Re: Deregulation in Canada

[DavePEI]

It appears to me that these changes here in Canada happened about the same time. Are we actually the 51st state?
Maybe ol' Dave in PEI can shed some knowledge on this deregulation in Canada.
Trivia: In what year did Newfoundland join Canada? What was their early phone system like? How did they call the main land? Did anybody care? Just kidding Dave.
John     

Hi John:

Newfoundland joined Canada on March 31,  1949..

Phones were magneto in the early days, like on PEI, but in the cities changed over to British Strowger  in the 1950s - and in many years remained Strowger until quite late. A little bit of trivia - in 1988 the British Strowger system in Summerside was cut over to DMS. The vast majority of the system was sent over to NFLD to serve as spares for their units. 5 switches stayed behind thanks to one of the fellows who did the cut-over, and they are now in the British Strowger switching demo I am building for the museum!

Mainland was via undersea cable from quite early days. Cable was run to N.S.

[Actually, I jest. They really stuffed notes into codfish and told them to swim to Nova Scotia. Then the Nova Scotians sent their replys back by whispering the answer in the codfish's ear! ]

There may have been lines stretching into PQ, but I have no direct knowledge of this!

Dave

[princessphone]

Thanks for sharing that info. Still interested to learn more about the deregulation and the breakup (sorta) of Ma Bell. How was it different in Canada as compared to the US. I feel that the telcos today- specially with their wireless stuff- run their businesses very much similar as the oil companies. As a bunch of greedy thugs.
Perhaps this deregulation question would be better placed under an other topic such as "General discussions"?
John
PS  What is DMS?   

[DavePEI]

PS  What is DMS?

The DMS-10 and DMS 100 were digital switching systems pioneered by Northern Telecom/Nortel. They were very successful and DMS systems were installed throughout the world. They are still operational in many areas.

As far as deregulation in Canada, I don't know a lot about the details. I do think though, that they learned many lessons from deregulation in the U.S. Strictly speaking, I don't think Bell Canada was ever deregulated. Bell Canada was largely owned by Bell/AT&T  in the U.S., and therefore when Bell was deregulated in the US, it severely effected us, here. Beyond that, perhaps someone with more information could fill us in, rather than my guessing... Nowadays, the Ontario Teacher's Pension Fund I think is still the majority stock holder....

Photo below: DMS 100 installed in Summerside, PEI 1988 to replace the 1949 British Strowger switches which went to Newfoundland.

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DMS-100

Dave 

[DavePEI]

 From Wikopedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_Canada

Divestiture and deregulation  The Bell System had two main companies in the telephone industry in Canada: Bell Canada as a regional operating company (affiliated with AT&T, with an ownership stake of approximately 39%)[20] and Northern Electric as an equipment manufacturer (affiliated with Western Electric, with an ownership stake of approximately 44%).[20] The Bell Telephone Company of Canada and Northern Electric were structured similarly in Canada to the analogous portions of the Bell System in the United States; the regional operating company (Bell Canada) sold telephone services as a local exchange carrier, and Western Electric (Northern Electric) designed and manufactured telephone equipment.
As part of the consent decree signed in 1956 to resolve the antitrust lawsuit filed in 1949 by the United States Department of Justice, AT&T and the Bell System proper divested itself of Northern Electric and Bell Canada.[21][22][23] Northern Electric renamed itself Northern Telecom in 1976, which in turn became Nortel Networks in 1998 with the acquisition of Bay Networks.
Bell Canada acquired 100 percent of Northern Electric in 1964; starting in 1973, Bell's ownership stake in Northern Electric was diminished through public stock offerings, though it retained majority control. In 1983, as a result of deregulation, Bell Canada Enterprises (later shortened to BCE) was formed as the parent company to Bell Canada and Northern Telecom. As a result of the stock transaction used by Northern Telecom to purchase Bay Networks, BCE ceased to be the majority owner of Nortel, and in 2000, BCE spun out its share of Nortel, distributing its holdings to its shareholders.
Between 1980 and 1997, the federal government fully deregulated the telecommunications industry and Bell Canada's monopoly largely ended. Today Bell Canada itself provides local phone service only in major city centres in Ontario and Quebec.

[princessphone]

Hey Dave,
Thanks for moving the topic and supplying your researched material.
John

[.....]

Thanks for sharing that info. Still interested to learn more about the deregulation and the breakup (sorta) of Ma Bell. How was it different in Canada as compared to the US. I feel that the telcos today- specially with their wireless stuff- run their businesses very much similar as the oil companies. As a bunch of greedy thugs.
Perhaps this deregulation question would be better placed under an other topic such as "General discussions"?
John
PS  What is DMS?

I don't know if you have been to this site:

http://www.beatriceco.com/bti/porticus/bell/bell.htm

But it may give you some of the information you are looking for.

