Canada’s Wireless Solutions on the Move

From the Blackberry to WiFi, Canada’s talented workforce, low costs and R&D strengths translate into excellence, innovation and profitability for Canadian and foreign wireless companies.

Longstanding leaders in information and communications technology (ICT), Canadian companies remain at the forefront of discovery in software, telecommunications and digital media. Our simulation, gaming, special effects and animation technologies are dominant in global entertainment, military and health markets. We are also recognized trailblazers in data mining applications, security and authentication, biometrics, Web 2.0 and encryption.

Canadian broadband and wireless technologies are also revolutionizing world markets.  Our wireless companies are showing world-class excellence in infrastructure, data-centric devices, enablers, middleware and applications. With Canada’s talented workforce, smart regulations and centres of research excellence make it a rewarding location for enterprising investors.

Did you know?

• In September 2009, the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked Canada 4th overall in its 3rd annual report benchmarking the competitiveness of the IT industry among 66 countries. Canada ranked higher than India and most of Europe.


• With its cellular AirCards, Sierra Wireless joins Blackberry maker Research in Motion as a Canadian company that delivers smart, forward-thinking mobile solutions for e-mail and data communications.


• In 2008, Canada’s Wavesat won the 2008 Technology Excellence Award by Frost & Sullivan for its Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing chip set research work. 


• At the same time, Redline Communications was recognized as the one of the world’s first companies to have a complete WiMAX product line certified by the WiMAX forum.


• Canada is home to the world-renowned SCARI Software Suite, an integrated development environment for Software Defined Radio (SDR) technology. Already well-established within the military sector as the radio technology of the future, SDR can accommodate any communications protocol and frequency band. The software enables manufacturers to leverage SDR technology for just about any industry, implementation or product. 


• The Canadian government encourages R&D with generous tax credits and through direct support for research centres, such as the Communications Research Centre, the National Institute for Information Technology and the National Institute for Nanotechnology.  University R&D centres include the Emerging Communications Technology Institute at the University of Toronto and nanotechnology research centres at the universities of Toronto, Waterloo, McMaster, McGill and Alberta.


• From Vancouver to Montréal, clusters of creativity keep the Canadian wireless industry at the forefront. One of the most remarkable is the Waterloo region, known as Canada’s Technology Triangle. Much of Waterloo’s reputation rests on its exceptional educational institutions, which include facilities such as the Communitech Research Accelerator and the University of Waterloo Research and Technology Park.  In addition to its nanotechnology research centre and engineering program, the University of Waterloo hosts the Institute for Quantum Computing.

Home Grown Leaders

• BelAir Networks
• Icron
• Miranda Technologies
• Psion Teklogix
• Redline Communications
• Research in Motion
• Sierra Wireless
• Sinclair Technologies
• Vecima Networks
• VoiceAge
• Wavesat

Global Investors in Canada

• Alcatel Lucent
• Erisson Canada
• Motorola
• Nokia
• Nokia Siemens Networks

Look Who’s Here

• In 2009, Fortune magazine named Canada's Research in Motion (RIM) the world's fastest-growing company.  
• In 2009, California’s Infinera added to its optical networking R&D team with the opening of a new design center in Ottawa, Ontario. 
• In 2008, Sweden’s Ericsson more than doubled its R&D operations in British Columbia, creating 60 new jobs. 
• In 2007, South Korea’s Samsung invested $20 million in Canada-based SiGe Semiconductor, which designs radio frequency (RF) solutions for next-generation wireless applications.