Connected to the Community

Left to right: Wade Oosterman, President, Bell Mobility; Industry Minister Tony Clement; Lesley Sims, Regional Director, Ontario for Kids Help Phone; and CWTA President & CEO, Bernard Lord. (Photo – Greg Teckles)

Every day, kids facing problems like bullying, depression and lack of self esteem turn to Kids Help Phone for guidance. And Kids Help Phone is there – 24/7. As a founding partner, Bell has supported Kids Help Phone as its services have evolved to respond more effectively to today’s technology-savvy youth. Through programs like Bell Mobility’s free anonymous calling to Kids Help Phone for their cellular subscribers, and a newly transformed Web site that offers direct and indirect Web-based counselling, Kids Help Phone continues to expand its capacity and keep pace with the ever-changing needs of teens and kids.

Left to right: Industry Minister Tony Clement; Lana Feinstein, Director of Development at LOVE; and Motorola Canada President, Sean Miller. (Photo – Greg Teckles)

The Leave Out ViolencE organization – otherwise know as “LOVE” – is a not-for-profit organization that strives to reduce violence in the lives of youth and in our communities by building a team of youth who communicate a message of non-violence. Through specialized programs, youth develop the skills and motivation to help break this cycle. It is for this reason that Motorola’s own “Raise Your Voice” – a program created to encourage teens to speak up when they are struggling and to make sure someone is there to listen – has partnered with LOVE to make a difference in the lives of teens across the country.

Left to right: Industry Minister Tony Clement; Liane Leclair, Co-Director of Adventures in Engineering and Science; Morgan Elliott, Director of Government Relations at Research In Motion; and Bernard Lord, CWTA President & CEO. (Photo – Greg Teckles)

Adventures in Engineering and Science (AES), an award-winning, not-for-profit, bilingual educational program committed to introducing young minds to the wonders and merits of science and engineering, is made possible through the generosity of organizations such Research in Motion, a premium funding partner of the program. AES offers a wide variety of programs such as summer camps about engineering, science, computers and technology, bilingual workshops, outreach camps and clubs for girls. Engineering and science undergraduate students from the University of Ottawa deliver these programs to youths aged 6 to 17. In 2009, Research in Motion became a part of the programming with the addition of the BlackBerry Hands On Workshop session of the Computer Camp. Through the support of the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Ottawa, the program has reached over 200,000 children since its creation in 1991.

Left to right: Industry Minister Tony Clement; Ken Engelhart, Senior Vice President Regulatory & Chief Privacy Officer, Rogers Communications; Katharine Schmidt, Executive Director of Food Banks Canada; and CWTA President & CEO Bernard Lord. (Photo – Greg Teckles)

The Phones for Food program, launched and managed by Food Banks Canada, allows Rogers and Fido customers to recycle used wireless devices and accessories, while raising funds for Canada’s food banks. Through Phones for Food, the wireless devices are sorted, and either refurbished and resold, or recycled, and the proceeds are donated to Food Banks Canada. Rogers has partnered with Food Banks Canada on the program since its inception in 2003. Since then, over 450,000 phones have been diverted from landfills and over $650,000 has been raised supporting food banks.

Left to right: Industry Minister Tony Clement; Senator Pamela Wallin; SaskTel President & CEO, Robert Watson; and Bernard Lord, CWTA President & CEO. (Photo – Greg Teckles)

In 2009, SaskTel and the Provincial Association of Transition Houses and Services of Saskatchewan (PATHS) launched the Phones for a Fresh Start program. The unique program combines responsible environmental practices with providing help for women and children fleeing abusive situations. Under the program, SaskTel encourages Saskatchewan consumers to donate used cellular devices, chargers and other accessories at SaskTel stores and dealers. The phones are then sent to a recycling company. SaskTel uses the proceeds from the recycled cell phones to provide prepaid phone cards to residents of transition houses across the province with a way to keep in touch with family, friends and other members of their support network. SaskTel also provides a supply of used cellular phones.

