ROW Short Takes

Aliant Telecom completes broadband network expansionCanada’s incumbent telco for Atlantic Canada, Aliant Telecom, has completed a major broadband network expansion, which has seen high-speed Internet connectivity now available to nearly three-quarters of homes in the region, up from the 39% level recorded in 1999. "With our $26-million investment, more of our friends, family, neighbours and entrepreneurs can use broadband to explore business opportunities, connect with others learn and expand their horizons – all on a dedicated unshared access from your computer to Aliant’s network, which provides consistent speed and doesn’t tie up your phone line," Aliant VP broadband and marketing Heather Tulk said in a news release. This announcement came only a few days after the company revealed that its investment in wireless network infrastructure in Newfoundland and Labrador has surpassed the $50-million level and will soon cover more than 75% of the province’s population. In other Aliant news, the telco has announced that it is working with the Newfoundland and Labrador IT industry association Nati and the provincial government to help establish the province as a recognized centre for information and communications technologies (ICT) development. The $1.5-million development initiative, dubbed Nearshore Atlantic, is designed to bring new ICT work to Newfoundland and Labrador that will benefit the local ICT industry. Vehicle location enabled in Atlantic CanadaGrey Island Systems and Aliant Telecom have joined forces to provide automatic vehicle location services to a major construction company in the Atlantic Canadian region. Grey Island will provide the InterFleet automatic vehicle location (AVL) service, and Aliant will allow the service to operate on its CDMA 1x network. Dexter Construction Company Ltd., a division of Municipal Enterprises Ltd., one of the largest civil contractors in the Maritime region, will buy the service. "InterFleet provides the required functionality and competitive pricing we need to efficiently and proactively deploy our fleet vehicles. The ability to locate a vehicle on a map at any time and track where it has been will be of value to our customers and it will provide added safety benefits for our drivers," Dexter’s IT manager Tony Verberk said in a news release. Nokia beefs up battle against counterfeit batteriesOne of the world’s largest handset manufacturers, Nokia, is stepping up the fight against low-quality counterfeit batteries by introducing an authentication system. The new system involves putting hologram labels on all of its new batteries. "With this new Nokia authentication program, we are directly attacking the counterfeiters who manufacture potentially unsafe batteries. The hologram label enables consumers to identify that the battery they are using is indeed an original Nokia battery," Razvan Olosu, VP of mobile enhancements, multimedia at Nokia, said in a news release. In addition to the labeling program, Nokia will continue to work with law enforcement authorities to take strong legal measures, including criminal prosecutions, against companies or individuals that sell and distribute counterfeit Nokia products. VCom and Navigata partner on WiMAX in KamloopsVCom Inc. and SaskTel subsidiary Navigata Communications Inc. are partnering to deploy a broadband wireless network covering the entire municipality of Kamloops in British Columbia. The two companies will provide the primary equipment required for the network deployment, gear that expands the reach of traditional small wireless hotspots to cover an entire city. "This partnership with VCom to deploy leading edge technology will assist Navigata and SaskTel in finding new ways to serve residents in their respective provinces," SaskTel president and CEO Robert Watson said in a news release. VCom’s founder and president was equally bullish on the partnership. "The successful deployment of VCom’s technologies in this pilot will allow us to showcase our leading edge wireless products in Canada and around the world," Surinder Kumar said in a news release. Gennum seeks trademark on term TruMotionHDBurlington ON-based Gennum Corp. has filed for a trademark on the term TruMotionHD, which will cover equipment designed to receive, process and transmit wireless signals to and from a number of different devices, including remote controls, television sets and video projectors. The claim cover use in Canada. Colligo featured in Microsoft marketing brochureVancouver-based Colligo Networks Inc. has been chosen by Microsoft Corp. to be one of the 25 innovation partner companies featured in its Innovation Starts Here brochure. The documents highlights companies that have been technically innovative in development solutions using Microsoft technologies. "Selected from emerging companies around the world, the innovators are privately funded software companies who are recognized for their