There is a general consensus among regulators and industry experts who believe that facilities-based competition is the best way to enable new telecom services and applications. But one of the great myths about wireless technology is that it can compete equally against fibre in terms of facilities-based competition.

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John Quinn has been named marketing communications manager at SAS Institute (Canada) Inc. He will be responsible for public relations, advertising, e-marketing, direct marketing, event planning and similar activities. He was previously a marketing strategist with the company. SAS is a data warehousing software company.

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U.S. firm pays $7.2 million for CSI’s vehicle tracking device
U.S.-based InterTrak Tracking Services LLC has paid $7.2 million for Calgary-based CSI Wireless Inc’s vehicle tracking device called AssetVision(TM ) for MicroBurst(R). The order will be delivered over the next year, with shipments beginning immediately. Introduced in October 2000, AssetVision(TM ) for MicroBurst(R) can locate and monitor vehicles, either individually or in fleets, almost anywhere in the United States, Canada and Mexico, and in some parts of South America. The device integrates Global Positioning System (GPS) technology with MicroBurst wireless packet data communications.

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Canada’s national wireless lobby is urging the CRTC to turn down a proposal the Canadian National Institute of the Blind that would have mobile and local phone carriers footing the bill for a national N11 service for blind and visually impaired people. The Canadian Wireless Tele-communications Association is opposing two related applications filed by the CNIB.

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British Columbia and Alberta lead the country in the percentage of households that have access to a cell phone, both hovering around the 60 per cent mark. It demonstrates that Western Canadians continue to adopt the wireless way of life quicker than their Eastern Canadian neighbours. According to a Decima Research Inc Express Survey, BC has taken over the lead from Alberta with 60.1 per cent of households having access to a wireless phone, while Albertan residences ranked in at 59.4 per cent.

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The board of directors and other senior managers at eDispatch.com Wireless Data Inc are stepping in to fill the vacancies left by the sudden resignations of two senior executives at the company in December. The departures of president/CEO Brian Ellis and VP sales and marketing Michael Beards, within three days of each other before the Christmas holidays, has left a big hole to fill at the Internet dispatch company, but officials say it hasn’t deterred them from pursuing a new marketing strategy to significantly increase their customer base and stock price.

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Gaphics engine developer BitFlash has hired a former VP of marketing from Corp to help move the company’s new cross-platform graphics engine from the lab to the market this March. The Ottawa software developer is finalizing its release of the Reflexis Graphics Engine, which brings desktop level graphics to wireless devices and the Internet.

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Cnadian wireless providers are increasing their capital expenditures, even though the amounts they spend are a tiny percentage of the industry outlay. A new study by IDC Canada suggests the outlook for telecom spending in this country is better than that of the United States.

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Intense bidding for Toronto PCS spectrum by the five remaining national players could push the final price tag for Canada’s hottest market as high as $90 million or higher as companies head into week two of the auction today. How high Toronto, as well as Vancouver and Montreal, eventually sell for could depend on new entrant W2N Inc, which is emerging as the darkhorse against Bell Mobility and Rogers Wireless in the battle for 2 GHz spectrum. W2N is bidding aggressively for two of the four licences up for grabs in Toronto, and in all likelihood will secure at least one of them.

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