Search Results for: telus

Cable / Telecom News

Competition Bureau okays Emergis buy

VANCOUVER – Telus said this week that the statutory waiting period under the pre-merger notification provisions of the Competition Act (Canada) expired on December 17, 2007 in connection with its offer to buy all of the common shares of Emergis Inc. for $8.25 in cash. As well, announced Telus, the Commissioner of Competition has also advised that she does not intend to challenge the $763 million transaction announced late November, under the merger provisions of the Competition Act. “This fulfills the condition of the Offer relating to the Competition Act (Canada), but the Offer continues to be subject to… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Telus buys more Emergis shares

VANCOUVER – Telus has purchased 41,200 more common shares of Emergis through the Toronto Stock Exchange. As of the close of business of the TSX today, Telus owned directly or indirectly 1,017,000 common shares. The company this month bid $763 million to buy Emergis outright. “The highest price paid by Telus for Common Shares purchased today was C$8.19 per share and the average price paid per share was C$8.19. This is Telus’ third purchase of Common Shares through the facilities of the TSX since Telus’s indirect wholly-owned subsidiary 6886116 Canada Ltd. mailed its offer (the "Telus Offer") to… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

The TUESDAY INTERVIEW: Joe Natale, EVP and president, Telus Business Solutions

IT WASN’T SO LONG AGO when Telus was just the Alberta telephone company with little to no presence anywhere in Eastern Canada. Now, thanks to the exponential growth of wireless (buying Clearnet proved a good idea) and huge wins on the business telecom services side, the former provincial telephone monopoly is a national communications conglomerate with well over 10,000 employees just in Ontario and Quebec. In 2000, its workers in the two provinces numbered in the hundreds. The man at the top of this unprecedented growth in Eastern Canada has been Joe Natale, executive vice-president and president, Telus Business… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Telus lays out ’08 growth targets

VANCOUVER – Canada’s second-largest telco Telus is predicting its recent history of record growth in revenue and earnings per share will continue in 2008, despite a bit of a dip in the latter part of fiscal 2007. "Telus continues to execute on all fronts as we continue to grow revenue and earnings and use our robust cash flow to make investments for future growth while maintaining an orientation to return capital to our investors through continued dividend increases and share repurchases," said Robert McFarlane, executive vice-president and CFO, in a statement this morning. Telus is targeting six to eight per… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Upopolis keeping sick kids connected

HAMILTON – Kids’ Health Links Foundation, McMaster Children’s Hospital and Telus today announced the launch of Upopolis.com, the first secure online social network for kids in hospital care. (Ed note: After seeing it first-hand earlier today, this is one excellent idea.) Powered by Telus, Upopolis.com provides the best features of social networking for young patients who often feel isolated when they’re in the hospital. It will provide a personal profile, secure mail, instant chat, discussion boards, personal blogs and links to child-friendly games. The site also provides unique features to kids in hospital like a homework site to stay… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Rogers sees opportunity from wireless newbies

NEW YORK – As the only GSM wireless operator in Canada, Rogers Wireless will face a dilemma – and opportunity – when new wireless companies launch in this country – likely in 2009. While Bell Canada and Telus and a few other large North American wireless companies use CDMA-driven networks and handsets, GSM has become the de facto worldwide wireless standard technology, so it is highly probable that any new wireless company that comes to market here will choose to be a GSM player, too. That means such newbies will use the new mandated roaming rules we reported on… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Yak wants Telus to stop “gouging”

TORONTO – 10-10 long distance company Yak Communications said today announced it has filed applications with the CRTC demanding that it force Telus to stop charging a long distance “access fee” of $2.95 a month. Among the remedies Yak is seeking, reads its press release, Yak has applied for an order that consumers who have already paid this new fee be reimbursed by Telus. Yak’s applications request that the CRTC return basic toll service to the regulated sphere and declare the new fee illegal, and that Telus reimburse customers that have already paid it, reads the release. In addition,… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Telus offers $763 million for former Bell division

VANCOUVER – Telus and Emergis announced today that they have entered into a support agreement pursuant where Telus has agreed to make an offer to acquire all the outstanding common shares of Emergis for $8.25 cash per common share. The offer represents a premium of 17% over Emergis’ average closing price on the Toronto Stock Exchange over the past 30 days, 19% over yesterday’s close and values Emergis’ equity at approximately $763 million on a fully diluted basis, according to the joint press release issued by the companies. Emergis has a strong presence in both health claims processing and… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

REACTION: AWS auction rules a bit puzzling for the players

EVEN FOR A PROPONENT of spectrum set-asides, mandated roaming and mandated tower sharing, the rules surrounding the 2008 advanced wireless spectrum auction, which were released Wednesday afternoon in Toronto by Industry Minister Jim Prentice, aren’t quite a slam dunk. MTS Allstream’s regulatory chief Chris Peirce was pleased Industry Canada had accepted his, and others’, argument that a leg up was required for newcomers to enter the space and increase wireless competition in Canada, but was non-committal about putting the rules into practice. “At a policy level, the government and the ministry have clearly gotten it. They understand that… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

TELUS responds to announcement of rules for advanced wireless spectrum auction

OTTAWA – TELUS said Wednesday it’s “deeply disappointed” with the government’s rules that were announced for the upcoming Advanced Wireless Spectrum (AWS) auction. “It (the decision on the rules) is inconsistent with this government’s stated policy of relying on market forces to deliver benefits to Canadian consumers. It also rewards companies that have both the resources and the motivation to bid openly for new available spectrum,” said Janet Yale, executive vice-president, TELUS Corporate Affairs, in a statement. “As a consequence, Canadian taxpayers will receive less than full market value for the new spectrum.” She added, “TELUS advocated a policy that… Continue Reading