|
What's Inside
Letter from ED
March 31st is our fiscal year end and we are putting the spotlight on you, our members this month; both on the value we provide to you as well as the appreciation we have for your business. It is all about the promise I have made to you when I joined WINBC, which was to build the best wireless association for YOU.
We have received many compliments and some excellent testimonials in the past year for our work and innovative initiatives but one of the best compliments I have received from one of our members was "we're happy to see WINBC becoming more customer-driven and raising the profile of our industry in the community".
WINBC is the only wireless association in BC, currently has 110 members and is constantly growing. We provide value by promoting the world-class innovation of our member companies, members like: Sierra Wireless, Tranzeo, Nokia, Vecima Networks, Verrus, Canpages, Handi Mobility, Tagga, Rx Networks, Mobidia; by promoting leading edge R&D centres such as: UBC Radio Lab, UBC Magic Lab and the SFU Antenna Facility; through international events like the Pacific Northwest Wireless Summit; match making and one-on-one meetings like Face_Time with Nokia Siemens Networks or TD-SCDMA Forum; developer events like the Mobile Camp or community events like MobileMonday Vancouver.
In the past year we have listened to your needs and learned that different members have different needs. We delivered more than 20 different industry events and high value initiatives that were designed to speed up the time to market, to access capital, to find and keep talent, and to network with more people, which in turn created more opportunities for new business and attracted a record number of participants.
To grow the awareness of our wireless industry at home and in international markets we have launched the Wireless & New Media Showcase and Service in partnership with New Media BC and the 2010 Commerce Centre. More than 50 companies to date have joined the initiative that will see local innovations showcased at the International Media Centre at Robson Square in downtown Vancouver. We will showcase what we do here in our beautiful province to 35,000 business delegates and visitors and up to 3,000 media representatives, before, during and after the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
Our members also told us that finding and keeping the right PEOPLE is one of the top three issues of any wireless company. To help our members find new talent and deal with the current market conditions and layoffs we have partnered with GO Recruitment and launched on the GO-WIN! Mentorship Program.
All these programs, events and initiatives wouldn't be possible without your membership fees, generous support from organizations like TELUS, Wavefront, BC Innovation Council, Vancouver Economic Development Commission, Sierra Wireless, Western Diversification and others.
We here at WINBC, together with your board of directors, thank you for your support and look forward to working with you again the year ahead.
Thank You,
Michael Bidu
Executive Director, WINBC
Do you have suggestions on how to save you more time and money? Contact us anytime at michael@winbc.org.
News from the front What have WINBC members been up to?
We don't talk enough about our members. We tend to focus on the community as a whole and not specifically on the success stories of our individual member companies. Our members make waves everyday; here are a few of their stories.
Do you have a story you would like to tell? Contact us and let's get the word out.
Canpages Ask and you shall receive
 On March 16 Canpages rolled out a couple of new features showing once again that they are leaders in the directory space and reminding competitors that phone books are really just glorified doorstops. Their free iPhone voice recognition search app was at the top of the list. You can now search the Canpages directories verbally. And you can use the iPhone's GPS capability to find those listings that are closest to you. No surprise that it has since become the #1 "Reference App" for the iPhone and the #17 "Free App" in Canada.
Canpages also added a "street view" search feature to its local search function that lays images on top of Google maps. You basically walk down the street virtually, pulling yourself along on blue arrows that manipulate the map and allow you to change direction or advance forward. The images are very high quality and can be expanded to a full screen "street view" which Google does not currently offer, and every business listing on Canpages is tagged so that you can search by area or by specific business. Olivier Vincent, CEO of Canpages would like to see businesses using the tool to better promote themselves to the 3.5 million unique monthly visitors. For example, when you click on a business you get a basic profile but businesses could upload videos, post menus, hours of operation, or links. Canpages will be working with the businesses and advertiser's in the next little bit to embed their content into the "street view" photographs so that users can see and access this additional material and enjoy and enhanced experience.
Vancouver, Whistler and Squamish are the first to be mapped, but Canpages has plans to roll out the feature in Montreal and Toronto in the coming months.
