For the second year in a row, Future Shop had trouble handling the initial crush of traffic for its Boxing Day blow-out.

I had trouble getting into the system on December 24 at 8 pm when the sale began, but was able to get in early December 25 to place my order. I actually went back to the site later in the morning to buy some SD memory cards without any trouble. Based on the order numbers, it looks like the website handled about 18,000 orders in 2 and a half hours Christmas morning.

I wasn’t the only person who initially had some problems. Last year’s blog post about Future Shop’s problems attracted a lot of web traffic and even a comment, asking me to update the blog to reflect the recurrence.

This year, Future Shop had a standby web-page, letting people know they are in the queue for the e-commerce engine. On one hand, it is a good sign that consumers are lining up to shop on-line.

On the other hand, it is a shame that one of Canada’s top electronics retailers still isn’t able to keep up with the demand.

The CRTC has scheduled its hearings to decide on whether to approve the privatization of Bell Canada. The hearings will commence February 25.

I have to admit I missed the CRTC’s announcement when it was first released. The big news in Thursday’s daily announcements was the approval of the CanWest / Alliance deal. The Commission also approved the new telecommunications consumer complaints agency.

But buried under the title Broadcasting Notice of Public Hearing, was this little notice:

2007-19 The Commission will hold a public hearing commencing on 25 February 2008 at 9:30 a.m., at the Conference Centre, Portage IV, 140 Promenade du Portage, Gatineau, Quebec, to consider a broadcasting application.

It is only when you click on the link that you see that this is the $40B BCE transaction.

Comments for PN 2007-19 are due January 24.

Technorati Tags:
Bell, Teachers, CRTC

Website traffic has already begun its annual year-end wind-down, reflecting people starting to switch their minds to holiday mode – whether you are remaining at work or taking off to spend some time with family and friends.

For the next couple weeks, I will post a lot less frequently – with plans to be back at a more normal schedule beginning on January 7.

Since I started writing this blog 22 months ago, I have written nearly 900 postings. I hope that I have been able to help you look at issues from slightly different perspective. Thanks for your support, your comments, your calls and emails over the past year.

Enjoy some downtime.

I hope we can all look forward to a happy, healthy and prosperous year ahead.

It is conception day. Nine months from now, you will be able to register for Canada’s telemarketing Do Not Call List.

In what is likely its final act of the year, the CRTC has selected Bell Canada to build and operate Canada’s telemarketing DNCL database. The Commission has awarded Bell a 5-year contract, noting that it was the only bidder to have submitted a compliant response to the CRTC’s RFP last summer.

The contract calls for the list to be operating by the end of September, 2008.

Customers who don’t want to wait can take matters into their own hands by switching to Primus, as I wrote earlier this month.

I have noticed an increase in the number of annoying calls from credit card companies and vacation resorts using IVRs and caller ID blocking. It is unclear to me how the DNCL will help. But that is a moot point, considering that the DNCL is mandated by statute. Our parliamentarians had a case of database envy – after all, we wouldn’t want to fall further behind those Americans, could we?

The 2008 Mobile World Congress will be opening in Barcelona, February 11-14. The 2007 event attracted more than 50,000 people.

Canada will have a presence there, with a pavilion hosting a dozen or so firms, as well as stand-alone booths from industry giants such as Nortel and RIM. The current exhibitor listing shows 33 Canadian firms.

CWTA, Export Development Canada and the Canadian Government are sponsoring a breakfast on the Tuesday morning, February 12 and there are other events supporting Canadian companies at MWC2008.

If you plan to attend, be sure to register for the breakfast and tell them you read it here.

Technorati Tags:
MWC2008, CWTA