ROW Short Takes

Industry Canada to auction parts of 2500 MHz bandIndustry Canada has indicated in a new policy (DGTP-002-06) that it will ask for the return of parts of the 2500-2696 MHz band and auction it off to competitors. The move comes as the department clarifies the rules surrounding the band and the implementation of mobile services in this frequency range. Existing licensees such as Inukshuk Internet Inc. and Look Communications Inc. if they choose to implement mobile services in their licensed bands, they will first have to apply to the department and then have to return one-third of their spectrum holdings that can be made available to competitors. In the early part of this decade, there was considerable discussion at the global level with respect to the identification of spectrum for third-generation wireless services. At an international forum organized by the International Telecommunication Union, it was decided that the 2500 MHz band would be one of three globally allocated bands to 3G. Following the lead of the Federal Communications Commission, Industry Canada said in 2001 that mobile services could be implemented in this band, but that before it would allow such an occurrence it would have to develop specific licensing rules. With the issuance of DGTP-002-06, the department noted that it would soon be releasing a consultation paper regarding the licensing process. The department said in the notice that allowing the implementation of mobile services in the band, which was previously reserved for fixed services, would give "effect to the fundamental reallocation of the spectrum made in 2001" and this would require a new set of rules. "The added regulatory flexibility to permit the mobile service, together with the greater spectrum efficiencies associated with mobile technologies and the increased value associated with mobile spectrum, constitute a significant material change," reads the notice. "The implementation of the mobile service justifies a re-assessment of the licensing requirements including the amount of spectrum retained by incumbent licensees." The department will first auction the unassigned 2500 MHz spectrum and any returned spectrum from existing licensees. Industry Canada has indicated that the spectrum auction framework that it is developing will also serve to license future returned 2500 MHz spectrum. Inukshuk unveils service in 20 markets across CanadaAfter nearly six years of false starts, financial struggles and technology issues, Inukshuk Internet Inc. is finally on the map with its broadband wireless access service. On March 31, the company announced that its high-speed wireless network is now available and offering service in 20 markets across the country. The network was built in conjunction with its two largest shareholders Bell Canada and Rogers Communications. At this initial stage, the network covers a population of five million households and 40% of the country’s population. Some of the major regions covered by the network are the Greater Vancouver Area, Victoria, Calgary, Edmonton, the Greater Toronto Area, Barrie, London, the National Capital Region, Quebec City, the Greater Montreal Area, Halifax, Charlottetown and St. John’s. This is the first phase of the network rollout, but it is expected to cover 100 urban and rural areas by 2008. Inukshuk acts a wholesale network provider to its two shareholders, Bell and Rogers. Both companies will compete at the retail level. Bell has two packages in the market: a less-than-broadband-service offering 512 kbps for $45 per month and a premium service offering 3 Mbps for $60 per month. Both packages require a modem priced at $99 with a two-year contract. Rogers, on the other hand, is offering a single package priced at $49.95 per month, offering users 1.5 Mbps download and 256 kbps upload speeds. Wi-LAN creates patent licensing subsidiaryWi-LAN Inc. has created a subsidiary that will focus solely on licensing its vast patent portfolio for use by other parties. Wi-LAN Technologies Corp. has intellectual property that spans three major products and businesses both found in Canada and around the world: wireless local area networks, CDMA and WiMAX. "Wi-LAN is moving away from previous management’s product base strategy and will focus on broadening its licensee network of companies," said Bill Dunbar, president and CEO, Wi-LAN Technologies and Wi-LAN in a news release. "In monetizing the product business and the IP services group, we will generate the necessary working capital to support our strategy of generating consistent revenues through licensing agreements and unlocking the value in our significant portfolio of patents." Wmode unveils managed service for MVNOs, MVNEsCalgary-based Wmode, a mobile content distribution services company, introduced late last month its new managed service offering mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) and mobile virtual network enablers (MVNEs). The service has been in trials with the company’s carrier network and content partners since January 2006 and is now available commercially. ClearMode Virtual Enabler allows MNVOs and MVNEs to more quickly launch comprehensive catalogues of content and data services. "It addresses the complete lifecycle of mobile content, streaming the entire content provider integration program from content acquisition to billing and settlement," reads a news release. Wmode CEO Emanual Bertolin added, "We believe the global MVNO market could account for as much as 10% of the mobile subscriber base. Wmode was one of the first providers of turnkey services to carriers – and our MVNO partners will benefit from this experience. ClearMode Virtual Enabler solves the time-to-market issues facing MVNOs by providing a full suite of services for content distribution in less than 90 days." SR Telecom inks production outsourcing agreementMontreal-based SR Telecom Inc. has reached a manufacturing outsourcing agreement with an as yet-to-be-identified contract manufacturer. The company says 70 of the 87 manufacturing positions will be eliminated and will force the company to take a $2.2 million charge over the next three quarters. "This transition to outsourced manufacturing is another major initiative developed to further enhance the company’s financial and competitive positions. In addition, it enables us to focus on our core activities of designing, developing and deploying advanced wireless technologies," company president and CEO William Aziz said in a news release. Alcatel buys LucentPerhaps a sign of things to come in the telecommunications equipment space, Alcatel and Lucent Technologies have agreed to a US$13.4 merger of equals. While the deal is not yet finalized the new company is expected to have annual revenue in the range of US$25 billion. Some have speculated that this could put increased pressure on Nortel Networks Corp. to get a deal done with any number of competitors, including Ericsson, Motorola or Siemens. Patricia Russo will assume the CEO position of the newly merged company and she noted in a statement that the logic behind the transaction is compelling. "The communications industry is at the beginning of a significant transformation of network technologies, applications and services -- one that is projected to enable converged services across service-provider networks, enterprise networks and an array of personal devices," she said. NTL to buy UK Virgin MobileBritish cable TV company NTL has reached an agreement to purchase Virgin Mobile for US$1.67 billion. The announcements comes a few months after Virgin Mobile reportedly rejected a previous offer for the company of US$1.42 billion. NTL will be become the first UK operator to be able to offer so-called "quadruple play services" including cable TV, Internet, wired and wireless telephony. As part of the agreement, NTL has secured a 30-year exclusive brand license with Virgin Enterprises for the use of the Virgin brand for NTL’s consumer business. CTIA conference this weekThe annual CTIA show is taking place this week and as can be expected many companies are making major product announcements. Report on Wireless will cull through the press releases this week and present the major product or service launches in an upcoming issue.

ROW Short Takes

News | April 6, 2006

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