Left to right: Industry Minister Tony Clement; Lianna McDonald, Executive Director, Canadian Centre for Child Protection; Michael Hennessy, Senior Vice President, Regulatory and Government Affairs at TELUS; and CWTA President & CEO, Bernard Lord. (Photo – Greg Teckles)

The Canadian Centre for Child Protection’s mission is to reduce the incidence of missing and sexually exploited children, educate the public on child personal safety and sexual exploitation, and assist in the location of missing children. In partnership with TELUS, the Centre has created the Mobile Safety Web site – A guide for parents and guardians. The goal of the guide is to educate parents and guardians about the potential risks posed to teens when using mobile phones, and to highlight strategies that can be used to help keep them safe.

Left to right: Industry Minister Tony Clement; Debbie Gray, Former Program Manager of Directors of Change; Rebecca McAllister, Educator Outreach Coordinator at Free the Children; and Leo Fitzsimon, Director of Corporate Relations and Responsibility at Nokia; and Bernard Lord, CWTA President & CEO. (Photo – Greg Teckles)

Free the Children is an international network of children helping children through education and development programs in many countries. The organization’s Directors of Change program, offered through a partnership with Nokia and the International Youth Foundation, combines youth-made documentary films and a resource guide to help educators bring social issues alive in the classroom. The program aims to create a generation of globally aware, socially engaged youth who are equipped to take action in their own communities.

Left to right: Industry Minister Tony Clement; Pierre Lussier, Director of Jour de la Terre Québec; Jacques Languirand, spokesperson for Jour de la Terre; Pierre Karl Péladeau, President and CEO, Quebecor; and Bernard Lord, CWTA President & CEO. (Photo – Greg Teckles)

Quebecor’s Videotron works closely with Jour de la Terre on initiatives such as e-billing and cell phone recycling that promote the environmentally responsible use of raw materials and help safeguard the planet. Videotron’s Allo la Terre program recovers old cell phones and gives them a new lease on life by recycling their components and safely disposing of the hazardous materials they contain, or refurbishing them for resale. As well, a tree is planted in Québec for each cell phone deposited in the recycling bins at Videotron locations and Archambault stores. Proceeds from the recycling and resale of the handsets are reinvested in Jour de la Terre’s green belt projects. To date, more than 44,000 cell phones have been recovered through the program. Quebecor and Videotron’s partnership with Jour de la Terre has also enabled the planting of more than 150,000 trees, and has encouraged 180,000 Videotron customers to sign up for online, paperless billing.

Left to right: Industry Minister Jim Prentice; Almis Ledas, Bell Mobility’s Vice President, Corporate Development; Kids Help Phone Vice President, Fund Development and Regional Operations, Mary Proulx; and Tom McAllister, President and CEO, Kids Help Phone.

Kids Help Phone is Canada’s only free, 24-hour, bilingual and anonymous phone and online counseling, referral and information service for children and youth. Increasingly, children are reaching out to this counseling service by using cellular phones. Bell Mobility provides free, anonymous calling to Kids Help Phone for all of its cellular subscribers so that children can call without fear of someone seeing the call show up on their monthly statement. Bell Mobility also offers an abridged number – #6868 -– for easier access to the Kids Help Phone counseling centres.

Left to right: Industry Minister Jim Prentice; Michel Belows, Manager of Enterprise Wireless Services, MTS Allstream; and Martin Hart, Senior Systems Project Manager, RCMP’s Mobile Communication Services Department.

The RCMP’s “D” Division provides provincial, municipal, federal and First Nation policing in Manitoba through 50 host and stand-alone detachments with more than 900 regular members, and over 250 civilian members and public servants combined. In order to serve an area as vast as Manitoba, the RCMP needed a secure, advanced and reliable voice communication system. The RCMP turned to MTS Allstream for the company’s FleetNet service, an advanced, province-wide two-way voice dispatch radio network that covers 98% of permanent roadways in Manitoba.

