ROW Short Takes

Inter-carrier MMS to launch on July 1: CWTAThe Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (PwC) announced on June 8 that inter-carrier multi-media messaging will go live on July 1. The announcement was made at the CWTA’s conference celebrating the first 20 years of mobile telephony in Canada. It was also announced that PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has been chosen to study and set the timelines for wireless number portability implementation. PwC is to report back to the CWTA with its recommendations by September 1. RIM-NTP patent deal falls apart, RIM batteredThe patent agreement inked between Research in Motion (RIM) and NTP Inc. has fallen apart over the sub-licensing of NTP’s patents. The US$450-million deal, signed in March, was to have settled the long-standing dispute between RIM and the patent holding company. News that the deal was on the ropes has sent the stock down and even prompted one financial analyst to lower its rating on RIM stock. In a filing to a U.S. appeals court, RIM complained of the uncertainty resulting from continued litigation. "The continued litigation places a cloud of uncertainty over RIM’s business and RIM’s ability to supply unique, leading technology that is used by businesses worldwide, and heavily relied on U.S. government and emergency providers in times of crisis," the motion read. The deal fell apart over provisions relating to which company had the right to license the disputed patents to third parties. "NTP’s action here are nothing less than a strategy to extract more money and concessions from RIM than it agreed to on March 13 under the threat of that continued litigation…NTP sees no downside to this tactic, viewing (perhaps improvidently) that its worst case is collecting $450-million in exchange for the bargain it actually struck on March 13," reads the filing. In other RIM news, the company’s chair and co-CEO told a Lehman Brothers industry conference that it is looking for take over targets. Jim Balsillie said that the company is actively looking at a number of acquisitions. With nearly all of RIM’s growth coming organically, there could be some benefit had if the company makes some smaller acquisitions. Sierra Wireless to exit Voq smartphone businessSierra Wireless has two years after entering the smartphone business with its Voq Professional Phone decided to exist the market. The company is now in the process of seeking the best possible way to exit the market, either through divestiture or by shutting the operation down. "These actions are designed to focus the company on the core areas of our business where we have extensive experience and a well established market position. We believe that both the PC card and the embedded module markets represent significant growth opportunities with the highest potential returns in our portfolio. Our goal is to ensure that we have a strong, sustainable leadership position in these areas. We have enjoyed limited success to date on the Voq Professional Phone and have concluded that continuing to proceed with Voq is no longer the best use of our resources, given our other opportunities," Sierra Wireless president and CEO David Sutcliffe said in a news release. Assets, obligations, including inventory, equipment licences, patents, trademarks and contracts total approximately $15 million. Immediately 15 people previously working on the Voq line will be redeployed to other lines of business, while the remaining 40 will remain on the Voq line during the company’s exit from this business. Aliant introduces new handset to Atlantic customersAliant Telecom Inc. has expanded its lineup of handsets offering customers more choice, convenience and flexibility than before. The Atlantic Canadian wireless operator has added the BlackBerry 7250 and the Audiovox 6600 for business customers. The 7250 is a Bluetooth-enabled device, while the 6600 runs on the Windows platform and comes equipped with a slide out keyboard. On the consumer side, Aliant has introduced two new Audiovox-branded phones. The 8615 has an external display and speakerphone capabilities. The 8930 is equipped with a 1.3 mega-pixel camera, has video and stereo sound capabilities. The LG 5400 is the third consumer-oriented device. PolarSat debuts new remote terminal deviceMontreal-based PolarSat Inc. has announced the availability of the SkyIP 600 remote terminal that has enhanced IP and remote communications capabilities. "Enhanced IP functionality enables users or service providers to efficiently handle not just Internet access, but also the use of satellite broadband connections offering IP VPNs, voice, multimedia, encryption, and high-value services tailored to each subscriber or class of users," reads a June 14 news release. RFID maker Instantel taken over by U.S. firmVerichip Corp. has purchased Ottawa-based Instantel for US$25 million. Verichip is a subsidiary of Applied Digital, Delray Beach FL. Instantel, a maker of RFID products, is primarily know for using its devices to track people. The company, which was founded in 1982, had revenue of nearly $13 million last year with profits of approximately $3.6 million. C-COM and EMS team up on integration, sales frontC-COM Satellite Systems Inc. and EMS Satellite Networks inked an agreement under which they will both work to integrate and jointly sell the iNetVu Mobile satellite-based antenna system with the EMS- developed DVB-RCS satellite interactive terminals (SIT). C-COM developed a proprietary interface that allows the EMS SIT line of products to work with the iNetVu Mobile antenna. "Vehicles equipped with this joint technology will be able to connect to the Internet over satellite at speeds of 12 Mbps on the download and 2 Mbps on the upload, and to receive and transmit high-quality video, voice and secure data communications," reads a June 7 news release. SAMSys Tech-BTG joint venture terminatedSAMSys Technologies Inc. has terminated its joint venture with BTG International Ltd., a principal shareholder of the company. The United Kingdom-based joint venture, created in the spring of 2002 and called RFID Solutions Ltd., was formed to develop technologies in the ultra-high frequency segment of the RFID market. Technical milestones were not met by a May 31, 2005 deadline and as such both parties agreed to terminate the joint venture. BelAir provides alternative to DSL, cable in CABelAir Networks has given residents of Galt CA an inexpensive alternative to DSL and cable modem services. Working in conjunction with ISP Softcom Internet Communications Inc., the two companies deploy a network that covered more than 4,000 homes in its first phase using 45 wireless mesh nodes. "The BelAir solution has given Softcom a way to stay competitive in a rapidly changing market by offering our customers more bandwidth for less," Kevin Triplett, president of Softcom said in a news release. "In fact, we are in discussions with the mayor’s office to offer wireless support for emergency service in future rollouts." Ascalade wins award at BC TIA technology showAscalade Communications Inc.’s dual pod wireless conference phone has been named the "Most Promising Pre-Commercial Technology" at the BC Technology Industries’ Association’s 12th Annual Technology Impact Awards. Ascalade had to be judge to at the top of "leveraging existing and emerging technology to develop a product with a compelling value proposition." The device is a wireless tabletop conference phone that allows two units to be used at the same time.

ROW Short Takes

News | June 16, 2005

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