chief operating officer of EchoStar Communications.
Neuman was president of Bell Mobility until earlier this year when he was forced out after the wireless unit endured a series of billing blunders which saw customers either over-billed or un-billed, among other issues.
Neuman fills a post with EchoStar that had been vacant for more than a year. Prior to his stint with Bell Mobility, he served as president of Bell ExpressVu, WorldLinx Telecommunications and Cerberus Canada.
As president of ExpressVu, Neuman had an…
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OSHAWA – Given that XM is already installed in a number of its vehicles, General Motors of Canada said today it welcomes the CRTC’s pay radio decision.
GM Canada will be working with Canadian Satellite Radio (CSR) and its partners to analyze the conditions of license and determine how to move as quickly as possible to address pent-up consumer demand for satellite radio in Canada, said the car company.
"We are eager to move forward to introduce XM radio into our 2006 model year vehicles," said Michael Grimaldi, president of GM of Canada. "Satellite radio is the biggest advancement…
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TORONTO – It’s been a year of enormous growth for The Movie Network on demand, the company announced today.
In its inaugural year just completed, TMNOD has proven widely successful, recording exceptional ratings in both subscriber adoption and satisfaction, exceeding all expectations, says the press release.
The service lets existing TMN subscribers view most of the pay service’s content whenever they like, at no additional charge. The earnings, for the service and the cable operator, come via the “significant decline in our churn rate,” said Domenic Vivolo, senior vice-president, marketing and sales, Astral Television Networks.
"We are delighted with…
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CALGARY – Shaw Cablesystems today notified its Internet customers that they can now access a new e-mail feature, for no extra charge.
Shaw Video Mail is now available to all Shaw Internet customers. Using Shaw Video Mail, customers can send a video email up to two minutes in length to multiple recipients around the world. The message interface allows the inclusion of full audio as well as photos in a slide show format.
"Shaw Video Mail is a next generation service that is perfectly supported by the recent speed enhancements we’ve introduced," said Peter Bissonnette, president of Shaw Communications,…
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TORONTO – So what’s it like going from one side to another, is what people often want to know from Janet Yale.
She spent four years as president and CEO of the CCTA (Canadian Cable Television Association ) before bolting to Telus in late summer 2003 and is now executive vice-president, corporate affairs. Yale (right) tries not to see her move from one side to another, and draws similarities between cable and telecom.
However, while each are facilities-based providers, cable and telecom are clearly at each others’ throats right…
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MONTREAL – Cogeco Cable today made official its launch of voice over Internet telephony in many of its major service areas.
Over the last year, Cogeco Cable has successfully tested its new digital telephone service in the Trois-Rivières area in Québec and in the Burlington/Oakville Ontario corridor.
These conclusive trials, as well as the market studies conducted at the same time, have helped to better pinpoint the services and functions that customers want, says the company.
In 2001, Cogeco abandoned testing it was doing in the telephony space after spending about $25 million, saying it would wait for the…
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