ability to fuse technical innovation with a clear business need or market opportunity to implement a viable solution," reads a news release. Colligo’s software helps create ad-hoc networks with which mobile workers can share documents, thus improving productivity while out of the office. "Everyday tens of thousands of people use Colligo Workgroup Edition to be more productive and work more efficiently within teams. We hope this Microsoft initiative will help alert people to a new way of collaborating," Colligo president and CEO Barry Jinks said in the same news release. Wireless Matrix secures contract with Atmos EnergyWireless Matrix has been awarded a contract by Atmos Energy to provide the company’s 462 service technicians with real-time mobile data connectivity. Atmos will install Wireless Matrix’ mobile base station products on the service vehicles to provide always-on wireless data connectivity. Prior to deciding to implement the Wireless Matrix service, Atmos service technicians relied on dial-up cellular modems and the company couldn’t take full advantage of its investment in back-office systems and call centres without always-on connectivity. Since implementing the Wireless Matrix service, Atmos has begun to realize benefits. "The Wireless Matrix solution has saved us at least 30 minutes per technician per day, or over 200 hours per day across our fleet. This efficiency improvement has enhanced employee morale in the fleet leading to overall improvements in customer satisfaction," Atmos IT manager Jeff Whiting said in a news release. JP Mobile head makes push for mobile emailThe head of JP Mobile Dayakar Puskoor says in light of the recent court ruling declaring that Research in Motion Ltd. in fact infringed on patents held by NTP Inc. device manufacturers and enterprise end-users should consider other mobile email systems as they weigh the risk in doing business with RIM. He says that non-proprietary, device, network and platform independent wireless email solutions such as the company’s recently launched SureWave Mobile Office should be considered an alternative to the BlackBerry wireless email system. "RIM has done a good job insofar as its BlackBerry product has validated the market potential for wireless email, and for this accomplishment the company should be commended. However, RIM’s ongoing legal battles, coupled with the inherent limitations of the company’s proprietary technology and Network Operating Centre (NOC) based, store-and-forward delivery mechanisn, should compel carriers, device manufacturers and enterprise end users to take a good, close look at alternative solutions," Puskoor said in a news release. "Carriers need more revenue from their wireless data services. NOC fees and offering email on a variety of devices is one sure way to make this happen." SR Telecom wins $7-million deal in Burkina FasoMontreal-based SR Telecom Inc. has been awarded a $7-million contract from the Office Nationale des Telecommunications (ONATEL), the national exchange carrier located in the west African nation of Burkina Faso. The network deployment is the third phase of a plan to expand telecommunications services throughout the country. Further network expansions are planned for the future once this phase is completed. ONATEL will deploy SR Telecom’s swing fixed wireless access system that will be used to deliver voice, data and Internet services to residential and business users in urban centres. Digital Dispatch wins more Digital Dispatch Systems Inc. continues to secure contracts for its GPS dispatch technology, having inked a deal with Capital Taxi Line of Edmonton AB. The cab company has agreed to purchase mobile terminals with magnetic swipes, dispatch application and communications infrastructure for its fleet of more than 90 vehicles. MDSI inks deal with large telephone companyMDSI Mobile Data Solutions Inc. has signed an agreement for the deployment of its mobile workforce management system with one of the largest incumbent local exchange carriers in the United States, demonstrating that the market is beginning to show signs of a turaround. MDSI will deploy its Advantex r7 system across more than 20 states for the ILEC. The software will help the company provide better customer service by automatically scheduling and dispatching work orders, and helping field workers, supervisors and dispatchers record and manage their work throughout the day. MDSI president and CEO Erik Dysthe said in a news release: "This particular contract is the largest in that period and we believe it is a sign that the bigger companies are starting to make decisions." NEWT has hand in NE2 latest productThe Network for Emerging Wireless Technologies’ (NEWT) involvement in the testing of NE2’s latest privacy encryption product was an important part of the product launch, according to NE2 executives. Kevin Greenwood, VP of sales and marketing at NE2 said: "Our use of NEWT for device interoperability