Samsung Galaxy Nexus exclusivity in Canada ends, 3-year prices lowered to $99.99

Mobilesyrup, “Bell and Virgin exclusivity over, Galaxy Nexus now officially available at TELUS, Rogers, Fido and SaskTel”

I am waiting for it to be available on WIND Mobile at, hopefully $99.99 for 3-year.

Jan 16, 2012 update: Looks like $99.99 will be the price to match. “Rogers, Fido and SaskTel all price drop Galaxy Nexus to $99.99 on 3-year, now matching TELUS“

Samsung Galaxy Nexus’ “fortified glass” has load bearing capacity of 72 pounds?

We know that “Samsung Galaxy Nexus confirmed to have ‘fortified glass,’ not Gorilla Glass“. And we also know that Samsung and Corning has a joint venture call Samsung Corning Precision Materials Co., Ltd., so they do work together.

Now, I wonder/guess/speculate, based on this video of “Corning Gorilla Glass2 demo at CES 2012“, if Galaxy Nexus’ “fortified glass” is the type they used in the demo which has a load bearing capacity of 72 pounds?

Note: In the demo, the damage and scratch resistant Gorilla Glass1 has a load bearing capacity of ~125 pounds and Gorilla Glass2 is 20% thinner and offer the same damage resistance as Gorilla Glass1 with load bearing capacity of ~125 pounds.

Am I right? Can someone help me prove that I am right or wrong? I will be happy to be wrong if I can know the spec or more precise info of the Galaxy Nexus’ “fortified glass”.

Here is “Corning Gorilla Glass2 demo at CES 2012“. [HT Mobilesyrup]

Globalive targets Mobilicity: Bloomberg & Reuters say – Mobilicity IPO? G&M

Bloomberg,

“Globalive Communications Corp., a two-year-old Canadian wireless carrier, is in talks to buy Mobilicity, adding a competitor to take on larger rivals BCE Inc. (BCE) and Rogers Communications Inc., according to a person familiar with the discussions.”

Reuters,

“Canadian telecom upstart Globalive wants to buy rival Mobilicity but no deal is imminent or indeed likely until the government clarifies rules on foreign ownership and airwave allocation, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.”

[HT MobileSyrup]

More news media reprinting, quoting, excerpting the above reports Financial Post and G&M .

G&M, “Wireless carrier Mobilicity weighs going public”

“Wireless newcomer Mobilicity is planning to launch an initial public offering early in the new year with the goal of raising up to $100-million.

Sources say the company plans to go public as early as the first quarter of 2012, provided that equity markets are less volatile. A number of IPOs have been ready to launch since late summer, but they were put on hold because markets were too choppy as the European debt crisis unfolded. […]

Leo Herzel (1923-2011) – 1951 Color Television student article that laid the foundational analysis for frequency spectrum auctions around the world

I’ve heard of Leo Herzel (via Prof. Ronald Coase and others) for some years, it was only yesterday that I finally got around to read his “My 1951 Color Television Article” (The Journal of Law & Economics, 1998) that talks about his original 1951 thought provoking and influential idea and analysis.

Quoting the Leo’s obituary in the Chicago Sun-Times,

“His legacy extends to at least three Nobel Prize-winning economists, including Ronald Coase, who credits Mr. Herzel with creation of the initial theory that later became the foundation for his Nobel Prize-winning article, “The Problem of Social Cost.”

Mr. Herzel’s analysis of market solutions to resource allocation problems, written while he was a student at the University of Chicago in 1950, guides FCC policy [in particular, frequency spectrum auctions in US and around the world] to this day.”

Leo passed away on July 21st, 2011. See obituaries from Illinois State Bar Association and Chicago Tribute.

BART shutting down cell services violated CA and Federal Law

For the record, I am reposting my Aug 23, 2011 Google+ posting where a telecom lawyer took time to explain the legal problems of BART shutting down cell services.

A link to Aug 28, 2011, Washington Post, “Public safety, technology and the First Amendment collide in San Francisco’s subway“. KGO News Talk, AM 810, “Commuter Beware: Another Protest Scheduled for Monday in SF“.

Ref, Aug 24, 2011 Special Board Meeting.

