RoW Short Takes

Northwestel wins joint marketing case at CRTCThe CRTC has granted Northwestel Inc., Canada’s northernmost telco, the right to jointly market services with those of wireless affiliate Northwestel Mobility Inc. The commission approved an application the company filed on February 5, 2003 (Telecom Decision 2003-65). The removal of joint marketing prohibitions brings the company in line with other ILECs in the country. This isn’t the first time the company tried to have the joint marketing provisions lifted. It filed an application on March 8, 1999, which was denied on May 12, 2000 in Order 2000-396. Microcell Telecom unveils landline replacement serviceMicrocell Telecommunications Inc. has announced its new landline replacement initiative, dubbed City Fido. The service will cost $40/month and will first be targeted at residents of Vancouver. Customers will also be able to transfer their existing home or single-line business phone to the City Fido service, known as local number portability. The service includes unlimited local calling throughout the entire lower mainland of British Columbia. The company plans to unveil full details of the program on Oct. 9. Rogers Wireless introduces new pre-paid packageRogers Wireless Inc. has unveiled totalphone, a new affordable pre-paid wireless phone package without the hassles of cards, contracts, credit checks or age restrictions. The service, which includes a handset, sells for $139.99 and offers customers three airtime plans: $30/month for 150 anytime minutes, $35/month for 200 anytime minutes and $40/month for 250 anytime minutes. Fatport introduces free Wi-Fi global roamingVancouver-based Fatport Corp. is now offering its monthly subscribers global roaming services at no additional cost. For $34.95/month, Fatport subscribers can get hotspot access in nearly 700 additional locations in the United States, Europe and more exotic locations such as Jordan, the Bahamas and Grenada. The company will soon be offering the Fatport Location Finder program that will help subscribers find Fatport locations. It will be available later this month. Wavesat Wireless releases 802.16a/d chipWavesat Wireless Inc. of Montreal has released the DM216 OFDM chip, which is compliant with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.16a/d standards. The company has also announced that it is offering DM216 evaluation kits. Wavesat made the announcement at Sprint Innovation Day October 6. Redline to introduce 802.16a-compliant productRedline Communications will unveil its 802.16a product at the International Telecommunication Union’s Telecom World Conference taking place from October 12 to 18. The product will operate in the 3.5 GHz band. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers approved the 802.16a standard earlier this year. Wi-LAN to collaborate on wireless MANsCalgary-based Wi-LAN Inc. has inked an agreement with an unidentified partner to produce and license IP cores for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers wireless metropolitan area network (MAN) standard with the goal of developing system-on-a-chip products. Wi-LAN and the IP core provider have entered into two agreements, one for consulting and the other is a licensing agreement. The combined deals require periodic payments from Wi-LAN to the IP core provider of approximately $800,000 over an initial eight month period. Nortel inks agreement with U.S. CellularNortel Networks Corp. has signed an agreement with U.S. Cellular for the purchase of CDMA 1XRTT equipment. Under terms of the multiyear agreement, U.S. Cellular will deploy, expand and upgrade 1X base stations, switching and other related equipment. The deal will allow U.S. Cellular to expand its footprint into Oklahoma City, St. Louis, Springfield MO and Portland ME. Atsana introduces platform for media rich handsetsOttawa-based Atsana Semiconductor Corp. has introduced the J2210 Mobile Evaluation Platform (MEP) kit for mobile phone and PDA manufacturers. The J2210 MEP is a battery-operated and self-contained platform for handset OEMs developing phones or PDAs with video, imaging and 2D/3D graphics capabilities. The evaluation kit allows developers to assess and implement support for rich media formats. Airborne inks agreement with Activision PublishingAirborne Entertainment has signed an agreement with Activision Value Publishing Inc., a subsidiary of Activision Inc., to bring three games to the mobile gaming market. Airborne and Activision will work to bring Tough Trucks, Skateboard Park Tycoon and Cruise Ship Tycoon to market. Colligo Networks’ software bundled with Tungsten T3Vancouver-based Colligo Networks Inc. has announced that its ad-hoc collaboration software applications BlueBoard and BlueChat are being bundled with the Palm Tungsten T3 handheld. The company also notes its Colligo Meeting Suite for wireless LANs is available for US$19.95 per licence. Look Communications files prospectus for rights offeringLook Communications Inc. has filed a preliminary prospectus for a rights offering that would give the company enough money to pay for five base stations it purchased from Unique Broadband Systems Inc. for $1.5 million. Details on the number of rights and the potential value of the offering have yet to be revealed. Spectrum Signal signs deal with UBCSpectrum Signal Processing Inc. has inked an agreement with the University of British Columbia’s (UBC) department of electrical and computer engineering to develop advanced media server technology for next generation wireless and wireline networks. Work on this project will be performed at both Spectrum Signal’s facilities and the main campus of UBC in Vancouver. Funding for the program will be provided by Spectrum Signal, UBC and the Advanced Systems Institute of BC. WaveRider signs agreement with Cross WirelessToronto-based WaveRider Communications Inc. has been chosen by Cross Wireless, a division of Cross Telephone Co., to power its new Datz broadband wireless service. Cross will use WaveRider’s Last Mile Solution products. The Datz program will bring broadband wireless to 10 cities in Oklahoma. COM DEV reaches deal with THL over SkybridgeCOM DEV International Ltd. has reached an agreement with THL over a long-standing dispute surrounding the purchase of units in Skybridge Limited Partnership. In conjunction with the THL agreement, COM DEV has also renewed its banking agreement with CIBC. Under terms of the THL deal, COM DEV will issue a promissory note for the amount of $20,323,228 to THL, which will be repaid in four equal semi-annual installments beginning next April and ending in October 2005. AirIQ unveils new vehicle information servicesAirIQ has introduced a new suite of vehicle information services, dubbed AirIQ VehicleConnect. The new offering is expected to augment the company’s existing suite of telematics services. AirIQ says that combining location-based services with vehicle-based information services increases the return on investment for its fleet customers. Infowave Software to acquire Sproqit TechnologiesInfowave Software Inc. has entered into an agreement to acquire all of the intellectual property assets of Sproqit Technologies Inc., a wireless software company based in Kirkland WA. Sproqit offers a mobile application platform that enables users to obtain email and other data via handheld devices and smartphones. Infowave plans to offer more than 4 million common shares for the company. Sproqit has the right to re-purchase all of the intellectual property within the first year for a price equal to the original purchase price with a 20% premium. The acquisition is expected to allow Infowave to expand product offering into the network operator and enterprise markets.

RoW Short Takes

News | October 7, 2003

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