Great to see so many of you out at our AGM last night. A record attendance for this annual event! A success not possible without the generous support of our sponsors RBC Financial Group and Corporate Recruiters Ltd. Until next year...

MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

1 Billion in revenue. Over 5,000 employees. 250 growing companies. 33 industry verticals being served. These are statistics many of you are familiar with when referring to the wireless sector in BC. Statistics compiled from our last province wide survey conducted in 2005.

The results of this biannual survey are an important tool for WINBC, the provincial and federal government and industry allowing us the opportunity to gauge the progress and growth of our vibrant sector here in BC.

This information will be used to help us get a better understanding of what the industry’s needs are today and what support and resources are required in order to continue to grow your companies. Your input will drive WINBC’s programs and activities for 2007/2008 and I thank each of you in advance for agreeing to participate in the 2007 survey to be conducted in the near future.

While the main purpose of the 2007 study is to capture the areas of growth within the wireless industry in BC – a key question often asked of WINBC – the study will also explore:

• the usage of existing programs and resources within the BC Wireless Industry; as well as,
• the need for additional programs and resources that can help our industry grow.

BC has a rich set of programs and resources that are available to companies developing RF technologies and wireless content. With the development of WINBC’s WINLAB, we hope to greatly expand those resources.

However, just as you need customer feedback to drive your business, we need to understand the level of awareness, usage, and satisfaction of these programs and resources to help us drive this industry. Specifically, to:

• increase awareness and utilization of valuable, but underutilized programs
• drive improvements to existing underperforming resources
• design new services to help the industry grow

Since the original study four years ago, we have witnessed a significant maturing of our industry, as well as a continued adoption of wireless technologies into non-traditional business settings including healthcare delivery.

With your participation, we hope to quantify this maturity, and identify the changing needs that this maturity brings.

We look forward to your participation in helping us to help you.

Shana Korotash
Executive Director
WINBC

WINBC Partner Events

BCTIA Technology Impact Awards - June 6, 2007

Mingle with the who’s who of BC's technology and business communities and witness in person, the unveiling of the 2007 TIA Award Winners! With over 800 people attending, this is the largest technology event in the province of British Columbia!

  For more information or to register

MEMBER PROFILE

We asked Andrew Chow of iCommuniti to tell us about his organization.

Stay connected in a new dimension

Despite Vancouver's renowned global position and all the heat and hype of the Winter Olympics, the goal of a 2010 municipal WiFi is running out of time. Commercial network service providers usually sell wireless data networks for an aristocratic price tag and data transmission in a close premise under strict contracts. The city could work with them for a prohibitively expensive citywide coverage, or it can be innovative and work with the public access activists who undertake a similar social objective.

iCommuniti Networks is such non-profit technology expert that builds sustainable social networks and promotes public communication tools, in support of developing a sustainable digital Vancouver. The team strongly believes that information technology, if explore and utilize appropriately, could reverse digital barriers, democratize value, and advance social development. It should empower people to see, communicate, and bind themselves as part of the community rather than segregating them.

  More

Chris Scholefield from Inception Software Technology Inc. provides us with an Insight into Wireless History

BC Technology Review - Wireless History in BC

Did you know that the wireless industry in BC celebrates its 30 year anniversary? It all started with a small project in Macdonald Dettwiler and Associates to study the use of wireless data communications for the RCMP. This became a trial system for the Vancouver police and a year later Mobile Data International was born in 1978. Since then the industry has grown to the large cluster that exists today.

  More

MEMBER NEWS

Contec Innovations: InvesLogic Mobilizes Hundreds of Expert Blog Feeds With BUZmob

www.contec.ca

Contec Innovations (TSX VENTURE:BUZ), a provider of mobile infrastructure software, today announced that Inveslogic.com, an investor-centric website specializing in financial blogs, has mobilized hundreds of blog feeds with BUZmob, Contec's new mobile publishing service. InvesLogic.com reaches a global audience and is a recognized leader in gathering, aggregating and organizing expert financial blogs, podcasts and videos - with input from hundreds of blogs and other sources.