“Insightful stuff from a telecom lawyer explaining the legal problems of BART shutting down cell services. In the article, proper Telecom act references (sections 332(c), 202, 214(a), 216, … ) and court cases refs are provided. Serious fun stuff indeed, Forget The First Amendment, BART Messed With The Phone System. Violated CA and Federal Law. [HT +Dan Gillmor ] A nice followup to +Sarah Hill’s G+ Hangout with Mike McKean, +Laurent Jean Philippe Ravalec +Colin Hill +Kim Beasley and +Kempton Lam

Ref: KOMU-TV “Should Government Be Able to Control Access to Your Cell Phone?“”

Interesting read @JesseBrown: “Xplornet asked me not to write this”

Interesting read. Check out @JesseBrown: “Xplornet asked me not to write this” [HT @mgeist]

If you don’t have time to read the full article, (actually you should really find the time as it is fun and insightful reading), here is an excerpt from “Xplornet asked me not to write this“,

“In the interests of fair and balanced journalism, here is what you should know about Xplornet and what they want you to know. I’ll even put their stuff in bold:

1. It took 16 months for Xplornet to conform to the CRTC’s disclosure demands. But they weren’t ignoring the CRTC—they were in constant communication during that time.
2. When they did finally tell customers what they were doing, it was after the CRTC threatened to haul them into a public proceeding—but that’s not why they did it.
3. They degraded the speed of a competitor’s Internet phone service (VOIP) to the point where it was unusable—but they did so by accident. It was a technical problem with a codec.

Perhaps Xplornet is satisfied that this matter is now cleared up. Or perhaps they regret accidentally turning a spotlight on themselves while fumbling to shut off the power.”

P.S. You may also want to read David’s “More complaining: a “warning” about Geist’s “allegations”“

Consortium of Nortel patents purchasers: How much they paid and what they get (according to anonymous internal sources)

After writing about Nortel gets $4.5 billion for 6,000 patents and patent applications, it is good to read some details. According to internal sources with promised anonymity by “I, Cringely” (emphasis added)

“Here’s the consortium participation as I understand it. RIM and Ericsson together put up $1.1 billion with Ericsson getting a fully paid-up license to the portfolio while RIM, as a Canadian company like Nortel, gets a paid-up license plus possibly some carry forward operating losses from Nortel, which has plenty of such losses to spare. For RIM the deal might actually have a net zero cost after tax savings, which the Canadian business press hasn’t yet figured out.

Microsoft and Sony put up another $1 billion.

There is a reportedly a side deal for about $400 million with EMC that has the storage company walking with sole ownership of an unspecified subset of the Nortel patents.

Finally Apple put up $2 billion for outright ownership of Nortel’s Long Term Evolution (4G) patents as well as another package of patents supposedly intended to hobble Android.

At the end of the day this deal isn’t about royalties. It is about trying to kill Android.”

Bob has been in the industry for a long time, so there are probably some elements of truth in his report and worth considering. [HT Digital Trends]

Banff 2011 Video Interviews: Tom Perlmutter, NFB Chairperson; Tony Lacavera, Chairman Globalive/WIND Mobile; Michael Hennessy, SVP TELUS; Mike Farah, President of Production, Funny or Die; Ariel Garten, CEO InteraXon; Harmony Wagner, Creative Producer BunnyBop; Heather Allin, President of ACTRA Toronto, Siobhan McCarthy, Actress & clown

The following are links to my video interviews conducted at Banff World Media Festival 2011 (more to come):

* Tom Perlmutter – NFB Chairperson & Government Film Commissioner;

* Tony Lacavera, Chairman & CEO, Globalive (WIND Mobile);

* Michael Hennessy, Senior VP, Regulatory and Government Affairs, TELUS;

* Mike Farah, President of Production, Funny or Die;

* Ariel Garten, CEO InteraXon;

* Harmony Wagner, Creative Producer, Periscope Pictures (preschool series BunnyBop)

* Heather Allin, President of ACTRA Toronto.

* Siobhan McCarthy, Actress & clown, blyssful productions.

