With an auction for the next swath of spectrum coming in late 2007 or early 2008, the Canadian government has a prime opportunity to create conditions that would almost certainly lead to more competition in the Canadian wireless sector – that is, if the feds feel the industry isn’t competitive enough.

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Route1 Inc. has appointed Rene McIver to the newly-created position of CIO. Prior to joining Route1, McIver was the technologies director for Bioscrypt Inc.

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3G should stay ahead of WiMAX this decade: In-Stat
A recent study from high-tech market research firm In-Stat suggests that broadband wireless acces (BWA) technology in the form of WiMAX is unlikely to pose a big threat to wireless 3G services in the Asia/Pacific market this decade.

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The various types of mobile messaging services are popular among cell phone users in North America, Europe and Asia with text messaging taking the top spot, according to figures released by the GSM Association this week.

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Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital seems quaint when compared to large health networks across the country. Orillia’s 235-bed hospital, about an hour north of Toronto, employs approximately 1,000 staff. Their revolutionary communication system, however, sets them apart. Vocera Communications Inc.’s new communications system enables 400 staff to communicate with one another instantaneously, and hands-free.

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The federal government plays a crucial role in helping Canadian telecommunications and wireless companies enter new export markets and create business partnerships, according to one company heading to the International Telecommunication Union’s ITU World 2006 event in Hong Kong this month.

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LEONARD EICHEL • The United Telecom Council of Canada (UTC) and Rogers Communications Inc. have submitted surprisingly frank comments in response to Industry Canada’s call for submissions regarding its proposed spectrum utilization policy for the 3.6 GHz band (DGTP-006-06).

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New research from Maravedis predicts that broadband wireless technologies will make up the majority of high-speed Internet connections into Canadian homes by 2017. The Montreal-based research firm projects that more than 46% of broadband connections will be wireless compared to 28.2% and 25.5% for cable and DSL, respectively.

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