ROW Short Takes

Kangaroo TV device gets honourTime Magazine has honoured the NASCAR Nextel FanView portable device as one of the year’s best inventions. The handheld device, which features live NASCAR race broadcasts, in-car video and audio, and real time data and statistics was developed by Mirabel QC-based Kangaroo TV for Sprint Nextel. The FanView portable device also lets race fans select camera feeds from seven different cameras and microphones located inside selected cars, as well as listen to conversations between drivers and their crews. "Kangaroo TV offers an exceptional fan experience, and this recognition is a tribute to all our employees and partners," said Marc Arseneau, president, CEO and founder of Kangaroo TV, in a press release. The FanView services was launched in February 2006. Bell delivers RFID system to CNBell Canada has designed and deployed an RFID asset tracking system for the Canadian National Railway Company at its Brampton ON intermodal terminal, the largest of its kind in Canada. The solution allows CN to manage incoming and outgoing truck chassis wirelessly, increasing supply chain efficiency, productivity and cost savings. Symbol Technologies Inc. provided Bell with the RFID technology, including rugged readers, mobile computers and cargo tags. Previously, identification numbers were recorded manually, making it difficult to pinpoint chassis status and location. "Since the implementation of this RFID solution, we have experienced near-perfect read rates with readers and tags," said Remy Benmiloud, CN’s manager of intermodal excellence, in a press release. Telus launches mobile music subscription serviceTelus Corp. has introduced Telus Mobile Music, North America’s first music subscription service for mobile phones. Subscribers to the service will have access to unlimited downloads from hundreds of thousands of songs from major music labels EMI Music Canada, Sony BMG Music Inc., Universal Music Canada and Warner Music Group. "We have seen enormous success with Telus Mobile Music as a pay-per-use service, and a clear indication that clients want the convenience of downloading all the music they love, at one monthly price," said Robert Blumenthal, Telus’ senior VP of products and services, in a press release. Clients with either the new LG Chocolate phone, LG 8100 or Samsung A950 can receive the service for $20 a month, and those who sign up before December 31 get two months for free. Sundance Film Festival goes mobileIndependent filmmaker backer the Sundance Institute is teaming up with the GSM Association to create the Sundance Film Festival: Global Short Film Project, which will showcase the independent short film genre to mobile users around the world. The two parties have commissioned six independent filmmakers to create five short films exclusively for mobile distribution. "Cell phones are fast becoming the ‘fourth-screen’ medium, after television, cinema and computers," said Sundance Institute president and founder Robert Redford in a news release. "We feel this experiment embodies fully our quarter-century dedication to exploring new platforms to support wider distribution of independent voices in filmmaking." Chinese provider launches services over second Contec platformMobile Internet infrastructure software provider Contec Innovations Inc. has announced that Chinese mobile service provider KCTone has launched commercial services over a second Contec Hornet platform with a major Chinese mobile operator. "This launch gives us two live systems delivering services in China and Contec is starting to book its initial revenues," said Contec’s CEO Don Lay. "As a result of investing in specific China-market enhancements to our software, we’ve been able to significantly reduce our commercial launch time for this second deployment by 10 months." Using Hornet’s rapid development environment, KCTone has developed personal portal services to provide consumers with mobile email, blogging, news and chatting services. ZigBee is wireless mesh network of choice: In-StatTechnology market research firm In-Stat says ZigBee will emerge as the dominant wireless mesh networking technology because of the clarity of the ZigBee standard and the organizational strength of the ZigBee Alliance. ZigBee is a networking layer that is built on top of the IEEE 802.15.4 standard and the alliance is an open community of 200 companies that promoted the technology and testing of the equipment. In-Stat estimates that in 2006 between 4.5 million and 10.5 million ZigBee RF components will be sold with commercial building control being the largest application. "ZigBee is designed to create interoperability among silicon vendors and facilitate common software and profile platforms for end-users in specific applications," said In-Stat analyst Chris Kissel in a press release. IP-Prime to use IDC satellite receivers for IPTVOttawa-based International Datacasting Corp. (IDC) and SES Americom have announced the integration of IDC’s next-generation DVB-S2 satellite receivers as part of IP-Prime’s IPTV service. SES Americom, the largest supplier of satellite services in the US, is also using IDC IP encapsulators and custom engineering and network management in support of IP-Prime. "Telephone companies large and small have entrusted IP-Prime to deliver their IPTV services, backed by a reliable backbone that incorporates the best IPTV technology providers in the world," said Alan Young, CTO for SES Americom. "Innovators like IDC with its DVB-S2 receivers have come together to support SES Americom’s cutting-edge IP-Prime solution." BelAir Networks receives VIEW certificationKanata-based BelAir Networks is the first wireless mesh network provider to receive Voice Interoperability for Enterprise Wireless (VIEW) certification from SpectraLink Corp. The VIEW program is designed to ensure interoperability and maximum performance for enterprise Wi-Fi infrastructure products that support SpectraLink’s NetLink wireless telephones. "Interoperability with Wi-Fi mesh networks allows us to address many customers’ need for both outdoor and indoor coverage, as well as broaden our reach into the new markets," said Masood Garahi, SpectraLink’s CTO and VP of engineering. "BelAir Networks’ commitment to delivering high quality voice support on their mesh networks makes them an important partner for SpectraLink." Virgin Mobile enters retail agreement with GlentelGlentel Inc., an international wireless solutions provider, has reached an agreement with Virgin Mobile Canada to make Virgin-branded phones available in WirelessWave, Tbooth, Lacabine T and Wireless etc. retail outlets in Canada. The move should help Virgin continue to grow as Glentel has 153 outlets in Canada, covering all major urban centres and suburban communities. "This retail agreement… brings us closer to our goal of making Virgin’s mobile service available to as many Canadians as possible," said Andrew Black, president and CEO of Virgin Mobile Canada, in a news release. "When combined with our existing retail channels, Virgin Mobile phones are now available in the highest traffic malls in the country." Rogers launches HSDPA in the Golden HorseshoeAs of November 2, Rogers Wireless Inc. furthered its reach as the fastest wireless carrier in Canada with the launch of High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) in 17 municipalities within Ontario’s Golden Horseshoe region. Rogers’ HSDPA service is accessible through the Sierra Wireless AirCard 860, which plugs into laptop computers and is compatible with EDGE, GPRS and GSM networks. HSDPA, the latest evolution of GSM, provides customers with wireless Internet access at broadband speeds. The network will be rolled out to other top Canadian markets throughout 2007 and will include the introduction of HSDPA-enabled phones and applications. Rogers is among the first operators in the world to deploy HSDPA. MetroBridge’s network now one of the largest in CanadaMetroBridge Networks Corp., British Columbia’s largest broadband wireless access provider, has expanded into the Langley BC area, extending its network coverage area to more than 3500 square kilometres. This expansion makes MetroBridge’s network one of the largest contiguous networks of its capacity and kind in Canada. MetroBridge differentiates itself from its competitors by offering to get companies up and running within 48 hours. It also boasts that it is nearly impossible for its service to incur any downtime because even if one tower were down, the wireless data would be routed to another.

ROW Short Takes

News | 11/17/2006 5:00 am EST

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