Michael Hennessy, Senior VP, Regulatory and Government Affairs, TELUS interview @ Banff World Media Festival 2011

I first met Michael Hennessy, Senior VP, Regulatory and Government Affairs, TELUS, at 2007 Banff Next Media. It was in a session where the new media panelists were beating up/”bashing” the telcos pretty badly. And then one panelist wondered out loud why there weren’t any telco representatives present in the session!? To the surprise of that panelist and everyone else (including myself), Michael, attending as a member of the audiences, identified himself as a Telus executive and tried to present Telus’ perspectives/views. (update: I just found a photo in Flickr of Michael in that 2007 session!)

So even though I don’t usually agree with Michael‘s telco views/analysis, I respect him for speaking up that day.

So it was my pleasure to be able to interview Michael, Senior VP, Regulatory and Government Affairs, TELUS@Banff World Media Festival 2011.

The following are a few highlights of my interview video with Michael. By the way, also check out my video interview with WIND Mobile Chairman/CEO Tony Lacavera.

* 0:00 I asked Michael for his take on the Banff session where he had a few “debates” with Tony Lacavera, Chairman & CEO, Globalive/WIND Mobile.

* 1:35 Telus’ views of the recent Federal Court of Appeal ruling where WIND Mobile won (against Public Mobile and Telus)? Is Telus going to appeal the court decision along with Public Mobile to the Supreme Court of Canada?

[Kempton’s note: Michael gave a long and specific answer here. At the time of my interview with Michael, I didn’t have time to read/scan the “Globalive Wireless Management Corp. v. Public Mobile Inc. (2011 FCA 194) A-78-11, A-79-11” decision yet. See more comments from me in note 1.]

* 3:30 Will Telus support the appeal to the Supreme Court? Michael talks about Telus’ key focus this summer: e.g. safeguard against vertical integration, policies around spectrum auctions that are coming out.

*4:08 Michael stated, “Voice, video, and data are all going over the same pipe. You can’t regulate or treat the carriage of that differently.” And what Telus likes the government to do.

* 5:02 About the government upcoming frequency spectrum auction.

* 5:44 What about the big telcos bidding and, basically, stockpiling frequencies and NOT using them?

* 6:18 So Telus is rolling out the use of those new [AWS] frequencies now? 2012 or 2011?

* 6:45 According to Telus’ HSPA+ network builder Huawei, Telus’ HSPA+ network is the busiest in the world. (fyi 2011 news: “Huawei Opens New Headquarters in Canada“)

* 7:12 Telus’ customers are already using up the network capacity they have and thats why they are moving to LTE.

Michael stated, “We are not warehousing. Remember, unlike some of the other incumbents, we hold no spectrum at 2500 [MHz]. They hold well over 100 MHz. So thats the critical difference.”

* 7:30 My question, “So from Telus’ prospective […] Telus won’t oppose to the idea if the government say ‘If you want to auction/bid on the new frequency spectrum, one of the requirement is you have to have used up or committed funds to use your existing warehoused frequency spectrums first’ ?”

Tony Lacavera, Chairman & CEO, Globalive (WIND Mobile) interview @ Banff World Media Festival 2011

Since 2009, I had the pleasure to interview Tony Lacavera, Chairman & CEO, Globalive/WIND Mobile for a few times (see here and here). So it was my pleasure to chat with Tony again @Banff World Media Festival 2011.

Here are a few highlights of my video interview with Tony, By the way, also check out my video interview with Michael Hennessy, TELUS Senior VP, Regulatory and Government Affairs.

* 0:00 I asked Tony for his take on the Banff session where he had a few “debates” with Michael Hennessy, Senior VP, Regulatory and Government Affairs, TELUS.

* 0:36 I asked Tony about the recent Federal Court of Appeal panel decision in favour of WIND Mobile. (see my tweets here with link to National Post article and here)

* 1:50 Have the other guys started the appeal process and asked the Supreme Court of Canada to review the case?

* 2:35 Did Tony bring up the topic of the court rulings with Chairman of the CRTC?

* 2:46 Is WIND feeling the pressure now that Moblicity is in Calgary?

* 3:18 What about the dead coverage zones in the C-Train tunnels near downtown Calgary? (Tony also talked about the coverage inside Toronto TTC.)

