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Canada's first 5G network starts rolling out in four cities
Canadians won't have to look on with envy as Americans get 5G. Telecom giant Rogers has started rolling out the country's first 5G network in the downtown cores of four large cities (Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver). You'll have to wait until devices are available later in the year to use the network, but it'll be ready to go when that happens. It should reach more than 20 additional markets before 2020 is over.
BlackBerry creates a research hub for self-driving cars
Just because BlackBerry is done making its own smartphones doesn't mean it won't be a big name in consumer tech. The company has unveiled the BlackBerry QNX Autonomous Vehicle Innovation Center (AVIC), a facility in QNX's Ottawa home that will be key to building the framework for self-driving cars. It's not crafting the autonomy code, but it will create the underlying platform. One of its first initiatives will have it team up with Renesas, PolySync and the University of Waterloo to build a concept vehicle to test on Ontario roads.
Fido hops on the LTE bandwagon, gives Canadians frugal 4G this summer
Rogers was the first with LTE in Canada. Its budget brand Fido has largely been left out of that 4G fiesta, but the gap is closing today with official plans to give the yellow doghouse some LTE of its own. The initial deployment this summer will largely overlap Rogers' fledgling network, starting with benchmark cities Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, St. John's, Toronto and Vancouver. Only a Fido Mobile Hotspot with 10-device sharing will kick off the hardware selection; if you're impatient, though, any compatible and (usually) unlocked LTE device will do with a relevant SIM card. About 20 million Canucks will potentially have the high-speed option by the end of the year -- and with Fido's plan costs expected to stay the same, that coverage could make the provider a de facto choice for fast data in the Great White North. Click past the break for the official word and the full 2012 expansion list.
1,800 iPads on the way to Ottawa Hospital
The Canadian Broadcasting Company is reporting that the Ottawa Hospital, which already has about 500 Apple tablets being used by health-care providers, has recently ordered another 1,800 iPads to replace paper medical charts. Doctors at the facility currently use iPads to examine X-rays, write prescriptions and take notes during patient visits. The devices carry patient medical histories, triage information, allergy data and allow doctors to order treatment while they're still with the patient. The hospital hopes to offset the cost of the additional iPads through replacements of old equipment, increased productivity and a reduction in errors. Ottawa Hospital CIO Dale Potter, who proposed the iPad plan to the hospital, noted that for handwritten doctor orders, "15 or 20 percent of those are missing information, or are illegible, and require human intervention." It is expected that the devices, which will arrive by July, will reduce the amount of rework required on orders that have been entered incorrectly by hand. Ottawa Hospital is working with Select Start Studios, a Canadian development firm that created the Ottawa Hospital EMR (electronic medical record) Client app. The app is designed with patient information security in mind, and no data is stored locally on the iPad in case the device is stolen or lost. [via Macgasm]
Canadian government explores iPad use for high-ranking officials
Federal bureaucrats in Canada's capital city may be ditching their paper and pens and picking up iPads to conduct their official government business. A report from the Niagara Falls Review details a new initiative that could place the tablets into the hands of Ottawa's high-ranking officials. A pilot program involving 20 treasury board workers has been in place since the fall, and early estimates suggest the iPad could save the government about CDN$700 per employee per year. Most of the savings would come from a reduction in paper and printing costs as documents (up to 30 pages of paper per day) would be disseminated digitally. Using iPads may also increase efficiency as government workers could use them for note-taking and document reading both within their office and from remote locations. The current pilot program involves 20 employees outfitted with iPads at a cost of $23,500. Rolling out the tablet device to Ottawa's 6,743 high-level officials would cost a whopping $7 million. While the initial price tag would be high, the reduction in paper and printing costs may offset this initial investment. Canadian officials are not alone in considering the use of the iPad. An iPad was recently spotted in the U.S. House of Representatives and the House is mulling changes that would allow regular usage of the tablet device on the House floor. [Via MacTech]
Rogers' budget-friendly chatr brand launches in Canada
We knew it was coming, and now it's official: Rogers Wireless has today launched its entry-level "chatr" wireless brand for Canadians everywhere -- and by "everywhere," we mean Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, and Ottawa (Montreal is coming soon, as is possibly elsewhere). Two plans are available: $45 monthly for unlimited talk-and-text and $35 for unlimited talk and 50 free texts. As of now, the official website's showing four devices to choose from, available at full price only (no subsidizing). On the low end, relatively speaking, there's the Nokia 1661 candybar for $60, followed by the LG GB125R flip for $75, the Nokia 2680 portrait QWERTY slider for $95, and Samsung's Gravity landscape QWERTY slider sitting at the top of the chain for $130. Rogers -- whose name appears nowhere in Chatr's branding so far -- expects "hundreds" of chatr kiosks to be rolled out at Future Shops, Best Buys, Costcos, and other retail outlets. The brand will compete with other budget-conscious options from the likes of Wind Mobile and Mobilicity, but this one's got the advantage of Rogers' more established, wider-reaching network. According to The Globe and Mail and CBC News, Wind will be offering a whopping $150 credit for those who switch to its network from Rogers / chatr. Mobilicity's chairman John Bitove has a different strategy altogether, threatening to complain to the Competition Bureau that Rogers' possible goal here is to drive other discount phone brands out of business before dissolving chatr and leaving the market with only a higher-priced segment. And if you were wondering where Telus and Bell Mobility stand, well, both companies are reportedly expected to follow suit with entry-level brands of their own. Data plan-averse Canadians should have quite the selection from which to choose.
