OTTAWA, December 22, 2006 — The Honourable Loyola Hearn, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, and Member of Parliament for St. John's South-Mount Pearl, today announced on behalf of the Honourable Maxime Bernier, Minister of Industry, a $1.8 million repayable research and development (R&D) investment to develop wireless technology. The funding is part of a $5.5 million project by Consilient Technologies Corporation of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.
"Canada's New Government encourages companies to make strategic investments in information and communications technology," said Minister Hearn. "This is especially important when businesses can strengthen the economic diversity in this region."
"When innovative companies like Consilient work to improve modern technologies, they are reinforcing Canada's reputation as a global telecommunications leader," said Minister Bernier.
The project will increase the data and messaging functions available for users of mobile phones and devices, while allowing for more compatibility between mobile devices and networks.
"Consilient is extending its technological reach into mobile multimedia," said Trevor Adey, CEO of Consilient. "The investment will enable Consilient to develop advanced software that will drive the adoption of multimedia services. Consumers will be able to access their e-mail, music, TV and other applications directly on their mobile phones."
This repayable investment is being made through Technology Partnerships Canada, an agency of Industry Canada, using a new model contribution agreement that emphasizes enhanced transparency and accountability.
See backgrounder for further details on this project.
For more information, please contact:
Isabelle Fontaine
Office of the Honourable Maxime Bernier
Minister of Industry
(613) 995-9001
Media Relations
Industry Canada
(613) 943-2502
The news release and other documents are available on the Technology Partnerships Canada website at http://www.tpc-ptc.ic.gc.ca.
Backgrounder
Repayable Investment in Wireless Mobile Communications Technology
Canada's New Government is making a repayable investment of $1.8 million in a $5.5 million research and development (R&D) project being undertaken by Consilient Technologies Corporation, of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, to develop advanced wireless mobile middleware (wireless connectivity software) with the ability to support multiple types of wireless data applications.
A leading provider of middleware, Consilient uses open standards and delivers "push" e-mail (real-time e-mail notifications that do not require the user to request the retrieval of mail).
Consilient will advance wireless technology by providing mobile users with enhanced capabilities for data and messaging applications such as calendars, and multimedia applications such as graphics, video, and audio clips.
Consilient employs 75 people, with the majority of their operations, including R&D and administrative functions, conducted in St. John's. Consilient also has offices in Ottawa, Vancouver, San Francisco, and Singapore.
This repayable investment is being made through Technology Partnerships Canada, an agency of Industry Canada, using a new model contribution agreement that emphasizes enhanced transparency and accountability.