  More

Sierra Wireless Completes Acquisition of AirLink Communications

www.sierrawireless.com

Sierra Wireless (NASDAQ: SWIR, TSX: SW) announced today that it has completed the acquisition of AirLink Communications, a privately-held developer and supplier of high value fixed, portable and mobile wireless data solutions for industrial and public safety applications. AirLink achieved solid growth with revenue of $24.8 million in 2006, compared to $19.8 million in 2005. AirLink had earnings from operations of $3.9 million in 2006 and gross margin of 44%.

  More

Colligo Contributor Version 2.1 Integrates Microsoft Office SharePoint® into the Outlook® Interface

New Version Extends the Value of SharePoint to All Desktop Users, Online and Offline

Colligo Networks Inc., a leader in desktop collaboration solutions, today announced Version 2.1 of Colligo for SharePoint®, which includes a new Add-in for Microsoft Office Outlook® that enables users to easily store and manage emails, documents, and metadata in SharePoint. Extending the value of its SharePoint client technology beyond offline applications, this milestone release brings together the intuitive usability of desktop applications with the rich collaboration and content management functionality of SharePoint. With Version 2.1, emails, attachments, and message fields can now be synchronized to web-based SharePoint sites by simple drag-and-drop within Outlook.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

IDC Profiles Ten Canadian Software Companies to Watch

There are lessons to be learned from emerging software vendors in Canada. Not only must these companies contend with their own internal challenges; small companies must also keep up with the ever-changing ICT industry, evolving regulations and standards, and large competitors with even larger marketing budgets. Only a unique mix of factors – some over which they have control and others which they are at the mercy of – create small, stable and growing new businesses.

  More

EDC Helps Companies Deal with Risk

Paul Day, ICT Business Development of EDC, reaches out to those of you that are expanding into foreign markets.

Many Canadians live in an environment where information or entertainment is readily accessible through various forms of wireless technology. The same is true for much of the US and Europe; whereas Latin America and Asia remain exciting markets with numerous opportunities. Mobile connectivity is no longer considered a “nice to have” but has developed into a way of life.

  More

Industry Canada has released a strategic report on opportunities and trends in the wireless industry. The report entitled The Canadian Wireless Industry – Analysis, Positioning and Capabilities: 2006-09

The report provides a detailed analysis of the global wireless industry, covering new wireless technologies, services, and applications. Global market opportunities and emerging business models from both operator and equipment vendor perspectives are discussed in the report with analyses covering both mature (i.e. South Korea and Japan) and emerging markets (Brazil, Russia, India, and China, etc).

  Download Report (3.5 MB PDF file)

Canada @ 3GSM 2008

3GSM is the world's largest event in the mobile industry. More than 55,000 visitors converged on Barcelona last February, from across the global wireless industry. For the second consecutive year, Canada will have a national presence at 3GSM, held in Barcelona on February 11-14, 2008. Building on a successful first edition, the Government of Canada will again provide the Canadian companies with the opportunity to be part of an improved national Pavilion.

  More Information

WINBC MEMBERSHIP

It's time to renew your WINBC membership for 2007/2008
>> Renew Here

For information on becoming a WINBC member:
>> Benefits & Rates

WINBC PARTNER EVENTS

BCTIA
Technology Impact Awards - Vancouver, BC
June 6, 2007

INDUSTRY EVENTS

UK 2010 Seminar
UK Trade & Investment
Vancouver
June 5, 2007

MEM 2007
Mobile Entertainment Market
Monte Carlo
June 5 - 6, 2007

Wafritel 2007
UK Pavilion at West Africa Telecom
Lagos, Nigeria
June 5 - 7, 2007

communicasia 2007
Canada @ CommunicAsia 2007 - Singapore
June 19 - 22, 2007

GITEX and GULFCOMMS 2007
27th Gulf Information Technology Exhibition
Dubai, UAE
September 8 - 12, 2007

EXPOCOMM 2007
Canada @ ExpoComm 2007
Buenos Aires, Argentina
October 9 - 12, 2007

SMAU 2007
44th International ICT Exhibition
Milan, Italy
October 17 - 20, 2007

WINBC ANCHOR MARKETING PARTNER