Nokia Get N-Gaged
 I think you have all heard the bad news: that Nokia is reducing its global hardware divisions by about 25% and Vancouver will be one of the operational sites to be phased out. The home of the N91 and N96 is no more. But there is an upside to this story and it perhaps has not received the attention it deserves. The software/content side is actually being ramped up, making Vancouver one of the largest Nokia R&D centres for software/services in the world. In addition, with the acquisition of OZ Communications in Montreal, a leading consumer mobile messaging solution provider (in September 2008), Canada becomes the third largest R&D centre for Nokia activities after Finland and the US. Nokia Services focuses on five key areas, music, messaging & mail, mapping & LBS, media (video, etc) and gaming. The Vancouver site will expand its development on the gaming side, continuing the N-Gage platform and aligning the gaming solution with the overall Nokia Services Strategy named OVI (Finnish for "door"). The Vancouver site will also be heavily involved in the development of first party and third party titles. Although not yet a significant part of the Nokia balance sheet, this service component is essential to positioning Nokia to profit from increasing trend of accessing services through mobile devices.
TELUS Build it and they will come
 Telus will invest $500 million from its 2009 capital budget in order to upgrade its wireless infrastructure and increase broadband wire-line access both in urban centres as well as remote communities. The new network is set to be launched in early 2010.
Although this is not the type of announcement that organizations have been making of late, Telus has its reasons. It has added many new subscribers in the last year with its move to offer smartphones at reasonable prices. In fact, the total revenue in Q4 2008 was up 5.3% to $2.45 billion, fuelled by this wireless smartphone subscriber growth as well as higher revenue on data usage. So this high-speed packet access (HSPA) network is essential for allowing faster wireless communication, data transmission and video service. Darren Entwistle, CEO of Telus, added that the investment is an important step in establishing the LTE network base and completing a smooth transition to 4G. Telus is also reportedly going to convert its CDMA based network to the worldwide standard of GSM in a shared upgrade with BCE, thus eliminating the Rogers GSM monopoly in Canada. All good reasons for Telus to be making such an investment when most other companies are ramping down.
Mobidia Ride the .wave
 Networks are becoming increasingly stressed as more people send and receive broadband data with their laptop computers and smartphones. Mobile operators are looking at software solutions to optimize their networks, relieve congestion and reduce costs. Mobidia can do all three. Enter .wave (dot wave); a solution that not only increases the operators' profitability by making their networks more intelligent and more efficient but enhances the user experience as well. The software adds capacity to existing wireless networks while speeding the delivery of data to subscribers. And perhaps even more importantly, the platform also provides carriers with a tool to enhance their data traffic management solutions and collect comprehensive network information about subscribers' usage activities. In recent trails with a tier-one European carrier, there was a 15% increase in radio access network capacity and data was delivered to subscribers, on average, 1.3 times faster. The future of wireless broadband networks could be here. And it's Canadian.
Spotlight on Membership
WINBC is the only wireless association focused on and representing wireless companies in BC. WINBC connects you to investments and partnership opportunities, and to the community at large. As a member, you also enjoy high value programming that helps you to succeed and grow, both at home and in international markets. Your membership in WINBC supports all those activities and contributes to the overall well-being of BC's wireless cluster.
Pacific Northwest Wireless Summit (PNWS) 2009 |
Mobile Monday Vancouver (MoMoVan) 2008 |
Service Provider Investment Forum (SPIF) 2008 |
Here are the two most important reasons for being a member of WINBC:
1) Meet the right people. Network with industry leaders, decision makers and peers. Get exposure to potential customers, the investment community, suppliers, products and services at one of our 15-plus annual events including:
- Service Provider Investment Forum put yourself in front of VCs from major international Telcos, who normally never hold sessions outside Silicon Valley
- Mobile Monday Vancouver (MoMoVan) lets you connect with the local community to keep in touch with what's happening
- Pacific Northwest Wireless Summit our signature annual conference that brings top wireless industry talents together and prepares a roadmap for the year ahead
- Face_Time puts you face-to-face with the biggest names in wireless
- International delegations & trade missions leverage our network of international partners for global business opportunities
2) Get Preferred rates for every WINBC event Members save hundreds of dollars a year when they attend our fun and informative events.
