WiLAN

Wi-LAN Inc.
Public
Traded as
Industry Patent monetization
Founded 1992
Founder Hatim Zaghloul
Michel Fattouche
Headquarters Ottawa, Canada
Area served
 Worldwide
Key people
 Jim Skippen, President and CEO
Michael B. Vladescu, COO
Shaun McEwan, CFO
Products Bluetooth, LTE, WiMAX,
WiFi, CDMA, DOCSIS
Subsidiaries Gladios IP
Cygnus Broadband
Website wilan.com

WiLAN (trading as Wi-LAN Inc.) is a technology development and intellectual property licensing company with headquarters in Ottawa, Canada.[1] WiLAN licenses patent portfolios that it owns and also partner with owners of patent portfolios through its subsidiary, Gladios IP.[2] According to the New York Times, "As of December 31, 2011, WiLAN had a portfolio of approximately 3,000 patents, including issued and pending patents and foreign equivalents."[3] WiLAN, through its subsidiary, Cygnus Broadband, conducts ongoing research and development into advanced wireless communication systems.[4][5]

Wi-LAN Inc. is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ.[6][7][8]

History

In 1992, Hatim Zaghloul and Michel Fattouche co-founded WiLAN[9][10] after they developed together the Wideband Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (WOFDM),[11][12] and Multi-code Direct-sequence Spread Spectrum (MCDSSS).[13] Through WiLAN's efforts, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has allowed OFDM technology over the 2.4 GHz unlicensed ISM band for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards. MC-DSSS (MultiCode-Direct-sequence Spread Spectrum) is central to high speed CDMA applications, the main technology currently used by many cellphone networks.

In 1998, WiLAN had its initial public offering, where the company raised double the amount of its expectations. [14]

In November 1999, WiLAN and Philips invited companies to attend a meeting to form an alliance to promote the OFDM technology and its applications. Fifty five companies attended the meeting and formed the OFDM Forum in March 2000.[15] WiLAN was also a founding member of the WiMAX Forum together with Ensemble, CossSpan, Harris, and Nokia.

From its founding in 1992 to 2000, WiLAN enjoyed success as interest and investment in the tech industry grew. However, in 2000, when the world's first tech bubble collapsed, WiLAN's fortunes changed. At the start of 2000, WiLAN's share price was at $80. By the end of that year, WiLAN's share price had dropped by 90 per cent. [16]

In 2006, WiLAN focused its business on technology development and patent licensing.[9] WiLAN acquired Tri-Vision a company that developed a key ingredient in the V-Chip technology.

In 2006, WiLAN also signed a $50 million license deal with Nokia, allowing Nokia to use WiLAN's wireless patents. [17]

From 2006 to 2011, WiLAN expanded its portfolio of patents from 20 to 3,000. [14] WiLAN in turn licensed out this patented technology to technology giants, such as Nokia, LG Electronics, Samsung, Fujitsu, RIM, Intel, Broadcom and Panasonic.

Restructuring in 2015

In late 2015, WiLAN announced that, beginning in October 2015, it would undergo a significant company restructuring. [18] As part of this restructuring, WiLAN announced that it would spin off its research and development unit and cut its dividend to shareholders. The restructuring would affect 30 per cent of WiLAN's workforce.

WiLAN's restructuring involved another shift in the company’s business focus. Moving forward, instead of owning patents directly, WiLAN would focus on licensing patent portfolios owned by other companies and providing turnkey solutions for companies to monetize their patents. [19]

Products

  1. Hopper, DS-SSSS modem, 19.2-115kbit/s, 902-926 MHz unlicensed band - 1993-1999.
  2. Hopper Plus, AWE, DS-SSSS CSK modem, up to 1Mbit/s, 2.4 GHz and 5.7 GHz unlicensed bands - 1994-2000.
  3. BWS, Libra Product Lines, OFDM modem, up to 16Mbit/s, 2.4 GHz - 1999-2006.

