Wavefront commercialization services expanding to developers nationally

New federal government funding for British Columbia’s Wavefront Wireless Commercialization Centre will now help Canadian developers across the country market their products overseas. “Some of the major hurdles for Canadian developers are access to the resources needed to get products to market, getting them noticed and getting them into the hands of people who want to use them,” Marc Choma, director of communications at the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Associations (CWTA), said in an interview. “If you can’t do that, your products won’t serve you very well.” On Dec. 6, Industry Minister Tony Clement announced that the federal government will provide Wavefront, a not-for-profit centre in Vancouver, with $11.6 million in funding over the next five years. After its launch 18 months ago, Wavefront began working with startup wireless companies on product commercialization. The centre’s services include: training seminars in business and technology; business advisory; product testing; market linkages that promote international relationship building; and an incubation facility, where startup companies are housed for up to 18 months, receiving guidance, resources and office space. The incubation facility has hosted more than 200 companies since its launch and is now housing 17 startups. “Since opening 18 months ago, the incubation facility has added $3.1 million in growth to British Columbia through added employment,” Brian Roberts, Wavefront’s vice-president of business development, said in an interview. The government funding will help the centre, which currently provides its services only to B.C. companies, expand to the national stage in January. “We have always planned on going national. This funding gives us the resources to expand and deliver the programs properly,” Roberts said. “Our biggest goal is job growth. We are not about selling patents and intellectual property. We are about creating companies and jobs.” Roberts said the centre will also help Canadian companies look abroad. “Canadian companies are capable of expanding into the foreign market. Because of our geographic size, we need a national organization to represent our nation’s companies to an international audience,” he said. Wavefront does not focus on research and development; it instead helps companies market and sell their concepts and products. By providing companies with shared resources, Wavefront hopes to expand export opportunities for Canadian wireless companies. Mike Sisto, vice-president of sales for Ericsson Canada, said in an interview that getting access to decision makers in the global market is one of the biggest hurdles faced by Canadian developers. Ericsson is an industry partner of Wavefront. In March, the company began supplying the centre with HSPA radio access equipment. It also provides Wavefront members with access to its Montreal test facility. “Through Ericsson, we can provide a direct link to some of those possibilities with local Canadian organizations. Access to some of those opportunities is probably the biggest challenge,” Sisto said. Along with the funding, Clement also designated Wavefront a national centre of excellence for wireless communication. Choma said Clement’s announcement for the centre goes hand-in-hand with the federal government’s digital economy strategy, adding that it will help Canadian technology companies compete on a global scale. “We have a lot of great talent in this country and can help the talent get noticed and get their products to market much faster,” Choma said. Choma added that the funding is a sign that the government recognizes the wireless industry’s importance. “Wireless is becoming essential to the way that Canadians live and conduct their businesses. It’s great that the government sees the value in that,” he said. A number of the companies working with Wavefront are CWTA members. The centre’s list of industry partners includes Ericsson, Sierra Wireless, Nokia and France Telecom’s Orange. The centre will also work with 27 of the country’s universities to improve communication between industry and academia on technical challenges faced by Canadian developers. Wavefront focuses on three aspects of the wireless industry: machine-to-machine technologies, next-generation networks, and mobile software applications. asmith@thewirereport.ca

Wavefront commercialization services expanding to developers nationally

Broadcast | December 16, 2010

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