Telecom Update #526, April 21, 2006

************************************************************ TELECOM UPDATE ************************************************************ published weekly by Angus TeleManagement Group Number 526: April 21, 2006

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IN THIS ISSUE:

** Wetmore to Head Bell-Aliant Income Trust ** Dalfen Replies to Forbearance Critics ** IBM Veteran to Head Nortel Marketing ** UBS Showcases "Mobile TV" ** Shaw Adds 28,000 Phone Customers ** Nortel to Restate $1.2 Billion in Revenue ** Cablecos' Radio Requirement to Be Reduced ** RIM Opens Halifax Tech Support Centre ** Telus and Cisco Invest in Widevine ** Sierra Wireless Profitable Again ** Nokia Revenue Continues to Soar ** UBS Revenues Slide During Restructuring ** Dortmans' E-Column Readership Sees Rapid Growth

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WETMORE TO HEAD BELL-ALIANT INCOME TRUST: Stephen Wetmore will be President and CEO of the planned Bell Aliant Regional Communications Income Fund when it is formally established later this year (see Telecom Update #520). Wetmore was president of Aliant until 2002, when he moved to Bell Canada, where he is currently Group President, Corporate Performance and National Markets.

** Jay Forbes, who has been President and CEO of Aliant since 2002, has announced that he will resign effective July 31.

DALFEN REPLIES TO FORBEARANCE CRITICS: The CRTC's "local forbearance" decision has been widely criticized in the press and elsewhere. Earlier this week, CRTC Chairman Charles Dalfen replied to the critics in an exclusive interview with Telecom Update editor Lis Angus. The text of the interview is available online at

IBM VETERAN TO HEAD NORTEL MARKETING: Nortel Networks has hired

26-year IBM veteran Lauren Flaherty as its Chief Marketing Officer, replacing Clent Richardson, who resigned on March 1. Flaherty, who previously led IBM's worldwide small/medium business marketing, is the second IBM VP hired by Nortel this month. (See Telecom Update #525)

UBS SHOWCASES "MOBILE TV": Unique Broadband Systems and its subsidiary, Look Communications, have launched demonstration sites in Milton, Ontario, for its Mobile TV service, which provides live TV and broadband data to cars and handheld devices.

SHAW ADDS 28,000 PHONE CUSTOMERS: In the quarter ended February 28,

28,000 new customers signed up for Shaw Communications' Digital Phone service, bringing the company's total to just under 119,000. Shaw also added over 36,000 Internet customers in the quarter, and increased its cable and DTH base.

** In the three- and six-month periods ended February 28, Shaw's total service revenue was $611.2 million and $1.2 billion; net income was $45.8 million and $121.5 million (up from $5.7 million and $50.4 million in the comparable periods last year).

NORTEL TO RESTATE $1.2 BILLION IN REVENUE: Nortel Networks says that the accounting restatement now under way involves a total of US$1.216 billion, not $866 million as previously stated. (See Telecom Update #520, 524)

CABLECOS' RADIO REQUIREMENT TO BE REDUCED: The CRTC plans to eliminate the requirement that cable TV services carry commercial radio stations, requiring them only to distribute local community, campus, and Native radio stations, as well as at least one French and one English CBC station.

** The Commission will call for comments on proposed amendments to the Broadcasting Distribution Regulations in a later public notice.

RIM OPENS HALIFAX TECH SUPPORT CENTRE: Research In Motion has opened a new Halifax technical support centre in Halifax: it is expected to employ 1,200 staff within five years. The Nova Scotia government is contributing $19 million to the project.

TELUS AND CISCO INVEST IN WIDEVINE: Telus and Cisco have both made "strategic investments" in Widevine Technologies, a Seattle-based company that develops content protection systems for video-on-demand providers. Widevine raised a total of US$16 million in this investment round; the amounts contributed by Telus and Cisco were not announced.

SIERRA WIRELESS PROFITABLE AGAIN: After a year of deep losses, Sierra Wireless returned to profitability in the first quarter, recording net income of US$2.6 million. Revenue of $45 million was more than double that of the same period a year ago. (See Telecom Update #514)

NOKIA REVENUE CONTINUES TO SOAR: Strong sales of third-generation cellphones helped lift Nokia first-quarter revenue to 9.5 billion euros ($1.47 billion), 29% higher than a year ago. Profits rose 21%, to 1.05 billion euros. Nokia provided about a third of the estimated

229 million cellphones sold worldwide in the quarter.

UBS REVENUES SLIDE DURING RESTRUCTURING: Unique Broadband Systems, majority owner of Look Communications, had revenues of $7.85 million in the quarter ended February 28, 19% less than the same period a year ago. Reduced marketing expenses helped cut UBS's loss to $1.2 million. UBS is restructuring to develop a new "Mobile Multi Media" business.

DORTMANS' E-COLUMN READERSHIP SEES RAPID GROWTH: Henry Dortmans' "On the Line" column has been a popular feature of Telemanagement magazine for over ten years. The telecom management consultant is now distributing his articles by opt-in email: in just four months more than 1,000 new subscribers have added their names to the distribution list.

** To receive the past four months' issues, email snipped-for-privacy@angusdortmans.ca. To register for a free subscription, click on "On the Line" at

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