Awards

  1. 2004 Calgary Export Achievement Award for Collaborative Partnerships by the Haskayne School of Management.[20]
  2. Export Achievement Award from Alberta Venture Magazine in 2004[21]
  3. Wireless Communications Association International "Wemmie" Award in 2003.[22] The award was for the Banco Del Pichincha non-line-of-sight network in Ecuador.
  4. Alberta Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists Association 2002 APEGGA Achievement Award for substantial technological progress.[23]
  5. 1999 recipient of the CATA Alliance Award of Distinction for Emerging Technology.[24]
  6. 1998 ASTECH Award for "Small Business"[25]
  7. One of four finalists for the 1997 ASTECH Award for "Small Business"[25]
  8. 1993 Electronics Industries Association of Alberta (EIAA) "Award for best technology".[25]
  9. Wireless Communications Association (WCA) International "Wemmie" in the "Most Effective Educational Program" category for the Northern Lights School Division network in Northern Alberta.[26]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "WiLAN's 759 Patent validated in U.S.". Reuters. 10 November 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  2. ↑ "Wi-Lan inks four licence agreements in Q3". Telecompaper. 6 October 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  3. ↑ "WiLan Inc.". The New York Times. Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Jr. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  4. ↑ "Board - Davide Gell: Cygnus Braodband, CTO". Outdoor Outreach. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
  5. ↑ "Cygnus Broadband and Ubiquisys Partner to Provide LTE Users with Superior Video Streaming on Small Cells". Yahoo! Finance. Market Wired. 19 February 2013. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
  6. ↑ "Wi-LAN Inc. (WIN)". Toronto Stock Exchange. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  7. ↑ "FlashQuotes". NASDAQ. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  8. ↑ Hugo Miller (21 June 2013). "Wi-Lan Jumps Most Since 2011 After Samsung Deal: Toronto Mover". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  9. 1 2 "Wi-Lan co-founder resigns over conflict with company". CBC News. 15 February 2006. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  10. ↑ "Company - Overview". Wi-LAN Inc. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  11. ↑ United States Patent Document patent number 5,282,222
  12. ↑ "Philips Semiconductors Licenses Wi-LAN'S Patented W-OFDM Technology. | HighBeam Business: Arrive Prepared". Business.highbeam.com. 1999-09-22. Retrieved 2011-10-09.
  13. ↑ United States Patent number 5,555,269 and the reissued patent number 38,802
  14. 1 2 Czarnecka, Marzena (March 1, 2012). "Wi-Lan left Alberta to make it big in Ottawa. Will other tech start-ups stay?". Alberta Venture. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
  15. ↑ Alun Williams (15 March 2000). "Seven wireless companies join to launch OFDM Forum". Electronics Weekly. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
  16. ↑ Shufelt, Tim (November 3, 2013). "Undervalued Wi-LAN a buying opportunity". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
  17. ↑ "Nokia licenses Wi-LAN patents for $49.2M". CBC News. December 4, 2006. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  18. ↑ "Wi-LAN to restructure, spin off R&D, slash dividend". The Globe and Mail. November 4, 2015. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
  19. ↑ Waddell, Nick (November 17, 2015). "Leaner, meaner Wi-LAN is ready to resume growth, says CEO Skippen". cantech letter. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  20. ↑ "SMART Technologies wins Haskayne award" (PDF). Calgary Herald. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  21. ↑ "Winner's Circle | Alberta Venture Magazine, Alberta business, Canadian business, Business Awards, Alberta news, Alberta industry". Albertaventure.com. 2004-05-06. Retrieved 2011-10-09.
  22. ↑ "Company News". CanadaIT.com. 2003-01-10. Retrieved 2011-10-09.
  23. ↑ "News Release" (PDF). Retrieved 2011-10-09.
  24. ↑ "Company - News & Events - News Details". WiLAN. 2000-01-19. Retrieved 2011-10-09.
  25. 1 2 3 "Awards". Enel.ucalgary.ca. 2000-10-06. Retrieved 2011-10-09.
  26. ↑ "Wi-LAN Wins Prestigious Wireless Industry Award". Business Wire. 18 January 2001. Retrieved 2011-10-09.

External links

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