DAVE Wireless on track for 2010 launch

The CEO of new wireless entrant DAVE Wireless said it is on schedule to launch its network in early 2010 after reaching a deal with telecommunications supplier Ericsson to begin building its network.

The Toronto-based company signed a five-year deal with Ericsson to build a network using high-speed packet access plus (HSPA+) technology in five major cities: Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa.

CEO Dave Dobbin said though the deal was just announced Wednesday, the work to install cellular base stations, switches, internet routers and other equipment began months ago after the two sides reached an agreement in principle.

As a result, Dobbin said his company remains on track to launch in early 2010, though it will have a different name when it launches. The company, started by entrepreneur John Bitove, takes its current moniker from its official name: Data & Audio Visual Enterprises Wireless Inc.

The decision to go with HSPA+ network technology, which allows top download speeds as high as 21 megabits per second, potentially puts the company on the cutting edge of wireless in Canada.

Rogers also moving to newer technology

The only other carrier planning an equivalent network is Rogers Wireless, which last month said it has begun rolling out its HSPA+ network, potentially bringing top download speeds almost three times faster than the company's current HSPA network. Rogers also uses Ericsson to build its network.

Dobbin said the new network technology will allow the company to also move towards Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology, which promises to bring speeds akin to home broadband internet connections to mobile devices.

Last fall, Bell and Telus also announced they would work together to overlay their existing wireless networks with HSPA, with eventual plans to move to LTE.

Bell and Telus enlisted Nokia Siemens Networks and Huawei to provide the equipment for their new wireless infrastructure. New entrant Globalive is also using Nokia Siemens Networks, along with French telecommunications provider Alcatel Lucent, to build its network.

Dobbin defends Ericsson's Canadian record

Swedish-based telecommunications company Ericsson made news last month after it won an auction for the wireless unit of Nortel Networks last month at a purchase price of $1.13 billion US.

The proposed sale means Ericsson will acquire Nortel's older CDMA and next-generation LTE wireless technologies.

On Friday the House of Commons industry committee will meet with representatives from Nortel, Ericsson and other interested parties to review the auction process, after opposition parties and provincial officials called on the government to review the sale, arguing that it would lead to Canada losingpotentially leading-edge technology.

Dobbin expressed hope that Ericsson's purchase would be approved, defending the company as one with a long Canadian tradition.

In 2008, Ericsson Canada Inc. ranked 14th in research and development spending in Canada, outlaying $147 million, or 23.2 per cent of revenue, according to independent analyst Research Infosource's annual list.

Ericsson has committed to bringing aboard 2,500 Nortel employees from the CDMA and LTE business, ofwhom about 2,000 work on LTE. Many of the engineers behind the technology work from Nortel's Ottawa campus.

"Ericsson has been a big part of the Canadian telecommunications fabric and huge contributor to research and development," said Dobbin.