OZ Canada formed through acquisition by OZ.COM

OZ.COM announced the formation of OZ Canada (Montreal) through the acquisition of a company recently established by Microcell Capital II Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Microcell Telecommunications Inc. and Ericsson. The acquired company, renamed OZ Canada, is dedicated to the converging market of mobile and Internet communications. A subsidiary of OZ.COM, OZ Canada will function as an advanced application development center for GPRS and third generation (3G) wireless networks with substantial resources in engineering, software development, and integration.

OZ Canada will provide Microcell with development and consulting services, and the integration of value-added services into wireless PCS services using OZ.COM's mPresence solution for the next three years. The products and services provided through this agreement will be used by Microcell i5, the Internet subsidiary of Microcell Telecommunications, to develop and deliver wireless Internet applications for Fido PCS services.

The contract with Ericsson will focus on the development of 3G mobile and Internet communication applications. OZ Canada will have access to Ericsson's North American 3G development center and experts, based in Montreal, to test these applications. The first products developed and delivered to market will be based on iPulse, the Internet Protocol (IP)-based communications framework co-developed by OZ.COM and Ericsson.

The combined market and technology expertise of the three companies lays the foundation for OZ Canada. The new company will develop and implement wireless Internet services that take advantage of OZ.COM's presence management and service framework, mPresence. iPulse, co-developed by OZ.COM and Ericsson, is the basis of OZ.COM's mPresence offering.

OZ Canada's research and development is designed to meet subscribers' end-to-end wireless needs across multiple devices and networks. Carriers, wireless service providers (WSPs), and Internet businesses will be able to offer their subscribers non-proprietary, wireless Internet services and applications immediately over GSM networks, leading to GPRS and eventually 3G.

Edited by Ellen Jensen
Managing Editor, Wireless Networks Online