ROW Update

Telus wheels out, flies out and gets pushyTelus Corp. and its mobile network operating arm Telus Mobility are busy in the wireless space these days. Last week saw four announcements from the companies. First Telus Mobility unveiled its Satellite-equipped Radio Cell Sites On Light Truck (SATCOLT – sic) system, a mobile WAN for emergency voice and data links, meant for emergency services like fire and police. Next Telus announced a partnership with Winnipeg Airports Authority Inc. that should see the service provider install and manage a Wi-Fi network for public wireless Internet access at Winnipeg International Airport. Then Telus Mobility made Motorola Inc.’s i860 handset available on the Mike network. The new mobile phone provides picture messaging, contacts and other features at the push of a button. The carrier said the handset takes Mike’s "Push To" instant voice contact function and extends it into the realm of multimedia. Finally Telus Mobility said it would launch a TV on wireless handsets. Rogers speaks up, lights up and cuts the cordRogers Communications Inc. has also been busy. The firm’s wireless operation, Rogers Wireless Inc., announced Samsung Electronics’ p207 mobile phone last month. Rogers said it’s the first mobile handset with speech-to-text functions in Canada. Using VoiceSignal Technologies Inc.’s VoiceMode software, the phone offers text-message dictation, saving the user from tapping frantically at his keypad to get a note out. Users have to train the phone to understand them, but the more frequently it gets used, the better it gets, Rogers said. The carrier’s selling the p207 for $100 on a three-year service contract; it only understands English. On the R&D front, Rogers recently participated in an Intel Corp. developers’ conference by demonstrating WiMAX, an emerging wireless metro-area network technology. Rogers said it connected a cottage on Lake Rosseau, Muskoka (Ontario) to the Intel conference in San Francisco. Rogers said the technology could help it bring broadband to under-served locations. The WiMAX Forum, which promotes WiMAX product compatibility, is expected to certify the standard for product testing this week. Sasktel stretchesSasktel is extending its wireless Internet service further into Saskatchewan. The provincial network service provider said earlier this month that Beechy, Caron, Central Butte, Cochin, Elbow and Paynton are now on the list of high-speed Web access recipients. The new service areas are part of Sasktel’s CommunityNet II initiative, which means to bring broadband to 71 locations. The wireless network replaces satellite connectivity for some of these places. It costs users $60 per month to subscribe to the service, plus a one-time $249 equipment purchase and installation charge. Wi-LAN: revenue boost, profit downCalgary-based wireless network gear maker Wi-LAN Inc. may well have increased its revenue in the second quarter, but it’s still operating at a loss. The firm announced its Q3 2005 numbers last week, saying revenue reached $7.7 million, better than the $6.1 million it pulled in during Q3 2004, and better than the $7.6 million it won in Q2 2005. Still the company recorded a net loss of $3.5 million, worse than its Q2 2005 loss of $3 million. Its Til-Tek antenna division’s sales declined in Q3. Wi-LAN said it’s reducing its Til-Tek expenses. Wi-LAN has let go 10 employees, including two vice-presidents, to that end. Previous to the most recent numbers Wi-LAN said it would create two units, one focused on intellectual property endeavours and another for products. Cisco spaces out on new gameCisco Systems Inc. has a new computer game to help wireless network pros sharpen their skills. The San Jose CA network equipment manufacturer released Wireless Explorer earlier this month. Available for play on the CCNA Prep Center web site (www.cisco.com/go/prepcenter; Cisco login required) the game has players compete by ensuring space aliens remain in wireless communication during their voyages. The game assesses scores based on successful site surveys, installation skills and network maintenance. Wireless Explorer is one of six games from Cisco, all designed to test the network pro’s acumen. Wi-Fi Alliance appoints new chairmanThe Wi-Fi Alliance announced a new leader in Clint Chaplin, the standards team head at Symbol Technologies Inc. in Holtsville, NY. Chaplin previously served as the Alliance’s technical chair and has been a board member since 2003, the organization said in a press statement earlier this month. Chaplin also serves as chair of the IEEE 802.11r task group, which contemplates a standard for fast roaming among wireless access points, important for quick voice-over-Wi-Fi handoffs. Chaplin’s appointment follows outgoing chairman Bill Carney. The Alliance said it expects Chaplin to drive the group’s long-term strategy. The new chairman has 25 years of computer technology experience. The Alliance tests and certifies devices that employ variations on the 802.11 wireless specification for local area connectivity. Global group has bad news for cell network operatorsThe Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) says Wi-Fi and associated services could eat into mobile network operators’ profits. In its overarching report, Communications Outlook 2005, the economic- and government-minded group finds that Wi-Fi "will provide tougher competition for 3G mobile operators than had been expecting when they obtained their (3G) licences, in many cases for large sums," according to a press statement last week. The OECD, which counts Canada as a member, suggests mobile carriers might have to beef up their pricing strategies to compete – sign customers up for longer-term service contracts, for instance. Order the report from the OECD’s bookshop. Canadian wireless carriers, for the most part offshoots of wireline carriers, seem to have come to grips with Wi-Fi, viewing the local wireless service as complementary to their wide-area offerings.

ROW Update

News | August 29, 2005

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