testing, network access testing, technical advice, and market perspective has been of great assistance in getting this product into the market faster than we might otherwise have done. NEWT continues to be a solid partner for NE2, with a test and development environment that is supporting our effort to bring products to more markets." NE2’s PrivacyDrivers provide universal privacy and security for IP transmissions across numerous wireless platforms. Wavesat ships WiMAX chipsetMontreal-based Wavesat Inc. has delivered its first WiMAX chipset with general availability expected in early January 2005. More than 30 companies that bought development kits last year were the first to receive the chips last month. The company has also announced a strategic partnership with EDOM Technology Co. Ltd. for distribution of the chips in Taiwan. "This partnership will better serve our customers in the region and help bring low cost WiMAX subscriber units to market by Q2 2005," reads a news release. AirIQ doubles Ontario dealership networkAirIQ Inc. has announced that the number of automobile dealerships in Ontario that have agreed to sell the company’s MobileIQ consumer telematics solution has doubled. "MobileIQ distribution through automotive dealerships is steadily increasing. We are pleased with the rate of adoption and our rollout plans are proceeding according to schedule. We will continually increase the number of dealerships in our local market and expand our sales force to target key markets in the United States," AirIQ VP consumer division Miquel Gonsalves said in a news release. Report on Wireless will have more in the evolving Canadian telematics market in an upcoming issue. Intrinsyc debuts new multimedia development kitVancouver-based Intrinsyc Software International Inc. has introduced its Cerf Pd 270M multimedia developers kit, software that allows for the development of applications for next-generation mobile devices. The introduction of the developers kit is in response to a request from Intel. "Intel’s focus in the mobility space is highlighted by the introduction of this leading edge chip set for mobile applications. We are proud to be co-developers in the development and marketing of this exciting platform with Intel, targeting mobile device manufacturers," Intrinsyc’s VP mobile and embedded system David Manuel said in a news release. SR Telecom receives new order for symmetry Montreal-based SR Telecom Inc. has received another order for its broadband fixed wireless symmetry product line. Telecom Fiji Ltd., the country’s national telecommunications service provider, will use the product as part of an initiative to bring voice and broadband data access to certain areas of the country. SR Telecom has now received two significant orders for its symmetry product. This contract constitutes the second time Telecom Fiji purchased products from SR Telecom in 2004. Deliveries of the symmetry product line are to begin immediately. Financial details of the agreement were not revealed in the press release. Kamloops to become hotspot for businesses and consumersThe City of Kamloops has embarked on an aggressive initiative to provide broadband wireless access to its businesses and residents and those within a 25-km radius of the city. The city has joined Fredericton NB as two of the only cities in the country to decide to implement ubiquitous high-speed wireless access. The citywide coverage is being completed by a partnership between VCom Inc. and Navigata Communications Inc. which will deploy WiMAX technology. CityTel cellular services forborne from regulationThe CRTC has forborne from regulating, with certain conditions, Prince Rupert City Telephone’s cellular services. The company submitted the forbearance application to the commission on July 9, 2004. Vigil secures cash infusion of $1.177 millionVigil Locating Systems Corp. has closed the issuance of secured convertible debentures for gross proceeds of $1,177,000. Proceeds will be used to accelerate the company’s marketing efforts, to finance certain equipment and for everyday operations. "Our goal with this financing was to proceed quickly with a first closing for an amount representing about one third of the total financing. We are therefore very proud to have been able to achieve this goal only a few days after receipt of the required authorizations from the regulatory authorities…We now intend to proceed with a second closing of this financing during the month of February next," Vigil president and CEO Sylvain Gelinas said in a news release. DND buys new radiosThe Department of National Defence has purchased new high-capacity radios from Montreal-based Ultra Electronics Tactical Communications Systems. The contract is valued at $12.7 million and covers up to 130 high-capacity line-of-sight radios for the Canadian Armed Forces.

ROW Short Takes

News | January 10, 2005

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