RoW Short Takes

Guns, gadgets, girls and GSMMicrocell Telecommunications Inc. has announced the commercial availability of Sony Ericsson’s T68i, the same handset featured in the latest installment of the James Bond 007 spy series, Die Another Day. In addition to all the bells and whistles incorporated in newer handsets, the T68i also offers Bluetooth functionality and allows for picture messaging through the CommuniCam. The Montreal-based operator has also announced that Sony Ericsson’s T300, which offers much of the same features as the T68i, will be commercially available early next year. Rogers introduces new phones Rogers Wireless Inc. is now selling a couple of new handsets that offer wireless data and organization capabilities in addition to traditional voice services. The wireless operator has announced the commercial availability of the Treo 270, made by Handspring Inc., and Nokia’s 6590i. The Treo 270 adds traditional wireless handset features with PDA-like capabilities to provide the user with a mobile office. The 6590i is the size of a business card and weighs a mere 90 grams. It also has PDA-like features, such as a calendar and a to-do list. Bell and Telus extend 1X network roaming agreementBell Mobility and Telus Mobility have entered into the second phase of an enhanced roaming and resale agreement, originally signed last October (RoW, Oct. 30/01). Under terms of the original deal, Bell’s rural and remote subscribers in Alberta and British Columbia could roam onto Telus’ digital PCS network in those under-served regions. At the same time, Telus subscribers could roam onto Bell’s network in Ontario and Quebec.The second-phase enables Bell’s customers in those same regions to get access to Telus’ CDMA 1XRTT wireless network. Telus subscribers enjoy the same benefit in central Canada. "This past fall, Bell Mobility launched its own 1X next generation wireless network in urban centres in Alberta and British Columbia. Today’s announcement allows us to extend the benefits of our 1X products and services to rural customers in Alberta and B.C.," Michael Neuman, president of Bell Mobility, said in a news release. CRTC sets contribution levels for 2002 and 2003The CRTC has set the contribution rate that telecommunications service providers have to pay to help subsidize local service in high-cost serving areas (Telecom Decision 2002-71). For this year, the commission set the rate at 1.3%, which is a tenth of a percentage point lower than the interim rate set last year. Next year’s interim rate has also been set at 1.3%. The CRTC also singled out Télébec and Telus Québec for their estimations of contribution charges. In other commission news, it has approved the Nimiq 2 transponder agreement between Telesat Canada and Bell ExpressVu LP (Telecom Order 2002-434). Telesat applied for approval to implement a special facilities agreement, which is consistent with the approach it took with the first Nimiq bird. That agreement was approved in Telecom Order CRTC 97-1331. The commission was also satisfied that other Canadian broadcasters will have access to the DBS platform. RIM loses first round in legal battle, appeal plannedResearch in Motion Ltd. has announced it plans to challenge a jury’s verdict that awarded US$23 million in damages to NTP Inc. In the original complaint, NTP alleged that certain RIM products infringed on patents held by NTP. While this is considered a loss for RIM, the award of damages is still subject to post-trial motions and appeals. "The court will rule on the jury’s verdict and other post-trial motions in February. At that time, the judge will also rule whether the jury’s finding of willfulness will result in an increase of damages or not," a RIM news release stated. SR Telecom chops 10% of overall staff head countMontreal-based SR Telecom Inc. will adjust its global workforce to reflect lower than anticipated revenue for the first-half of FY 2003. The company will chop approximately 100 jobs representing about 10% of its global workforce. "The steps we are taking today ensure that we enter 2003 able to deal with the opportunities and realities of a challenging market," company president and CEO Pierre St-Arnaud said in a news release. Last month, the company announced that six-month revenue for FY 2003 would be well below 2002 levels, but that overall 2003 revenue would be in line with revenue recorded in 2002. Plaintree Systems continues to stumble financiallyPlaintree Systems Inc., Ottawa, has once again made several moves to try and keep the company alive while it waits for key orders to come through. It will not renew its directors and officers insurance, which expires December 3. The company’s annual general meeting has been cancelled indefinitely. Plaintree will also undertake a formal proposal to its creditors. Plaintree’s president and CEO David Watson said in a news release that these measures could save the company up to $400,000 in yearly expenses. SAMSys signs two key VAR agreementsSAMSys Technologies Inc. has signed two key value-added reseller (VAR) agreements that will boost the company’s efforts in attracting market share. First, it signed an agreement with the John Voris Industrial Engineering Group (JVIE), a manufacturing and distribution process system provider. Under terms of the agreement between the two companies, certain RFID readers from SAMSys will be integrated with JVIE’s RF routing product for conveyor systems. The other agreement is with LG&P In-Store, a provider of in-store marketing programs. Under this agreement, SAMSys will provide its SmartShelf system to LG&P, which provides retailers with real-time information regarding inventory and product merchandising. Intersil partners with ViXS for first VANViXS Systems Inc. and Intersil are teaming up to demonstrate a standards-based video area network (VAN) for the residential market. The demonstration will take place at Comdex 2002 in Las Vegas. The combination of Intersil’s 802.11a WLAN chipset and ViXS’ Xcode chip can enable a set-top box to provide up to eight simultaneous video broadcast streams to various wireless devices. Hughes gets gov’t approvalHughes Networks Systems Inc. has received approval from Industry Canada to offer services using Ka-band spectrum in the 99 and 101 degrees west orbital positions. The two orbital slots were awarded to HNS in 1997 as part of the company’s SPACEWAY satellite constellation plan. The department has already authorized more than 50 foreign satellites to offer service in Canada.

RoW Short Takes

News | November 25, 2002

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