THOSE IN FAVOUR OF an advance wireless spectrum auction that imposes limits on the big incumbent wireless operators were given a huge gift last week when word leaked out that Telus would make a bid to buy Bell Canada.
After weeks of pounding away at a message that said any auction which placed spectrum caps or set aside some spectrum for newcomers was an unconscionable subsidy for large corporations that Canadians would ultimately pay for, Telus dramatically changed tactics once the news broke about its involvement with Bell.
Suddenly Telus CEO Darren Entwistle and his senior executives said they…
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MONTREAL – With bids due this week, perhaps this morning, and rumors swirling all around, here’s where the perplexing BCE bid brouhaha stands right now.
* According to a report in the Globe and Mail, both Onex Corp. and the Caisse de depot et placement due Quebec have decided not to take part in the bid for BCE with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and U.S. private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts Co., potentially scuttling that bid.
* The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan told Reuters that it will definitely make a bid. Teachers is currently Bell’s…
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VANCOUVER – Canadians aren’t exactly in love with the two largest telcos getting together in a merger, but they say they really fear an American owning Bell Canada.
In an online survey of 1,177 Canadians done last week by polling firm Angus Reid, 44% of respondents said the proposed purchase of Bell by Telus makes them uncomfortable, even if the service is not affected, while 42% see no problem with the deal.
However, 65% of Canadians prefer a Bell-Telus merger over a Bell partnership with a U.S. company.
The provincial breakdown shows that at least 61% of respondents in…
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TORONTO – Billing itself as "The Canadian Solution", Canadian investment banker Catalyst Asset Management has announced a bid for Bell Canada Enterprises which, on the face of it, presents no regulatory hurdles whatsoever.
The bid, the fifth one to become public, would maintain Bell Canada as a stand-alone public company, and would benefit "all Canadians and Canada," says the press release.
Catalyst’s proposed transaction would be completed by way of an exchange offer by a Canadian Corporation formed exclusively for this purpose. That new company will offer one "stapled security" in exchange for each outstanding common share of Bell…
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VANCOUVER – TELUS confirmed Thursday it has entered into a mutual non-disclosure and standstill agreement and non-exclusive discussions with BCE about merging.
“TELUS believes the combination of the two businesses would represent a compelling strategic and financial opportunity for all BCE and TELUS stakeholders. It would be an all Canadian solution for both immediate and long-term value creation, whilst ensuring a vibrant player continues in this increasingly competitive industry,” said TELUS President and CEO Darren Entwistle. “TELUS has a unique opportunity to create a truly national Canadian enterprise with the requisite balance sheet strength as well as scale and…
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By Greg O’Brien
IF THERE WERE NO big bogeymen around to scare the federal government into re-jigging an open wireless spectrum auction to favour such things as spectrum caps, or spectrum set-asides – and then mandated roaming – there is now, with the announcement that Telus is an active participant in the expected sale of Bell Canada Enterprises.
The press release arrived just after 8 p.m. last night and even though it means little right now, you’ve got to believe that the folks in Ottawa at Industry Canada who are deciding on the rules for the advanced wireless spectrum auction…
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MONTREAL – Add Telus to the list of those taking a peek inside the BCE data room, looking to buy the company.
But this announcement goes a bit of a step farther than the previous announcements made by firms looking to take the big telco private.
Wednesday evening, the strategic oversight committee of the BCE board of directors announced that Telus "has entered into discussions to explore the possibility of a business combination with the company. BCE and Telus have entered into a mutual non-disclosure and standstill agreement on a non-exclusive basis," reads the press release.
"The company had previously…
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CHICAGO – Microsoft’s newest version of its IPTV platform was unveiled over the weekend at telecom conference NXTComm.
Featuring several new multimedia capabilities, including in-home personal music and photo sharing, dynamic MultiView (multiple picture-in-picture) capabilities, Multimedia Application Environment for development of interactive services and advanced applications, and digital terrestrial television (DTT) support, both Bell Canada and Telus use and have plans for deeper use of the Microsoft IPTV platform.
Microsoft also introduced the Microsoft Mediaroom Application Development toolkit, which provides service providers and third-party developers with tools to create compelling, revenue-generating TV-based applications that run on the platform.
With…
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BANFF – Although the combination of two major regulated TV assets was the talk of the 2007 Banff World Television Festival (Hello, Rogers/Citytv), the focus of the event’s final panel was on the potential impact of unregulated new media vs. the fortunes of old media.
In fact, the first question posed by moderator (and festival CEO) Robert Montgomery during his closing session on the BWTVF green Paper to the diverse collection of opinion leaders was: Will the TV industry collapse in the face of broadband Internet and other unregulated platforms?
The question may sound like a Chicken Little approach…
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by Myron Love
WINNIPEG – Having secured the approval of the CRTC, MTS Allstream has begun the process of doubling its pay phone rate from 25 cents to 50 cents a call – despite complaints from advocates of the poor who argue that the increase should have phased in over a period of time.
"We haven’t increased our rates since 1983," says MTS spokesman Michael Bouliane. "Ontario and Quebec already charge 50 cents to use pay phones, Saskatchewan is awaiting CRTC approval and Telus has charged pay phone users 35 cents a call for some time now."
Bouliane…
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