Georgetown Apple Store to move forward after redesign is approved
ifoAppleStore has an update on the battle between Apple and Washington D.C. Advisory Neighborhood Commission: A new design for the Georgetown Apple Store is close to approval, and includes a subtle Apple logo and trees growing inside the building. The ANC's objections, ranging from rejecting an all-glass storefront to requiring a two-story masonry facade had been the reason for so many design submissions from Apple. While Apple wanted to maintain consistency among all its stores, the ANC wanted to make sure the Apple Store fit in with the other, older buildings on that street. Most interestingly is the rear 20 feet of the store: It has a higher ceiling and skylights to accommodate two living trees inside the building. This isn't the final design, however: The ANC is requesting additional minor changes, and has wondered aloud why there isn't an actual second story behind the two-story facade. Even so, locals suggest the plan is likely to be approved today. If it is, the store will likely open in 2010. In other retail store news, MacNN notes that stores are planned or in progress for: Churchill Square in Brighton, UK Rideau Centre in Ottawa, ON, Canada Hamburg, Germany (Thanks, Steffen!) and Greensboro, NC, which we mentioned in July. [Via MacNN.] Update: Commenters Brad and Chris noted that in a meeting last night, the Georgetown board rejected Apple's plans even after the ANC approved them. So much for that. Thanks, guys!
40MHz of Canadian spectrum auction set aside for newcomers
Although America's upcoming 700MHz spectrum auction could see a newcomer or two join the fold, Canada's auction is actually calling for it. Reportedly, Industry Minister Jim Prentice made known that 40MHz of the 105MHz of spectrum available for bidding would be "set aside for newcomers to the industry," hinting that more competition could eventually lead to lower cellphone rates across the nation. He went on to say that the "introduction of new service providers would help to make Canada's wireless market more dynamic, more competitive, and more innovative," and moreover, only companies that hold less than 10-percent of revenues in that market would be allowed to bid for the luscious 40MHz segment. As expected, big boys in the biz are none too pleased about the announcement, with Telus executive vice-president Janet Yale even going so far as to say that it believed the move "wouldn't be in the best interest of consumers or telecom industry overall." Right.[Thanks, Andy]
Unique "transceiverprints" to halt MAC spoofing
Hey, all you hotshots who love to spoof your WiFi MAC address just to drive your network admins up the wall -- your days are numbered. (Quick refresher: a MAC address is a unique digital string of numbers and letters attached to every network device, and it never changes when you change networks, unlike an IP address. It's often used for extra security in networks to only allow certain Ethernet/WiFi cards -- but this signature can be pretty easily faked.) And if you're already drafting ways to defat this technique, you may want to consult with Dr. Jeyanthi Hall, of Carelton University in Ottawa, who discovered that every wireless device produced has a unique signal fingerprint determined at the time of production. She analyzed radio signals from 15 devices between six different manufacturers and was able to correctly identify 95 percent of the "transceiverprints," with zero false positives. Maybe Dr. Hall should collaborate with that leather hat hacker guy who built the ultimate WiFi hacking box -- then they'd really have a product the US Government would be interested in.[Via Slashdot]
Bomb scare at Ottawa airport just an iPod
In the age of terrorism, security officials are a bit on edge these days, you know? British travellers have had to check their electronics, Americans are facing the war on liquids, and the Canadians have just opened up a new front in the war on carry-on items. Some twelve days ago an incoming plane from Chicago, landing in Canada's capital city, Ottawa, was kept away from the main terminal as a suspicious item was found on board in the plane's lavatory. The passengers were taken off the plane, a canine team and bomb squad were brought in and the plane was checked from stem to stern. The offending item? An iPod. No word on what kind, though. Folks, please be careful with your iPods -- don't let them go wandering off to the loo unattended, ok?P.S. - A guy turned up on the World of Warcraft forums, claiming that it was his iPod that caused the whole fiasco. He recounts his tale here. Airport security FTW!P.P.S. - A woman who was on that flight contributed an op-ed piece to the Ottawa Citizen, confirming many of the details of the above story.