* 4:54 The revamping of the WIND customer service touchpoints.
***

For all other Banff 2011 related interviews, please see here.

Michael Hennessy, Senior VP, Regulatory and Government Affairs, TELUS interview @ Banff World Media Festival 2011

I first met Michael Hennessy, Senior VP, Regulatory and Government Affairs, TELUS, some years ago at Banff Next Media. If my memory serves me, it was in a session where the panelists were beating up/”bashing” the telcos pretty hard. And then one panelist wondered out loud if there were (or why there weren’t) any telco representatives present?! To the surprise of that panelist and everyone else (including myself), Michael, attending as a member of the audiences, stood up and identified himself working for Telus and tried to present Telus’ perspectives/views. So even though I often don’t agree with Michael‘s views or analysis, I respect him for standing up that day.

So it was my pleasure to be able to interview Michael @Banff World Media Festival 2011.

It will take me some time to write the article plus process & upload the video after Banff. Stay tune.

June 18 update: Done! Check out my article and video interview with Michael.

Tony Lacavera, Chairman & CEO, Globalive (WIND Mobile) interview @ Banff World Media Festival 2011

Since 2009, I had the pleasure to chat with Tony Lacavera, Chairman & CEO, Globalive/WIND Mobile for a few times (see here and here). So it is my pleasure to chat with Tony again @Banff World Media Festival 2011.

It will take me some time to write the article plus process & upload the video after Banff. Stay tune.

***

Jun 18 update: Done! Check out my article and video interview with Tony.

CRTC Chairman Konrad Von Finckenstein Q&As @ Banff World Media Festival 2011

As in previous years, I left Calgary really early in the morning to drive to Banff to attend CRTC breakfast with Chairman Konrad Von Finckenstein at 7:45am. This year, the Chairman did Q&As with attendees of the breakfast.

It will take me some time to write the article and process & upload the video after Banff. Stay tune.

WIND and Rogers on 700 MHz Spectrum Auction

From WIND’s Tony, “The 700 MHZ Spectrum Auction: What it means for you”

“The upcoming 700 MHZ auction will continue to shape the future of wireless competition in Canada. Every stakeholder wants to influence how the auction will be held and on Monday, all parties were invited to file submissions with Industry Canada outlining how they felt the spectrum should be divided.

In our case, we argued that all of the 700MHZ spectrum should be set aside for only new entrants to bid on (like last time). Why? Because the Big Three don’t need it, and we do, and they will do anything, and pay anything, to keep us from getting it. The Big Three are among the most spectrum-rich operators in the entire world and are already sitting on vast amounts of unused spectrum (we call it warehousing). The Big Three acquiring and sitting on all this spectrum doesn’t do you, the consumers, any good. In fact, it hurts because it is yet another way they seek to limit competition.

The spectrum they are sitting on, by the way, includes all of the spectrum they bought in the 2008 auction. Good thing there was spectrum set aside in that auction and good for the Government for resisting the Big Three’s arguments (they are making the same arguments this time around, of course).

We want to see this spectrum benefit consumers. Spectrum in the hands of new entrants like WIND Mobile will help take Canada (finally!) out of the dark ages of wireless. Competition is the #1 key to better wireless choice and value in Canada, but new entrants like us need spectrum. Oh, and we’ll use it!

Industry Canada is expected to set the auction rules later this year so we will keep you posted.”

According to G&M, Apr. 27, 2011 “Rogers to launch LTE wireless by end of year”

“Rogers and other major phone companies are concerned the 700 MHz spectrum will be reserved for new entrants in the market as part of the federal government’s efforts to open the market to greater competition.

“It would be a shame if our nine million wireless customers were denied the benefit of this low-band spectrum,” Mr. Mohamed told shareholders at the company’s annual meeting. “Put simply, we need rules that apply equally to everyone.””

For the record.

G&M, Apr. 27, 2011 “Rogers to launch LTE wireless by end of year”

Rogers Communications Inc. (RCI.B-T35.260.521.50%) will launch the next generation of wireless technology in four major Canadian cities by the end of the year, promising high-speed Internet access on mobile devices will be as fast as is currently available on home and office computers.

