RoW Update

EARNINGS Telesat reports revenue and profit growth Telesat Canada, the satellite operating subsidiary of communications and media conglomerate BCE Inc., continues to show revenue and profit growth. First-quarter revenue jumped 9% compared to the previous year. Telesat posted total operating revenue of $77.2 million compared to $70.9 million in Q1 2001. Increased telecommunications revenue of $12.4 million was partially offset by a decline in international and consulting revenue, and equipment sales. The Ottawa-based company posted solid earnings as well, with earnings increasing $7.4 million to reach $22.8 million for Q1 2002. More details. UBS continues to struggleUnique Broadband Systems Inc. has still not found a way to fill in the huge revenue gap left when it completed a major contract for Hughes Network Systems, which left the Ontario company with a paltry $5.9 million in revenue in its third quarter compared to $27.8 recorded in the same period a year earlier (RoW, Aug. 7/01). Even more striking is the company's loss for the quarter, which ballooned to $9.7 million compared to earnings of $25.5 million in the same quarter last year. High-profile management termination agreements, legal fees, and other non-recurring expenses have also affected UBS’ results. The company has also been undergoing a major restructuring (RoW, Sept. 4/01). More details. AirIQ reports doubling of revenue AirIQ/eDispatch has reported a more than doubling of revenue for the three-month period ended Dec. 31, 2001. Gross profit during the same period increased a staggering 675%. The two companies, which merged last year, are trying to synchronize reporting periods (RoW, Oct. 2/01). These results consist of AirIQ's revenue for eight months ended Dec. 31, plus the operating results of eDispatch from Sept. 28 to Dec. 31. "Despite the softening of the overall economy, AirIQ's revenues more than doubled due to strong subscriber acquisition. Our traction is a direct result of our telematics solution proving valuable to our clients," company president and CEO Donald Simmonds said in a news release. "We expect this momentum to propel strong revenues for the foreseeable future, without proportionate increases in expenditures." More details. MDSI reports expected revenue Mobile workforce management system provider Mobile Data Solutions Inc. has posted revenue that is in line with management's expectations. It recorded revenue of US$11.2 million, just slightly lower than the anticipated US$12 million. The Richmond BC-based firm attributes the lower revenue to delays in purchase decisions by prospective customers. "While we have good opportunities in sight, the current environment makes it difficult to reliably predict when contracts will be signed, and consequently when to expect certain revenue streams. To offset this uncertainty we are being particularly vigilant about our expenses, and will continue to be," MDSI's VP finance and CFO Verne Pecho said in a news release. More details. INTERNATIONAL NEWS Delay of 700 MHz auction seems more than likely The U.S. Congress is stepping up its fight to delay the proposed auction of spectrum in the 700 MHz frequency range as two new bills are seeking to stop the auction from taking place at this time. The spectrum, which broadcasters use to carry channels 52 to 69, is sought by both the commercial wireless industry and public safety groups, which are in dire need of additional spectrum. But broadcasters don't have to vacate the spectrum until 2006. More details: Spectrum auction delay hits fast track House committee votes to delay spectrum auction Senate bill to delay FCC wireless sale Wireless security to get top billing at forumRepresentatives from government agencies, the corporate world, and academia will meet in Washington D.C. next week to discuss their concerns about wireless security. Called "A Roadmap to a Safer Wireless World", the forum will take place behind closed doors due to the sensitive nature of some of the topics. The group will, however, report on their discussions and potential answers to some of the problems in a report due out later this year. Some of the issues that will get major attention will be the spread of viruses to handheld devices, the use of GPS in handsets and vehicles, and the security conundrum associated with 802.11b wireless LANs. More details. FCC adopts order to address wireless 911The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has adopted an order that will improve the ability of public safety answering points (PSAPs) to respond "quickly and efficiently to call for emergency assistance made from wireless phones." Specifically, the FCC has opted to address issues associated with non-service-initialized wireless phones, which are handsets that aren't registered for service by any of the commercial wireless operators. These phones are typically distributed to at-need individuals, such as victims of violence, and 911-only phones. More details. Technical glitch with TTY and PSAP equipment discoveredThe Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) has uncovered a technical glitch with the ability of certain public safety answering point (PSAP) equipment to terminate a wireless TTY call. The finding puts a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) deadline in jeopardy. A December 2000 FCC Report & Order mandated the wireless industry to provide mobile handsets capable of transporting TTY signals over digital networks.ATIS' TTY Technical Standards Implementation (TTSI) Incubator has come up with a test to determine if there is a termination problem, dubbed the TTY Wireless Inter-operability with PSAP TTY Test, or TWIP. The goal of this test is to come up with a statistical error rate, which will allow the FCC to then determine the magnitude of the problem. More details.

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News | May 6, 2002

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