Mike van der Lee has been appointed VP and GM for British Columbia at Rogers AT&T Wireless Inc. He assumes the responsibility for all sales, marketing and customer care activities for the company in the western most province. Van der Lee joins Rogers from Telus Mobility where he was most recently director corporate sales. Prior to joining Telus in 1993, he held sales and marketing positions at Canadian Telephones and Supplies Ltd, Motorola Canada Ltd, Honeywell Protection Services and Xerox Canada Ltd.

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Despite the growing functionality of handheld devices, the device of choice for mobile workers is still the laptop. According to IDC, 90% of workers plan to use a laptop in the next 12 months, while Internet-enabled phone use hovers around the 30% mark.

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The CRTC has directed Microcell Connexions Inc and Bell Canada to provide billing information in a format that can be read by blind customers. The regulator was responding to Part VII applications filed last year by Toronto resident Chris Stark, who complained that he wasn’t given adequate service at Microcell’s and Bell Canada’s retail outlets and that information relating to the terms and conditions of service wasn’t sufficient for persons that are blind (RoW, Sept. 5/00).

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Two Canadian wireless groups are urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to put spectrum harmonization above the demands of the U.S. military in designating a band for third generation wireless networks. The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association and the Radio Advisory Board of Canada stress to the FCC that most countries in the Americas prefer the 1700 MHz band for 3G in North America, because it’s contiguous to the 1900 MHz already being used on either side of the U.S. border.

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Industry Canada is looking at cutting of the red tape companies face in proving their eligibility before they can apply for additional radio spectrum. The department says it has established effective mechanisms to ensure companies have complied with most conditions of their licence, but the problem arises in applying that same mechanism to other conditions.

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Itemus Inc, Toronto, is assembling the final pieces of a new virtual network that it will probably launch in Europe or Asia in September before rolling out in North America early next year. The mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) would be one of the first of its kind in North America, offering a variety of wireless services to businesses over a data-centric network.

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