ROW Short Takes

Tranzeo demonstrates WiMAX product at CeBITBritish Columbia-based Tranzeo Wireless Technologies demonstrated its future WiMAX products at the annual CeBIT conference, which took place in Germany from March 9 to 15. Tranzeo will be basing its WiMAX equipment on advanced chips from Montreal-based Wavesat Inc. Tranzeo is leveraging its experience in the 802.11 equipment space to expand into the 3.5 GHz licensed bands. "Tranzeo provides wireless gear with long range, high throughput and low cost. This product line represents an evolutionary step for Tranzeo, bringing all of the benefits of standardization to the previously fragmented 3.3 GHz to 3.6 GHz market in Europe and many other markets," Tony Kot, VP of sales and marketing at Tranzeo said in a news release. "With our strong and growing distribution channels in Europe and around the world, Tranzeo is well-positioned to fully capitalize on this new market." Syscan scores victory in Canadian cattle marketSyscan International Inc. has announced that its LiveTrack RFID reader has been certified for use in the Canadian Cattle Identification Program (CCIP), which is designed for the containment and eradication of animal disease. The company noted in the announcement that its reader has recently been approved by the US Federal Communications Commission and Industry Canada. The need for such a system is underscored by the fact that there are more than one million beef and dairy farms in North America and more than 140 million head of cattle. Robert Henri, VP and COO of Syscan, said, "The US Department of Agriculture estimates that the retail equivalent value of US beef cattle alone was over US$78 billion in 2005. Over the next several years and indeed throughout the next decade, with Canada leading the way, it is inevitable that most North American farms will convert to RFID-based tracking and tracing systems as market pressures and government regulations grow. We project that RFID-based product sales will be in the hundreds of millions of dollars over that period." WebTech reports 50% increase in revenueBurnaby BC-based WebTech Wireless has reported a nearly 50% increase in revenue for the second quarter ended January 31, jumping to $4.1 million from $2.8 million in the previous year’s second quarter. For the six-month period, revenue was $6.6 million compared to $4.32 million, a 60% increase year over year. WaveRider shareholders approve merger with Wave WirelessWaveRider Communications Inc. has announced that a majority of shareholders have approved the merger with Wave Wireless Corp. More than 99% of shareholders voted in favour of the merger at a special meeting of investors in Toronto on March 20. "This merger will benefit customers, shareholders and employees of both companies by uniting complementary products, core competencies and talents. The combined resources of both companies will enable Wave Wireless to compete more aggressively in the marketplace with a full range of solutions, including fixed wireless, mesh and mobile wireless products for multiple applications serving the wireless ISP, telecommunications, government, homeland security, and safety and surveillance applications," WaveRider CEO Charles Brown said in a news release. RIM continues to expand reach of new BlackberriesResearch in Motion Ltd. has introduced the BlackBerry 8700g in Thailand, which marks the continued geographic expansion of the newer BlackBerry. The device will be offered by Advanced Info Service Public Company Ltd. (AIS). Norm Lo, VP of the Asia-Pacific region at RIM, said in a news release, "Leveraging the power of AIS’ EDGE network and the re-engineered BlackBerry device platform, the BlackBerry 8700g provides an unrivalled user experience for customers who want to remain connected and productive with both voice and data applications in a single device." WWE adding wireless component to service offeringWorld Wrestling Entertainment is looking to lay a smackdown on the wireless industry with plans to roll out web and wireless programs later this spring. As an initial foray into this space, the company has introduced a mobile alert subscription package that will provide fans with exclusive mobile content about the wrestlers and events for US$3.99 per month. "The WWE Mobile Alert package will give fans a much more robust WWE experience than ever before," said David Knise, VP of interactive development at the WWE. "This is a new way for us to keep our fans engaged in our storylines and provide them exclusive, interesting details and stats about our WWE Superstars." He added, "The WWE Mobile Alert package is the first of several WWE made-for- mobile products and insider services we have in the pipeline, including many that include dedicated, exclusive video content and other one-of-a-kind material." Austin Ventures submits revised bid for 724 SolutionsAustin Ventures has upped its bid to acquire all of the outstanding shares of 724 Solutions by $0.27 per share, bringing the total value of the proposed acquisition to US$3.34 million. "The revised proposal has been accepted by 724 Solutions, after careful consideration and evaluation by the company’s special committee of independent directors in conjunction with its financial and legal advisors," reads a news release. IEEE takes big step in mesh networking standardA working group within the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) developing a standard for mesh networking interoperability has approved a single proposal that will form the basis of the 802.11s standard. If finally adopted by the IEEE, the standard would allow mesh networking equipment from different vendors to connect to each other. Donald Eastlake, chair of the mesh networking task group chair, said in a news release, "Mesh networking features will help keep IEEE 802.11, already dominant in the WLAN arena with over a hundred million chip sets shipping annually, at the cutting edge of technology for the maximum benefit of its users. Final approval of the new amendment is targeted for 2008." Encouraging signs at Mitec TelecomMontreal-based Mitec Telecom Inc. says its recently released third-quarter financial results are encouraging as the company struggles to get revenues up and costs in line with operations. Keith Findlay, president and CEO of Mitec, noted in a news release that the third quarter results show revenue is up, costs are down and the resulting net loss for the quarter has been reduced compared to previous periods. "Increasing the combined revenues from our telecom and satcom business units to acceptable levels continues to be a challenge," Findlay said. " Clearly, the status quo is not an option. Going forward we will operate only in those niches where we have the opportunity to be a preeminent player, and we will develop only those products and technologies that bring very significant contribution margins. We are determined to focus our efforts and technological expertise in those areas that will bring the best return to the company." MTS Allstream to introduce EvDO this springThe provincial wireless operations of MTS Allstream will introduce its next-generation network EvDO this spring, the company announced earlier this month. The network is expected to give consumers real-time access to advanced applications such as streaming video, video messaging, faster Web browsing, interactive gaming, remote access to email and other data applications. "In business today, it’s important to spend more time with customers and less time at your desk," Kelvin Shepherd, president of consumer markets for MTS Allstream said in a news release. "MTS’s 1xEvDO technology will give you quicker access to better graphics, e-mail, corporate databases and other important features that will let you not only take your home or office with you, but ensure it keeps up with you." Nortel to provide equipment for HSDPA trial in FranceOrange France is using equipment from Nortel Networks Corp. to try out high-speed download packet access (HSDPA) with 150 business customers in Lyon, France’s second-largest city. The France-based wireless operator expects to introduce commercial HSDPA services in the second half of this year. Nortel has been on a roll lately with its wireless infrastructure business having completed HSDPA and UMTS calls in the 900 MHz band in January 2006, something that was repeated the next month in Barcelona at the 3GSM World Congress. Telesat Canada posts big gains in revenueBCE Inc.-owned Telesat Canada has posted a solid revenue increase for fiscal year 2005. The Ottawa-based satellite operator noted that its 2005 revenue was $474.7 million compared to $362.2 million in 2004, a jump of more than 31%. Net earnings were up 6.5% from $83.4 million to $88.9 million. Cash was also up in fiscal 2005, reaching what the company described as "a historic high" of $203.9 million compared to $185.3 million in the previous year.

ROW Short Takes

News | March 22, 2006

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