Left to right: Industry Minister Jim Prentice; Inspector Lance Valcour, Canadian Police Research Centre; and Mike Hortie, President, Motorola Canada.

Inspector Lance Valcour, along with the Canadian Police Research Centre (CPRC) has been instrumental in helping Canada build a distinguished record of increasing public safety through science and technology. Inspector Valcour has been tirelessly working with the CPRC, CACP and other US and international organizations to strengthen the voice for the urgent need for all levels of police forces to be able to communicate amongst themselves and other first responder agencies using public safety radio communication systems. Inspector Valcour has also worked with major North American associations such as the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council in the US and other international agencies to leverage efforts from around the world.

Left to right: Industry Minister Jim Prentice; Sharon van San, Assistant Deputy Attorney General of Ontario; Mark Henderson, President & CEO, Ericsson Canada; and Dawn Hunt, Vice President – Regulatory, Telecom at Rogers Communications Inc.

Ontario Victims Service Secretariat and Ericsson Canada’s Support Link program is delivered through a public/private sector alliance between the Ministry of the Attorney General, Rogers Wireless and Ericsson Canada. The Support Link program is designed to offer assistance to victims of sexual assault, domestic violence or stalking. Victims at risk receive a mobile phone from Rogers Wireless that is pre-programmed to dial 911. They also receive intensive safety planning and ongoing support and referrals to community resources. The program operates in 20 locations across the province and provides approximately 2,000 safety plans annually to at risk victims. 450 phones are currently in circulation with another 250 soon to be added.

Left to right: Industry Minister Jim Prentice; Vincent Pascale, Chief Security Technician at Dawson College; and Michael Sangster, Vice-President, Federal Government Affairs at TELUS.

Montreal’s Dawson College recently implemented a sophisticated wireless communications program. The College’s administration decided to deploy an Integrated Digital Enhanced Network, or iDEN. This digitally operated network is highly secure, and supports many different types of wireless devices such as Push-To-Talk long-range two-way radio, cell phone, pager and mobile computers. More than 30 wireless antennas have been installed on the campus. Today, it is possible to use wireless devices at all hours of the day and night, and on all levels of the buildings. This new solution provides an increased sense of security to all students and staff.

Left to right: Industry Minister Jim Prentice; Ralph Page, Chair of the Canadian Crime Stoppers Association; and former CWTA President and CEO Peter Barnes.

The Canadian Crime Stoppers Association, in collaboration with Anderson Software, has added the ability to send tips to Crime Stoppers through text messaging on cell phones. This new program allows cell phone users in most major urban centres in Canada to make anonymous tips when voice calls are not always possible or safe. This program allows text messaging informants to remain anonymous by assigning an encrypted alias to all identifying information. Crime Stoppers can also respond by text message to the originating cell phone without ever knowing the tipster’s identity. Crime Stoppers believes this new system will entice more informants to come forward, especially tech savvy youth.

Motivus is a Vancouver-based technology company, a Canadian success story and an internationally recognized innovator and trendsetter. Motivus software enables customers to have remote and mobile access to their corporate e-mail, desktop and network files when they are away from their office computer. This secure wireless technology enables Canadian businesses – both large and small – to improve customer service while enhancing efficiencies and saving money by providing real-time access to information.

Bell Mobility invested in Motivus Software in November 2001 as part of a strategic investment program in innovative companies developing and delivering wireless Internet and data products and services. Bell Mobility also provides Motivus with access to its “take-to-market” knowledge and resources such as product testing, marketing and distribution channels. In addition to partnering with the company, Bell Mobility has standardized the Motivus solution for its own internal use.

In March 2002, Motivus was named to the Modezilla 50, a prestigious international review of innovative and trendsetting companies in the mobile arena. Other companies on the Modezilla 50 include international companies such as AT&T Wireless, Qualcomm, Sprint PCS and Sierra Wireless.

