* Canada is home to a quarter of North Americas fastest-growing wireless companies (Deloitte Technology Fast 50).

* Canadas core strengths in wireless technologies and services are complemented by the presence of R&D units set up by giants such as Nokia, Ericsson and AlcatelLucent. These companies join Canadas homegrown technology stars, including Research In Motion (RIM), Nortel Networks and Sierra Wireless all global leaders in their market segments. * Canadas wealth of talent has generated world-class business software in a variety of industries and vertical markets: * business intelligence (IBM-Cognos and Business Objects-SAP) * enterprise content management (Open Text Corporation) * supply chain management (Descartes, TECSYS) * video games (Electronic Arts, BioWare, Ubisoft) * digital media (Side Effects Software, Toon Boom Animation) * IT security (Absolute Software, Forensic Technology and OKIOK) * e-health (MediSolution) * e-commerce (Mediagrif Interactive Technologies) * Canadian computer service firms such as CGI, Matrikon and xwave allow clients to concentrate on their core businesses and strengthen their competitiveness. anada shows leadership and strength in infrastructure, data-centric devices, enablers, middleware and applications, either due to the number of active Canadian companies, or due to technological innovation with significant exports to international markets. Canada has growing capability in content development and aggregation. According to industry participants, surveyed and interviewed as part of this study Canada is just beginning to develop in the content and aggregation space, but is poised for high levels of growth due to the advanced talent and facilities available in Canada. Canada faces challenges in effectively commercializing innovation and exporting it successfully to international markets. While there may be several reasons for this, the two main ones that were observed include: the limited resources of the vast majority of Canadian companies, which happen to be small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); and the general lag in the Canadian services market in introducing new technologies and value-added services. The largest single component of the value chain is represented by operators in terms of contribution to employment and revenues . Canadian operators have historically taken a "smart follower" approach to the commercial deployment of technology. This, coupled with a lag in effective monetization, results in some local innovation companies seeking opportunities to commercialize leading edge products in foreign markets. This presents several challenges for Canadian firms. The resources (people, time and investment) required to

become established in international markets, coupled with the lack of international business experience, and often the lack of a local reference client, presents challenges. Partly as a result of this, while Canada is strong in R&D and innovation, it lags in commercialization and export of products. Opportunities Opportunities in developed and mature markets: North America and Western Europe offer Canadian firms opportunities for providing infrastructure to evolve cellular networks to 3G; for enablers to create and deliver value-add data and multimedia services; and for products that facilitate evolution to IP multimedia core (IMS/MMD). Growth in applications and content will provide Canadian companies with opportunities in these markets. WiMAX, wireless mesh, software defined radio, and professional services also present opportunities for Canadian firms. Opportunities for Canadian companies in Japan and South Korea are somewhat limited, as these markets are highly mature, and therefore develop indigenous, pre-standards products. Some opportunities exist in these markets for business and enterprise solutions (i.e. Customer Relationship Management CRM, ERP, etc.) and professional services. Opportunities in emerging markets: The BRIC countries, and the emerging markets within Latin America, MEA, and Asia Pacific offer opportunities as a result of growth in subscribers and network footprint. Several emerging countries including Argentina, Nigeria, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Turkey and Serbia also present good opportunities, with some offering lower barriers to entry than the much larger BRIC countries. Low average revenue per user (ARPUs)29 in several emerging markets result in downward pressure for infrastructure spending. This has been a catalyst for the success of vendors providing low cost equipment from emerging markets such as China (ZTE, Huawei, etc). As only one fourth of India's population base is covered by cellular, opportunities to sell infrastructure to India do exist. However, low cost solutions are needed for emerging markets. Spending in WiMAX, wireless mesh, and handsets will also grow in these regions. Opportunities for UWB, and SDR are limited at this time.