West provinces warn Canada on widening of phone jurisdiction

Article Abstract:

The Canadian Supreme Court excluded three western provinces from its decision to allow regulation of telephone utilities, ruling that the telephone companies in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta are government-owned and immune from federal regulation. The provincial governments oppose any federal intervention in the utilities. The telephone companies in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia are already regulated by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. The Supreme Court ruling involved investor-owned utilities in Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Regulation in Canada is multi-tiered, and prevents pure competition, especially in the long-distance telephone business. The Information Technology Association of Canada, a group of users and suppliers, is urging parliament to lift the immunity and create a single-tier regulatory system.

Canada, Industry regulations, Government regulation of business, Trade regulation

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West barely dents Soviet's phone woes; Comstar venture persists; so do wrong numbers

Article Abstract:

The Soviet Union's telecommunications network is still plagued by problems, three years after the formation of a joint venture that many hoped would solve the inadequacies. Comstar, a venture between GEC Plessey Telecommunications and the Moscow Telephone Network, is profitable mainly because of an international pay telephone market. The monopoly partnership has been severely limited because it only markets its services to the small portion of the population that can pay in hard currency, mainly foreign businesses and diplomatic concerns. Soviet government bureaucracy often leads to delays of as long as three years for new business lines. The Soviet Union does not have the hard currency required to import satellite systems and fiber optic cables, and cannot produce them itself until the military telecommunications-equipment factories are converted over to manufacture them.

Telecommunications systems, Soviet Union, National Government, Market Penetration, Comstar

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U.K. plans to open phone network to competition

Article Abstract:

The British government has decided to end the telecommunications 'duopoly' of British Telecommunications PLC and the Mercury Division of Cable & Wireless PLC, and open up the UK telephone network to competitors. The government maintains that opening up the market will allow customers a wider choice of carriers and will ultimately lead to lower prices. The proposals call for more licenses to be issued for companies wanting to supply local, long-distance, and international services. They also allow more freedom to mobile and cable operators to provide services. The seven US regional telephone companies could gain considerably from the new rulings as they have been investing heavily in shares of cable-television operators in the UK in anticipation of the move.

Radiotelephone communications, United Kingdom, Deregulation, Great Britain, Strategic Planning, Competition, Legal Issues

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