Dejero Demonstrates Live HD Wireless Broadcasting Using Panasonic Toughbook at NAB Show 2011

I wish I were at NAB Show 2011 to meet the great people at Dejero Labs again and to check out their latest offerings. Take a look of this press release for more info, “Dejero Demonstrating Live HD Wireless Broadcasting Using Panasonic Toughbook Laptop at Panasonic NAB Booth“.

P.S. Wow, if I read the press release correctly, looks like Dejero has further shrunk their Dejero LIVE transmitter down in size and pack everything into a Panasonic Toughbook CF-31! Congrats to Bogdan and team for a great job!

P.P.S. I will not be a bit surprised if Dejero wins another award this year.

Usage-based billing (UBB)

* BCE CEO Cope Says UBB Accounts for Almost All Internet Revenue Gains

* A user generated YouTube video providing some information on usage-based billing (UBB), and a Canadian perspective on its long term implications.

Obama’s initiative expands wireless coverage to 98% of Americans

White House press release of the initiative. [HT ZDnet]

“Nokia, our platform is burning.”

It is rare to see a CEO admit errors and that his/her company is in deep trouble. An excerpt from an internal, but now public, email from Stephen Elop, CEO of Nokia (since September 2010),

“We too, are standing on a “burning platform,” and we must decide how we are going to change our behaviour.

Over the past few months, I’ve shared with you what I’ve heard from our shareholders, operators, developers, suppliers and from you. Today, I’m going to share what I’ve learned and what I have come to believe.

I have learned that we are standing on a burning platform.

And, we have more than one explosion – we have multiple points of scorching heat that are fuelling a blazing fire around us.“

Will be interesting to see what happen in time.

[HT Wired]

***

Feb 11, 2011 Update: Too bad, “Nokia unveils Microsoft partnership“

Ottawa’s Globalive (WIND Mobile) decision overturned by Federal Court

Feb 15, 2011 Update: CBC News, “Globalive ruling to be appealed by Ottawa”

Feb 17, 2011 Update: “Globalive appeals court ruling, seeks to extend stay”

***

As a WINDmobile customer, I’m surprised & angered to see Ottawa’s Globalive decision overturned by federal court. From CBC (with video interview of WIND Mobile CEO Ken Campbell),

“On Friday, Federal Court Justice Roger Hughes found Ottawa’s move was based on “errors of law” and ruled it null and void. He also ordered a 45-day stay in the ruling, meaning the company has time to appeal and continue to operate in the interim.

“We are very disappointed with this decision,” Globalive chairman Anthony Lacavera said. “We are examining our options but this is not over yet. We don’t intend to back down.”

Since its launch a little more than a year ago, Wind has already accumulated 250,000 customers, he noted.

Industry Minister Tony Clement said the government is studying the ruling and examining its options. “Our [government] stands with consumers who want more competition,” he said in a tweet.

Later, Clement commented on the decision in an interview to air Saturday on CBC Radio’s The House.

“I’ll be studying the decision and reviewing our options, but … our government still believes very strongly that we should be on the side of consumers, and what consumers want is more choice,” Clement told host Kathleen Petty.”

Here is the court decision (in PDF and in text).

Also see reports by TorStar and Reuters.

Bell Canada paid $1.3m penalty for violating do-not-call rules

CRTC Chair Konrad von Finckenstein

Wonderful to see CRTC’s National do-not-call list is sending a message with its $1.3-million fine! (more CRTC info about telemarking.) The following is an excerpt from Calgary Herald “Bell Canada hit with $1.3 M penalty for violating do-not-call rules“. Also see my previous entries about the do-not-call list in 2008 here, here, here and here.

“Bell Canada paid a record-high $1.3-million penalty for “unauthorized telemarking practices,” including the peddling of its own services to people on the national do-not-call list, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission announced Monday.

“All telemarketers must respect the wishes of Canadians who have registered their telephone number on the National DNCL (do-not-call list) . . . ” Andrea Rosen, the CRTC’s chief telecommunications enforcement officer, said in a statement. “Even though the calls in this instance were made by third parties, Bell Canada must ultimately ensure that the rules are followed. We appreciate Bell Canada’s willingness to work with us to address our concerns.””