The CRTC issued joint decisions on Friday, out of the Telecom and Broadcast groups dealing with Shaw’s complaint about obtaining access to several buildings in the Cooper’s Quay development. The decision is issued under Telecom Decision CRTC 2008-69 and Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2008-166.

At issue was Shaw’s inability to reach a building access agreement during the construction phase with Concord Pacific, the property developer. Shaw argued that Novus, a facilities-based service provider related to the developer, had received undue preference in gaining access to the buildings.

Interestingly, TELUS indicated that it was able to secure access to the site, although the record indicates that Novus does not yet offer competing local phone service.

The Commission found that merely receiving a benefit from undue preference is not a violation of the Telecom Act:

Based on the record of this proceeding, the Commission finds that even if Novus has benefited from an undue preference given to it by Concord, Novus did not act in violation of subsection 27(2) of the Act by merely receiving such benefit.

Contrast the Commission’s findings with what it said last year, in a decision coincidentally numbered 2007-69.

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CRTC, Shaw, Novus

Vonage released its quarterly results yesterday, beating Wall Street estimates, but adding only 2,000 customers in the quarter, on a base of 2.6 million – less than .1% growth.

Vonage began scaling back marketing expenses a year ago. As recently as the first quarter of 2007, it had added 166,000 customers in a quarter. Two years ago, it reported net additions of more than a quarter million in 2Q06.

What does this mean for VoIP as a category? Do customers buy VoIP or are they buying services built with VoIP?

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Vonage

According to Chinese tradition, the number eight represents wealth and good fortune. The Beijing Olympics serendipitously open tomorrow on this once-a-century date: August 8, 2008 (08/08/08).

According to CBC, there are many Chinese couples who have scheduled their weddings for this Friday.

Is TELUS looking for some supernatural inspiration by scheduling its release of second quarter results for Friday?

I noticed that TELUS has added a fourth dimension: the investor conference call is scheduled for 11 am Eastern time, which is 8 am Vancouver time.

Watch for the call to start 8 minutes and 8 seconds late.

In advance of its results release, TELUS launched the HTC Touch Diamond smartphone, available for $150 on a three year contract ($450 for no contract) with a $15 unlimited browsing / email plan.

We’ll have to wait until next quarter to see how well smart phones contribute to wealth and good fortune for TELUS.

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Update [August 7, 10:20 am]
I see that Bell is also looking for wealth and good fortune tomorrow with the launch of its new brand, coinciding with its sponsorship of Olympic coverage. Farewell to brands like ExpressVu and Sympatico and watch for Bell TV and Bell Internet. Lots of -er words on the way, with new tag-lines. While investors want new branding to translate into financial results, customers will also want to see how “Today just got better.”

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TELUS

John Roese had an OpEd in Monday’s Globe and Mail that you may have missed because of the holiday.

The piece claims that Canada’s ICT industry needs help to regain its edge, citing the various international rankings that show Canada slipping in broadband, ICT readiness, etc. Frequent readers of this blog know that I find those studies to be flawed, but the call for a national ICT strategy is sound.

How can governments help? In many ways. By making ICT a policy priority. By showcasing the abundant Canadian capabilities in next-generation technologies and applications through purchasing initiatives, especially when they are comparable in deployment and competitive in price. By moving faster to implement the next generation of wireless technologies and to make high-speed broadband connectivity available to all communities across the country. By ensuring a competitive tax environment for research and development, which will also help offset the reality that today Canada, with its strong dollar, is considered a “high-cost” place to do business. And, by getting very serious about promoting science and technology in grade schools and high schools to address the rapidly declining enrolment across the country in these disciplines at the same time that large parts of our aging work force are heading into retirement years.

OK, so you can see some self-serving calls for Canada to “buy Canadian” and provide an improved tax structure for Nortel’s R&D; department but I encourage you to read the piece deeper.

As I have asked before, how will political parties deal with telecom policy and ICT strategies as we prepare for a possible fall election?

Through the holiday weekend, I noticed that Mark Evans wrote about blogging blindly, unable to stay connected to his usual on-line news sources.

When I get away from the city, I keep my Blackberry and broadband internet close to me. Some would ask if that means I don’t ever really get away.

I was out on our boat yesterday and checked an incoming message when one of the other passengers commented “that’s why I’m glad that I don’t have one of those yet.”

My response was that my mobile internet is what enables me to spend as much time away as I do. In the past, I couldn’t conceive of being away for weeks at a time.

How do you get away?

Does being tethered enable you to be more relaxed, or would you rather toss it in the lake?

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Update [August 5, 11:20 am]
I noticed an article that says Delta Airlines will be equipping its entire domestic fleet with in-flight WiFi. Something special in the air.

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Blackberry