RoW Update

W.A.V.E.S. gets green light to go ahead with event broadcasting in CanadaAll the regulatory pieces are now in place for World Audio Visual Entertainment Services (W.A.V.E.S.) Inc. to put the peddle to the metal and speed ahead with the launch of its business plan in Canada. Last week, the CRTC issued a blanket licence exemption to companies like W.A.V.E.S. to operate a low-power special event TV service.The company had applied for a broadcast licence so that it could broadcast special events and related content on specialized mobile devices to the event’s attendees (RoW, May 27/02). The CRTC denied the application in December 2002 in Broadcasting Decision 2002-467 (RoW Update, Jan. 13/03), but last week issued an exemption order for low-power encrypted television: limited duration special event facilitating programming undertakings (Broadcasting Public Notice 2003-35). The move gives W.A.V.E.S. the green light to move forward with its plans to broadcast such events as the Canadian Grand Prix and the Molson Toronto Indy to spectators via mobile devices.The company tested its service south of the border at the U.S. Grand Prix at Indianapolis Raceway last year. W.A.V.E.S. received Federal Communications Commission approval for the service last year. CWTA offers commercial short codesThe Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) has announced the commercial availability of common short codes with which users can vote on TV programs and take part in trivia contests. The CWTA first began developing a list of common short codes that would be available for use in TV voting initiatives, targeted advertising, online commerce and trivia contests earlier this year (RoW, March 31/03).Short codes hold substantial promise as a way to boost wireless data revenue for the carriers as it makes it easier for subscribers across all carriers to participate in these kinds of activities.Launching common short codes for the Canadian market represents only the first step in the initiative. Developing a common list for North America would serve to spur wireless data revenue that much more. Earlier this year, David Farnes, VP of industry and regulatory affairs at the CWTA, told Report on Wireless, “The question is how do we dovetail the two activities and explore North American-wide applications.” Wi-LAN seeks additional cash for general corporate purposesWi-LAN Inc. is seeking to raise additional cash for general corporate and working capital purposes. Only a couple of hours after announcing a $7-million bought deal on July 10, the Calgary-based company increased the amount of the deal to $9 million. The agreement, with a syndicate of underwriters led by Orion Securities Inc., is expected to close on or about July 29. Mitec discontinues discussions for BEVE saleMontreal-based Mitec Telecom Inc. has walked away from a deal with Partnertech AB of Sweden regarding the sale of Mitec’s BEVE Electronics AB subsidiary. The two companies began talking about Partnertech’s purchase of BEVE earlier this year and had apparently reached an agreement last month.Mitec has been shedding jobs and divisions as part of a major restructuring plan to get the company going in the right direction. Restructuring efforts began last year when the company hired former Microcell Telecommunications Inc. senior executive Rajiv Pancholy. Bell Mobility jokes it upBell Mobility will send subscribers, who opt into the initiative, a daily joke from humourist Maxim Martin as part of the Just for Laughs Festival. To receive the jokes, subscribers must sign up at monshowsolo.ca and become a member of the Fan Club. The Just for Laughs Festival runs from July 10 to July 20. EMS Technologies to sell Montreal operationEMS Technologies Inc. has announced that it will shed its commercial space division located in Montreal as a result of volatile financial performance and current slow pace of sales activity. President and CEO Alfred Hansen noted that despite the world-class operations and technical abilities in the Montreal space and technology division, the financial activity of the operation has forced the company to divest of the outfit.“While it is inevitable that current satellites will someday need to be replaced and new services will spur demand for more satellites, the timing of this future business is uncertain,” he said in a news release.Book value of the assets on the auction block is estimated at US$54 million. EMS will retain the Satellite Networks division because it could make substantial contributions to future earnings, the company said in the news release. Government announces further funding under rural broadband planThe Canadian government announced funding of just over $3.5 million, in two separate allocations, on July 10 to organizations representing hundreds of communities to help them develop business plans for the provision of broadband access services in the communities. The government gave a total of $1.7 million to 65 recipients ($30,000 each) representing 906 communities across Canada and another $1.7 million ($30,000 each) to applicants representing 110 aboriginal communities. This most recent allocation of funding, part of the government’s Broadband for Rural and Northern Development Pilot Program announced last fall (RoW Update, Sept. 9/02), is the second round of funding for business plans and follows similar funding announced in January of this year.Business plans under the second round of funding must be submitted by November 20. Implementation funds for first-round applicants will be announced this fall, while winners from second-round applicants will be made public in the spring of 2004. INTERNATIONAL NEWSMajority of content providers will disappear in four yearsThe majority of wireless content companies will disappear over the next four years, according to a report from two analysts. Wireless World Forum analysts Graham Brown and Josh Dhaliwal found after three months of exhaustive research and interviews with 400 industry executives that many independent content developers are turning out rich media for mobile subscribers, but many have no strategy to get their products used.The report notes that many of these companies have convinced themselves that their content is compelling enough to convince carriers to buy into their concepts. However, these companies “have ineffective distribution strategies for payment, marketing and delivery of the product,” Wired News notes of the report’s findings. U.S. mobile carriers shift marketing strategyVerizon Wireless’ picture phone announcement could very well be the impetus for a changing marketing environment south of the border, according to one analyst. In an email, Jeff Kagan writes, “as growth slows in the wireless phone industry in general, competition intensifies and the marketing focus is moving away from the phone call toward the content and features.”General industry consensus from analysts and observers alike is that the carriers can’t compete on price anymore and have to shift their strategy to focusing on content and other features in order to attract new subscribers. While U.S. carriers are starting to address the pre-paid market more aggressively, they are still finding it difficult to price data services.Kagan agrees. “This pay as you go pricing plan should be popular, but the pricing model for wireless photos and MMS in general is still a work in progress as the carriers experiment trying to crack the code on what customers want and how they want to pay for it.” No delays in porting numbers permitted, FCC saysThe Federal Communications Commission recently noted that it will not tolerate any delays in porting numbers from one carrier to another following a customer demand, despite some carriers’ concerns about delinquent paying customers. Analyst Albert Lin of Telecom Insights writes in an email that there are a couple of ways carriers can combat this.“We believe the most effective short term way for carriers to manage LNP (local number portability) induced churn is to get the highest percentage of their customer base on contract leading up to the Nov. 24, 2003 deadline. The most effective long term way for a carrier to combat LNP churn and customer loss is to have high-capacity/high-quality networks. It is almost too late for the long-term solution for most carriers, so they must rely on the fact that most carriers, outside of Verizon, are in a similar relative position,” Lin writes.

RoW Update

News | 07/14/2003 4:00 am EDT

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