Did you know?
- That every employee in your organization is entitled to WINBC member benefits?
- That the WINBC website gets over 47,000 page views each year?
- That you can have a VP of HR in your organization free for 10 hours a month through our partnership with Go Recruitment?
- That the combined attendance at the last 4 MoMoVan events was over 225?
- That you can get exposure to more than 3,000 non-accredited media, as well as thousands of business delegations and visitors through our 2010 Showcase and Service initiative?
What do our partners say?
What do our new members say?
How do you like them Apple(s)?
The dawn of Skype on mobile.
 Skype will make its free software available immediately for Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch and, beginning in May, for various BlackBerry phones. Users can make calls and send instant messages to other Skype users free, and they pay lower rates than the phone companies would charge when they use Skype to call landlines or other mobile phones. For now, Apple will limit Skype's use on the iPhone somewhat, allowing Skype calls to be made only when the device is connected to local Wi-Fi networks, and not allowing Skype calls over the data networks of its carrier partners like AT&T.
In addition, an Apple VoIP app from Nimbuzz, which works as a bridge between a 3G network and voice-over-IP, offers free WiFi calling. Skype and Twitter support is included in the new application. It can also turn an iPod Touch into a mobile phone using Wi-Fi ie no contract, no connection to cellular carriers, no special network, no roaming...it's no wonder Nimbuzz adds a new user around every 4 seconds. This will be an interesting evolution to follow.
BC Wireless Industry News
WebTech Wireless Appoints Dru Narwani to Board of Directors
Vancouver, BC, March 31, 2009 — WebTech Wireless announced the appointment of Mr. Dru Narwani to the Board of Directors of the Company. » More
Sierra Wireless Announces Expansion of TRU-Flow Technology
Vancouver, BC, March 31, 2009 — Sierra Wireless today announced the expansion of the company's patent-pending TRU-Flow technology to include Sierra Wireless EV-DO products. » More
Wavefront Announces Partnership with Mob4Hire
Vancouver, BC, March 27, 2009 — Wavefront announced a partnership with Mob4Hire to help B.C. mobile software developers field test their home-grown applications around the globe. » More
Intrinsyc Signs Agreement for Development of Android Mobile Device
Vancouver, BC, March 16, 2009 — Intrinsyc Software International today announced an engineering services agreement with a Fortune 500 company. » More
WebTech Wireless Successfully Completes Pilot Phase with Grupo Nacional Provincial
Vancouver, BC, March 6, 2009 — WebTech Wireless has received formal notification from Grupo Nacional Provincial S.A.B. that it has successfully completed the pilot phase of a joint project that could benefit GNP's more than 1.3 million Mexican automotive policy holders. » More
Sierra Wireless Completes Acquisition of Wavecom
Vancouver, BC, March 3, 2009 — Sierra Wireless and Wavecom confirmed today that the cash payment to financial intermediaries for the ordinary shares and OCEANEs tendered into the offer launched in France by Sierra Wireless France, occurred on February 27, 2009. » More
New Member Profiles
WINBC would like to welcome the following new members:
Christiane K Management | www.christianek.ca
Focusing on the Telecommunications industry, Christiane K Management is a consulting company operating in the fields of: strategic business development; mergers & acquisitions; operational efficiency. With the many years of experience and related education under our wings we have the ability to transform vision and tasks into action to the positive benefit of our clients.
Exitloop | www.exitloop.ca
We are currently developing a range of mobile apps for the Android and iPhone platforms. Our first app for sale is TippoBilloSplitamus. It started out as something of an exercise; after all, who needs another tip calculating app. However, as we were building it and looked around at what others have done, we realized it is far better than the other tipping apps out there. We thought "even though it's not a groundbreaking application, maybe people will appreciate a fun and useful app that was designed thoughtfully, and built carefully."