TELUS Mobility and Spotnik are working to bring a new stage of high-speed mobile Internet access to Canadians. The two companies are rolling out 802.11b service – also known as “Wi-Fi” – in public spaces across the country, giving business people and consumers fast and convenient Internet access in the places they work, live and play.

Spotnik is developing “hot spots” in public spaces – from coffee shops and malls to airports and office towers – that serve as high-speed Internet access points for clients equipped with Internet-ready phones, computers or PDAs. Spotnik has already implemented some 50 public hot spots, including the giant First Canadian Place office complex in downtown Toronto.

TELUS Ventures has invested $6 million in Spotnik to speed the national public implementation of Wi-Fi. TELUS Mobility and Spotnik are working closely to develop new hot spot locations, marketing opportunities, billing systems and other infrastructure, as well as opportunities to leverage complementary mobile Internet access services, such as TELUS Mobility’s national 1X network which offers clients fast Internet access by phone or computer.

Soon, everyone from business travellers visiting remote offices to new moms relaxing with a coffee at the local Starbucks will be able to easily tap the Internet at lightning speed. With the backing and close cooperation of TELUS Mobility, Spotnik’s efforts to make high-speed Internet access ubiquitous will be accomplished quickly and cost-effectively.

Ericsson began a five-year funding program of the Next Generation Chair at Montréal’s École Polytechnique in the fall of 2002. The chair is very well aligned with the mission of the Ericsson Montréal Research Branch in the areas of open systems and next generation networks. In partnership with the research branch, the Chair is contributing to the evolution of 3G networks in areas such as Quality of Service mechanisms, network resiliency, node security and carrier-grade Linux.

This mutual collaboration assists not only the scientific community, but the industry and the Montréal community as well. Some results of the partnership, such as carrier- grade Linux and node security, will be incorporated into Ericsson’s TSP platform which is used for many nodes the company provides for network operators worldwide. Much of the development work for the TSP platform is completed at Ericsson’s Montréal facilities, which creates jobs not only within Ericsson, but also for peripheral companies that supply the development units.

Canadians benefit from the outcomes of this research in several ways. First, carrier-grade Linux is an open system and available to everyone, which facilitates the development of many new applications. Second, the security aspects will help protect Internet infrastructure against malicious attacks. Third, this research helps keep Canada in the forefront of mobile Internet development by maintaining the leading-edge in that area. And finally, it creates employment as more technology is developed locally.

Time Mobile Communications Inc. is a Motorola Dealer that services the Ottawa area. Their customers are commercial- and industrial-based users who are seeking mobile wireless solutions for both on-site and wide-area use. Motorola has a 50-year history of working with its channel partners to provide sales and service to the business users in the area. Time Mobile Communications has been established in Ottawa for more than 30 years and has a staff of 35 people. The company has had remarkable growth over the last few years and represents a true entrepreneurial success story.

Research in Motion, or RIM as it is commonly known, is excited to be the first wireless device manufacturer in the North American market to ship Java 2, Micro Edition-based wireless handhelds.

RIM considered Sun Microsystems for a potential solution to realize its wireless applications vision and quickly discovered the potential of the Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition – or J2ME. Sun’s J2ME platform is one of the key technologies responsible for supporting wireless applications in the mobile world. RIM found the J2ME platform to be a technically elegant solution for its BlackBerry handheld that provides a robust development environment based on open standards while accommodating inherent constraints of mobile handhelds such as battery life, memory, processing power and bandwidth.

Sun Microsystems’ commitment to leadership in mobile solutions with its J2ME platform satisfied RIM’s technology requirements and supported the company’s strategy of providing more choice and value to their customers.

WebMed Technology is a privately-held company based in British Columbia that specializes in e-health products.

