NEW YORK-OZ.COM, Reykjavik, Iceland, formed OZ Canada, a Montreal-based subsidiary, through the purchase of a company recently established by L.M. Ericsson and a venture capital unit of Microcell Telecommunications Inc.
OZ Canada will function as an advanced applications development center for General Packet Radio Service and third-generation wireless networks. Gilles Lapierre, former vice president of Ericsson Canada Inc. in Montreal, will be general manager and vice president of OZ Canada.
As part of the deal, Microcell i5, the Internet subsidiary of Microcell Telecommunications, has a three-year contract to develop and deliver wireless Internet applications for its Fido PCS services using OZ.COM’s mPresence solution. MPresence is a hosted presence management and service framework that applies intelligent routing to deliver voice, short message service, text, data and video across multiple mobile and stationary devices and networks.
Ericsson will focus on development of 3G mobile and Internet communications applications. To test these applications, OZ Canada will have access to Ericsson’s North American 3G development center and its staff, all based in Montreal. The first products anticipated for commercial delivery will be based on iPulse, the communications framework based on Internet Protocol that OZ.COM and Ericsson developed jointly.
The acquisition, structured as a stock-for-stock exchange, gives Microcell a 9-percent share of OZ.COM and increases Ericsson’s total share in the company to 20 percent on a fully diluted basis.
OZ Canada will assume development agreements valued at $9 million from Microcell Labs Inc. and $6 million from Ericsson.