SoundOfMotion | www.soundofmotion.com
SoundOfMotion is a unique venture with opportunities in cross markets: mobile applications and sports equipment. SoundOfMotion's award winning product - VeloComputer™ - a cycling computer mobile application with an innovative bluetooth wheel sensor appeals to mobile manufacturers and carriers as a means to promote their devices and additional services for a $5 billion in annual sales cycling computers market.
Panoramic Software | www.panoramicsoft.com
Established in 2006, Panoramic Software Inc. designs, develops, publishes, and distributes mobile games, and applications for smartphone devices. With growth in it's two cutting edge online sales portals, wireless-gaming.com and wireless-apps.net, Panoramic Software Inc. is quickly growing to become a major player in the wireless industry.
Upcoming Events
April 4-5, 2009 - Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre (VCEC) Community Open Houses
Theyve done it all, from Bill Clinton and Boris Yelsin (2) to the International Conference on Aids (15,000); they annually host 300+ events (598,000 visitors) and provide award winning service. Now they are set to deliver their renowned hospitality, award-winning cuisine and green approach to more visitors with their expanded space that arguably has become a Vancouver landmark. More information at: www.vcec.ca.
April 9, 2009 - Sales Management Strategies for CEOs, Vancouver, BC
Selling Your Way to Success in Turbulent Markets. Join us for an intensive workshop in senior sales management and leadership strategies, presented by Dr John Monoky, renowned sales leadership trainer and educator. Dr. Monoky is currently the Director of the Center for Sales Leadership and an Adjunct Professor of Executive Education, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan. For more details and to register: Executive Briefing.
April 16-17, 2009 - WiTec Connections, Banff, AB
WiTec Connections is the must attend networking conference in Western Canada for professionals responsible for building, selling and implementing wireless technologies and business solutions. There will be keynotes from RIM, Google and MP3.com; network with leaders in wireless solutions and develop new business relationships. The interactive nature of the conference takes the randomness out of networking by incorporating new innovative conference techniques. For more info visit: www.witecconnections.ca.
April 29-30, 2009 - MarketLink (Nokia), San Diego
MarketLink a.k.a. High-Tech Speed Dating: Marketlink is a FREE program that pairs local companies with multinational corporations hoping to identify and license new technologies. MarketLink brings parties of mutual interest together by orchestrating an event that will offer selected companies the opportunity to present to technology executives from visiting corporations in a personalized 1-on-1 session. For details and to register: www.commnexus.org.
April 30, 2009 - BCIC CAT (Commercialization of Agricultural Technology) Competition, Vancouver, BC
Be a part of the CAT Competition! A three-stage commercialization competition for new innovations in the agriculture, food and bioproducts sectors. This competition aims to: Improve industry competitiveness, Strengthen environmental and economic sustainability of businesses as a whole, Accelerate commercialization of new technologies and innovations. For details and to apply: www.bcic.ca.
May 26-27, 2009 - MarketLink (British Telecom), San Diego
For details and to register: www.commnexus.org.
May 31, 2009 - 10th Annual PMC-Sierra Science Fair Fun Run, Vancouver, BC
Registration Is Now Open! The Fun Run is the largest timed 5K race in BC and is one of the technology industry's largest fundraising events. All proceeds from the run go towards The Dr. Michael Smith Science Fair Endowment, which assists in the advancement of Science Fair programs throughout BC and the encouragement of youth to actively participate in science and technology. All registered Fun Run participants are eligible for prizes and receive FREE admission to TELUS World of Science on the day of the race. Early bird deadline - April 30. For more details and to register: www.sciencefairs.ca/funrun/.
July 21-22, 2009 - MarketLink (T-Mobile), San Diego
For details and to register: www.commnexus.org.
September 9-11, 2009 - IEEE International Conference on Ultra-Wideband, Vancouver, BC
This conference provides a forum for the latest UWB systems, technologies and applications in both microwave and millimeter wave bands. The ICUWB program of 2009 will feature invited plenary sessions and symposia by international experts and new product displays by market leaders in the field. Prospective authors are invited to submit technical papers until 23 February 2009. For more information visit the 2009 ICUWB website at: www.icuwb2009.org.
|
© 2009 WINBC. All Rights Reserved.