In the summer of 2001, Dr. Jonathan Burns, an emergency room doctor at Matsqui-Sumas Abbotsford General Hospital in BC, witnessed a series of emergency room visits by a patient with second-degree burns who lived some distance from the hospital. Each trip to the hospital to have the patient’s dressings changed cost the health system about $900, with an additional $60 out-of-pocket expense for the patient. Dr. Burns felt there had to be a more efficient and cost-effective means of prescribing treatment for patients with minor wounds, burns and other conditions that could be treated in their local areas.

Dr. Burns, together with Bill Schonewille – the hospital’s IT network chief – and Robin Abrey – a WebMed Technology partner – created a Web-based wireless application that allows home-care and other field-based medical practitioners to treat patients in a home-care setting by wirelessly transferring information to experts located in a far-off hospital. Experts then advise on the best ways to speed up the healing process without having the patient make an inconvenient and costly trip to the hospital.

The application is enabled by the Rogers AT&T Wireless GSM/GPRS network which is able to transmit patient information and digital pictures of patient wounds and other conditions at apporximately 56 kilobits per second.

This mobile solution has helped ease the suffering of patients and saved hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Fraser Health Authority in BC which serves 1.3 million people in BC’s lower mainland. As well, St. Elizabeth Health Care in Ontario has just implemented the solution. WebMed Technology is currently under review for possilbe widespread adoption by British Columbia health agencies as well as other large health care organizations.

The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association, together with Canada’s wireless telephone carriers, has established a scholarship fund for graduate students whose primary field of study is related to wireless telecommunications. Over the next five years, as many as 50 of Canada’s most talented students will benefit from the $500,000 bursary.

The University of Ottawa is currently establishing a new Centre for Population Health Risk Assessment in the National Capital Region. The R. Samuel McLaughlin Centre will serve as a resource to a range of stakeholders including government, industry and the public, delivering a comprehensive program of research in population health risk assessment.

The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association has made commitments to help establish this Centre and will be providing financial support to the new R. Samuel McLaughlin/NSERC Industrial Chair in Managing Technological Change.

Canada’s advanced Internet development organization, is a private, not-for-profit organization supported by Industry Canada, 120 members and more than 500 project partners. CANARIE has succeeded in enhancing Canadian research Internet speeds by a factor of almost one million since its establishment in 1993, and has funded more than 200 advanced Internet applications projects involving more than 500 companies.

Bell Mobility and its Canadian partners and TELUS Mobility, supported by CANARIE, created the Wireless Telecommunications R&D Investment Program in 1998. Phase 1 of the program represented a $2.5 million investment, and Phase 2, now underway, will provide up to $3.5 million more in investment funding to small and medium sized companies through a competitive process. Typical investments will range from $100,000-$500,000 and will require matching funds from applicant companies.

Microcell subsidiary Inukshuk Internet Inc. is working with members of the learning community across Canada to implement learning plans that support the Canadian government’s lifelong learning objectives.

One such partnership is STEM-Net which provides high-quality learning opportunities, network access and online resources to students and educators in the K-12 education system in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Launched in 1993, STEM-Net has evolved into an internationally recognized leader in the use of information and communications technologies in education.

Rogers AT&T Wireless contributed $3 million to the University of Toronto and earmarked the dollars to build the new Rogers AT&T Wireless Communications Laboratories – the new state-of-the-art R&D facility, located in the Bahen Centre of Technology.

The laboratories will facilitate leading-edge research in wireless information technology, while ensuring that today’s emerging talents in electrical and computer engineering have access to educational opportunities that will allow them to compete with the best in the world.

As an academic research and educational unit attached to the University of Waterloo’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, the Centre for Wireless Communications was established in 1996 with a donation of one million dollars from Ericsson Communications Canada over a period of five years as seed money.

Lucent Technologies Canada has recently launched its third competition of the Lucent Global Science Scholars Program.

The program is designed to encourage the world’s youth to pursue careers in communications technology and underscores Lucent’s commitment to invest in the future of some of the world’s most talented young scientists and mathematicians.

In 2001, 108 students from 21 countries across six continents will become Global Science Scholars, representing an increase of 28 awards from the first competition.