[Stubbypylon]

Deregulation in Canada was done in phases. In late 1980 businesses were allowed to purchase a PBX or Key System from someone rather than renting from the monopoly Telco/ILEC (Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier).  You still had to connect the PBX or Key System to the Telco's telephone lines.  The Telco's set up a special group called CPEG (Customer Provided Equipment Group) to deal with the numerous "Interconnect" companies that were created.
Several years later (1986/87 ?), telephone lines and long distance were deregulated creating a whole new group of CLEC's (Competitive Local Exchange Carrier).

[tallguy58]

Who brought over the Stanley Cup?

You related to Wally??

[Stubbypylon]

The Hockey Hall of Fame brought the Cup over.  Wally is my Dad

[tallguy58]

There was an interview recently where your Dad said he scored two of Howie Meeker's goals in his infamous 5 goal game.

Even back then people were suspect.  Check it out:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=Fr8DH2VBP9sC&dat=19470109&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

[Stubbypylon]

Yes I saw the interview and have heard the story for many years.  My Dad was a defenceman and never cared about his point total.  He does care about the principle of the issue.  If you look at Meekers stats he never came close to that rookie year in points.  Thank you for the link to the Gazette story, I had never seen that.

[Doug Rose]

Craig....great story about Wally. I googled him and see he is 95 which is amazing in its self. How is he feeling? He must have some wonderful stories about the great players he played with and against. Thanks for posting this.

My Dad had season tickets for the Bruins for years back in the Original Six Era. I was fortunate enough to see Bobby Orr as a rookie. He never changed, always a wonderful guy. You could wait outside the locker room after the game and talk to the players. We never saw a reporter. Usually maybe 20 people milling around. You could stand in the aisle and the players walked right by you going on and off the ice. I got Derek Sanderson's stick when the Bruins beat the Blues for the Cup at the Garden. It was a truly different time...Doug

[Stubbypylon]

Doug, He'll turn 96 next month.  Other than his mobility (pretty wobbly when walking with a cane but too stubborn to use a walker) he's in great shape.  His mind and memory are sharp as a tack.

The picture of me with the cup was a few years ago during the NHL strike.  Since there was no Stanley Cup winner that year, there wasn't any cup winning players to pass the trophy around in their home town as is the current tradition.  To rekindle interest the NHL decided to allow former cup winners that never experienced that tradition to have the trophy for a day (back in my Dad's days the players were only allowed to touch the cup for a photo shoot).  The NHL called and my Dad spoke to them.  We asked "who was that?".  He said it was the NHL and they asked if I wanted the Stanley Cup for a day,  I told them I wasn't interested. "WHAT  !!!" we fell off of our chairs and told him to call them back right away.  The day arrived and we kept the celebration to just immediate family and a few neighbours. 

It was like an academy award red carpet with the flashes of cameras but people got their pictures and left so things died down a bit.  I decided to call four of my friends telling them "The cup is in my Dad's back yard. If you want to see it you'll need to get here right away as it leaves in 45 minutes".  Three of them were there in 20 minutes.  The fourth guy, Dave a musician, had a gig the night before and was still asleep.  He is probably the biggest hockey fan and was kicking himself when he found out.  A few years later Dave got a call from a friend.  He missed the call but picked up the voice mail message ten minutes later and called back.  His friend said " Sorry Dave we were looking for a fourth person to play golf with but we've got one now".  They were playing golf with Bobby Orr.  Dave picks up his phone more quickly now.

[tallguy58]

The players back then were real gentlemen.

Back in '69 the Habs were playing the Blues in the final. My Dad got tickets and we're sitting there in the Forum when Dad stands up and starts yelling "Hey Dickie" to some guy walking in the aisle. This guy comes over and says "Hey, Bill, how's it going?" I look at him and it's Dickie Moore! He ran and still runs a construction equipment rental business up here in Canada and Dad did business with him. He says hello and grabs my program and signs it. I'm standing there stunned.  Had no idea that my Pop knew the great Dickie Moore!

Fast forward to a few years ago when I read on the Gazette website that he's turning 80. I go the the Dickie Moore Rentals web site and fill in the "contact us" section and send him my best wishes.  About a week later the phone rings and my wife answers it and tells me Dickie Moore in on the phone. He called me to thank me for the birthday greeting. I told him about the meeting in 1969 and he remembered my Dad and wanted to know if he was still alive.  I gave him the number and he called him! Needless to say my Dad was stunned to hear from him. They had a long conversation about meeting for lunch back in the day and stuff.

What a guy.

Amazing to think that players back then had to have two jobs to get by.

[Doug Rose]

Craig....wish your Dad well from me. Real nice story and I am happy to hear he is doing well and his mind is sharp. It is horrible when the mind goes.

Ed...great story as well...I do remember Dickie Moore with the Habs.....Doug