ROW Short Takes

TELUS extends offer for Microcell againTELUS Corp. has again extended its unsolicited offer for Microcell Telecommunications Inc. by an additional 30 days. The offer will now expire on September 20. Despite TELUS’ ongoing efforts to remove the country’s smallest wireless operator from the competitive landscape, Microcell shareholders don’t appear to believe the offer is fair. Only a very small fraction of Microcell securities holders have tendered their securities. As of August 20, 682 Class A restricted voting shares had been tendered to the offer out of 183,340. There were 15,924 Class B non-voting shares tendered out of 29,131,974. There were 77,574 Warrants 2005 tendered out of the 3,998,302 and 60,766 Warrants 2008 tendered out 6,663,943. Rogers Wireless selects Azaire for Wi-Fi locationsAzaire Networks will be the core system provider for Rogers Wireless Inc.’s Wi-Fi services at hotspot locations across the country, the company announced this week. Azaire’s platform provides Rogers Wireless with secure authentication and authorization services and allows its subscribers to pay for access either by credit card or by charging access to their account. Rogers Wireless joined with Bell Mobility, Telus Mobility and Microcell Solutions Inc. earlier this year (RoW, March 10/04) to establish common standards for Wi-Fi roaming. Service is expected to be operational this fall. Rogers Wireless notes in a news release that "Azaire’s platform required minimal modifications to meet the secure authentication and wholesale settlement requirements adopted by the Canadian wireless carriers." Nortel Networks increases marketing effortsStruggling network equipment manufacturer Nortel Networks Corp. has committed to putting more money in to marketing. In releasing its most recent financial results, company brass revealed the creation of the new position of chief marketing officer and signaled the birth of a corporate marketing and branding strategy. Nortel’s CEO, Bill Owens, said during a conference call on August 18 that while the company has great technology, it needs to do a better job of marketing it. The company didn’t provide details as to specific parts of the plan, only to say that it will put greater emphasis on the enterprise sector. AirIQ to enforce patent rights on vehicle locationToronto-based AirIQ Inc. has signaled that it will promote its U.S. patent rights for vehicle location in the vehicle leasing and financing market. The company indicates in a news release that, following its acquisition of Aircept.com, that it is well positioned to enforce its rights relating to a "Method for Retrieving Vehicular Collateral". "The patents document the method of using wireless tracking, or other means of data transfer, to and from a vehicle where the purpose is to recover a vehicle that has been used as collateral for a loan or lease. The process would involve the confiscation of a vehicle in the event of a loan default where the use of a transmitter installed in the vehicle would assist in its retrieval," reads the release. LoJack agrees to acquire Boomerang for US$48 millionLoJack Corp. has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Boomerang Tracking Inc. for $2.95 per share, totaling US$48 million. Through the acquisition, LoJack will not only gain an established brand, but will also be able to enter the Canadian market, particularly Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia where Boomerang is the leader in stolen vehicle recovery. Boomerang had $26.2 million in revenue and $3.3 million in net income in its most recently completed fiscal year ended April 30. The acquisition is expected to be neutral to earnings per share in 2004, and accretive in 2005 and beyond. Bell Canada opens Wireless Innovation CentreCanada’s largest incumbent telephone company Bell Canada has opened its Wireless Innovation Centre at its mobility arm’s Creekbank campus in Mississauga ON. The company notes in a news release that this announcement showcases its commitment to the development of wireless applications, devices and services by creating an interactive, open environment where Bell developers and technology partners can work together. The Wireless Innovation Centre will also play a key role in the company’s move towards an IP-based platform for its customers. All development phases from technology trials, product introduction, production support and field testing will be supported by the centre. Bell’s latest innovation centre is the fourth the company has launched since September 2003. TeraGo Networks secures Mark’s Work WearhouseTeraGo Networks Inc., has landed Mark’s Work Wearhouse as a customer for its high-bandwidth fixed wireless access services. TeraGo is providing Mark’s with an E10 service at its corporate headquarters in Calgary. "We are finding more and more businesses like Mark’s are coming to us because we are meeting their demands for reliable, high-speed data solutions and Internet access," TeraGo president and CEO Bryan Boyd said in a news release. Spotwave Wireless secures $12 million in financingOttawa-based Spotwave Wireless has finalized another round of financing to the tune of $12 million. Newbury Ventures and VenGrowth Capital Partners led the venture financing of $7 million from existing investors Primaxis Technology Ventures, Venture Coaches (now merged with Skypoint Capital), The VentureLink Fund, GrowthWorks WV Funds, and RBQ Ltd. The remaining $5 million was secured through a credit facility from the Royal Bank of Canada. Spotwave states in a news release that wireless carriers are now devoting a substantial portion of network spending on improving in-building coverage. Mobile Knowledge and Sprint selected for IP, dispatch systemCoventry Connections Inc. has selected Mobile Knowledge and Sprint Canada to implement an inter-city computerized taxi command and control system, consolidating dispatch centres for a number of taxi fleets into one centralized call centre. Coventry, which provides services for seven taxi fleets in southern Ontario, notes in a news release that this is the largest centralized taxi operations system implemented in Canada, and the first to operate across multiple cities. Sprint will provide toll free and frame relay data network services, and Mobile Knowledge will provide its taxi solution, Cabmate, to power the centralized call centre. The new call centre will allow Coventry to expand into other geographic markets, with lower operating costs than were previously available with traditional command and dispatch processes. SR Telecom receives purchase order from frame contractMontreal-based SR Telecom Inc. has received its first purchase order from the $35-million frame contract the company has in Latin America. The purchase order calls for SR Telecom to begin field surveys and network engineering for a telecommunications infrastructure expansion and upgrade program. An unidentified major telecommunications operator in the region placed the order. SR Telecom will, under terms of the deal, deliver fixed wireless access systems from its SR500 family of products, network planning, installation and project management services. Delivery of the systems will be conducted over the next several quarters with the network slated for completion by the end of the first quarter of fiscal year 2005. Agilent releases new wireless test benchmarksAgilent Technologies Inc. has released new wireless test benches, sources and measurement capabilities for its 2004A EDA software. The new capabilities allow for the simulation of designs of wireless LANs, 3GPP and TD-SCDMA standards. "The new capabilities allow RF circuit designers to quickly and accurately verify subsystem performance in wireless communications products," reads a news release published earlier this month. Spectrum Signal selected by U.S. DOD for intelligent signalsSpectrum Signal Processing Inc. has been selected by an agency of the U.S. Department of Defense to provide its SDR-3000 product as the development and deployment platform for a mobile signals intelligence application. Initial field trials are anticipated to begin in the fourth quarter of 2004. Once trials are completed, production shipments are expected to start in 2005. The total value of the program is estimated to be between US$500,000 and US$1,750,000. WaveRider delivers broadband access in VirginiaToronto-based WaveRider Communications Inc. has announced that Gamewood Inc. has deployed its broadband wireless access equipment to provide high-speed communications to three communities in south-central Virginia. Gamewood is deploying additional equipment to double its subscriber base in those communities.

ROW Short Takes

News | 08/24/2004 4:00 am EDT

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