The Canadian administrator of the Lucent scholarship program is the Ottawa-based Canadian Bureau for International Education

A recent gift by the Motorola Foundation to McGill University will allow the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering to leverage other public sector funds to create a multi-million dollar optical communications, wireless communications and multi-media signal processing research laboratory facility dedicated to dense wavelength division multiplexing – a technology critical to enhancing the capacity of the Internet. About half the funding will be devoted to the wireless area.

In July of 1997, the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada – or NSERC – and Nortel Networks established the NSERC/Nortel Joint Chair for Women in Science and Engineering in Ontario, joining four other Chairs in the Women and Science and Engineering program throughout Canada.The Chair was established to encourage an increased participation of women in science and engineering education programs and in the workplace. The Chair Holder also acts as a role model and contact person for women in these fields. To reach these goals, the Chair Holder endeavours to participate in public forums for scientists, engineers, employers, educators, researchers and others.

Since 1998, Nokia Canada has partnered with Big Brothers and Sisters of Canada (BBSC), the leading child and youth serving organization providing mentoring programs across the country. The Nokia Connecting People Fund was established to help introduce Big Brothers and Sisters’ In-School Mentoring Program to communities across Canada.

STARS provides a safe, rapid and highly effective aero-medical transport system to critically ill and injured patients throughout Alberta.
TELUS Mobility donated $250,000 in services and technology to the STARS “Seconds Count” Campaign, whereby mobile communications are being integrated into STARS’ operation to enhance response times.

Microcell Solutions, recognizing the popularity of their FIDO marketing campaign, launched “Look-Alike” contests for dogs and their owners to raise funds for local humane societies and local chapters of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The SupportLink Program, a partnership of Rogers AT&T Wireless, Ericsson Communications and the Government of Ontario, was launched in Ottawa and Barrie, Ontario in 1998. Designed to ensure extra security, this intervention strategy includes a safety plan and provides wireless phones to victims of domestic violence or stalking.

The Canadian Peregrine Foundation uses a Mike Communications System donated by Clearnet for its project “Watch-’em”, a two-to-three week, dawn-to-dusk watch by volunteers that safeguards and protects young peregrine falcons as they learn to fly.

The Communities on Phone Patrol program was created in 1997 through a partnership between Bell Mobility and the Solicitor General of Ontario. Enabling citizens to become the “eyes and ears” of the police, Bell Mobility donated cell phones and free air time to patrol volunteers in communities throughout Ontario.

In 1999, the Alberta E9-1-1 Advisory Association in cooperation with TELUS Mobility began a trial of Wireless Enhanced 9-1-1 to determine the best technology that would enable 9-1-1 centres to identify the location as well as the call-back number of customers using wireless devices in emergencies.

In British Columbia, TELUS Mobility is partnering with the Ministry of the Attorney General to provide emergency cell phone services to women at high risk of relationship violence.

The International Institute of Telecommunications, established in Montreal by Microcell and other members of the telecom industry, is a creative think-tank that brings together companies and governments with research institutions and universities. Its goal is to build Canada’s pool of qualified technical talent to stem the brain drain and to ensure that Canada’s telecom industry continues to lead the world in technological innovation.

For the past 15 years, Rogers AT&T Wireless has sponsored Operation Red Nose in Quebec City, donating wireless phones and free air time to the organization in its fight to keep impaired drivers off the road.

At the University of Ottawa and Carleton University, the Foot Patrols help safeguard the well being of students, professors and staff by preventing, detecting and ultimately reducing crime. Clearnet donated handsets and the Mike system to ensure the speedy dispatch of patrollers and emergency services throughout the two campuses.

In Canada, approximately three million calls are made every year to 9-1-1 or other emergency numbers from a mobile phone. In recognition of their customers who have gone above and beyond by using their wireless phones to assist fellow citizens, Bell Mobility initiated its “Cellular Samaritan” Awards several years ago.