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…
Continue Reading
BURNABY – The Telecommunications Workers Union announced Wednesday that it will table a comprehensive response to all of the major issues that have been raised by Telus.
At the same time, union president Bruce Bell will send a personal letter to Telus president and CEO Darren Entwistle, asking him to “free his bargaining committee to engage in serious bargaining,” says the union press release.
The union is undertaking the two moves as part of its attempt to kick-start the stalled negotiating process, which has led to accusations and a work-to-rule campaign by the workers right after Telus…
Continue Reading
BURNABY, B.C – "For 4 1/2 years, we have tried everything imaginable to get Telus to bargain with us, but they have refused to budge," opens the latest press release salvo from Telecommunications Workers Union president Bruce Bell.
"Starting today, we’re trying a different approach. As of (Monday) morning, the union is initiating a campaign that combines working-to-rule with providing super service to customers," Bell continued.
Reading through the litany (below) of musts for TWU members now would be pretty funny, if it weren’t such a serious issue. It seems Telus’ union employees will now be busy topping up…
Continue Reading
VANCOUVER – Saying it wants to accelerate the resolution of its union negotiations, Telus today made “an addendum” to its last offer to its B.C. workers.
The offer was presented to the Telecommunications Workers Union on April 13th and the addendum clarifies some of the clauses, said the western telco today. "We continue to do everything we can to reach a settlement that benefits our employees, customers and shareholders," said Darren Entwistle, Telus president and CEO, in a news release.
"We have made these adjustments to expedite settlement of a replacement collective agreement. Our offer is generous, provides job…
Continue Reading
BURNABY, B.C. – The latest changes proposed by Telus to its final offer made to its employees are “an insult to all members of the TWU, especially those in predominately female job classifications," said Telecommunications Workers Union president Bruce Bell.
"This is an insult to members of the bargaining unit. It includes an offer of an additional $8,000 in signing bonuses for approximately 1,500 predominantly male craft employees in Alberta and an additional percentage increase to most of craft employees in British Columbia and Alberta. But there is nothing by way of a comparable increase for members in…
Continue Reading
SAN ANTONIO – There were no official numbers at press time but boy, it sure seems real crowded here at the SCTE Cable-Tec Expo – a good thing for the vendors, who filled every open space this year.
Here’s a bit of what www.cartt.ca heard and saw today. ************** This morning’s CTO session was interesting on a number of levels. The panelists were Tony Werner, senior vice-president and CTO Liberty Media, (and also a former Rogers CTO), Mike Hayashi, senior v-p advance engineering and subscriber technology at Time Warner Cable, Paul Woidke, vice-president technology for Comcast Spotlight, and…
Continue Reading
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…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – Three of the nation’s incumbent telcos are going to the Federal Court of Appeal saying the CRTC’s win-back rule violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Bell Canada, SaskTel and Telus today officially applied to the Federal Court of Appeal challenging the "win-back rule" imposed on them by the CRTC, saying it violates their freedom of expression.
The Commission likely knew this was coming since, as reported here by www.cartt.ca, the companies had already filed that complaint with the Commission, only to be told it would be rolled into the local forbearance hearings beginning…
Continue Reading
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…
Continue Reading
VANCOUVER – Telus and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) have launched a new annual contest which features $20,000 in cash prizes and an opportunity to present their projects to a panel of industrial, academic, and media experts.
The IEEE Telus Innovation Award invites IEEE Canada student members in their final year of an engineering or technology program at a Canadian undergraduate institution to submit a significant Information Computing and Telecommunication (ICT) Technologies project for which they are receiving education credit.
"We are very pleased that Telus is sponsoring this award," says Bill Kennedy, president of IEEE…
Continue Reading
