By Alana Grelyak

Welcome to February! As you probably well know, the world economy is still headed in a southward direction, a fact that is emphasized by some of the news contained within this article. However, don’t despair, because there are some uplifting pieces of information! Tribold has some good news to share about funding, and Telcordia celebrated a birthday in January. As always, we try to find the pieces of news that we think you want to read. So, as February progresses (in a hopefully warmer fashion than January in North America), keep in mind that there are still some bright spots in the economic darkness. Here’s your NewsWatch for February.

In last month’s column, we reported that Nortel was warned by the NYSE when the company’s shares fell below $1US per share. Nortel had plans to discuss the matter with its shareholders at the Spring 2009 meeting, but it seems plans have changed. Sadly, Nortel Networks Corporation, Nortel Networks

Limited, and its Canadian subsidiaries, have officially filed for bankruptcy protection, although the company’s official press release avoids excessive use of the term, stating that “Nortel commences comprehensive business and financial restructuring.” The decision was made after a unanimous authorization of Nortel’s Board of Directors. The company’s release also states that its operations are expected to continue without interruption and that it has sufficient cash on hand to fund ongoing operations. So why did the company choose to pursue Chapter 11? "Nortel must be put on a sound financial footing once and for all," said Nortel President and CEO Mike Zafirovski. "These actions are imperative so that Nortel can build on its core strengths and become the highly focused and financially sound leader in the communications industry that its people, technology and customer relationships show it ought to be. I am confident that the actions we're announcing today will be the fastest, most effective means to translate our improved

Nortel Government Solutions business, are not included in these proceedings.

Canadian communications provider Bell Aliant has announced a plan for organizational changes within its management hierarchy. While the plan is meant to “increase competitiveness,” and the company’s official statement is peppered with positive terms, with its reduction of approximately 500 management positions (15 percent of management and 5 percent of the overall workforce), it sounds suspiciously like yet another blow of the economic hammer. Karen Sheriff, President and CEO of Bell Aliant, said: “Changes like this are never easy but are necessary for Bell Aliant to continue to be successful in meeting the needs of our customers and investors.”

Bell Canada, jumping on the cost-cutting bandwagon, has offered a retirement