About Us:
 
 

Building strong connections

Central to Ottawa's continuing emergence in the global wireless marketplace, the Ottawa Wireless Cluster (OWC) connects leading organizations and innovative thinkers for wireless business development—locally and around the world.

The OWC is:

  • a forum for networking and idea exchange
  • an industry advocate speaking to elected officials and regulators
  • a promoter of the industry's progress, successes, goals and positions to national and international media
  • a business development service provider to member companies

Our Mission
To cultivate and accelerate Ottawa's wireless sector through leadership, technology, government relations, research, education, mentoring, investment, recruitment, networking and promotion.

Our membership and our plans for growth
The Ottawa Wireless Cluster coordinates and mobilizes a growing membership of 60 independent organizations that share a common goal: To spur wireless development and continue to establish Ottawa as a key centre in the global wireless industry.

OWC members contribute to the wireless sector in a variety of ways, including the development of:

  • wireless applications and services
  • enabling software, service management and provisioning
  • wireless infrastructure systems
  • wireless semiconductors

Other kinds of OWC members include:

  • universities
  • research institutes
  • economic development agencies
Board of Executives:

Herb Woods
Chair

Kamal Krishnapillai
Vice-Chair and Marketing

Ted Burnett
Sponsorship and Finance

Mike Justinich
OCRI Liaison

Leonard MacEachern
University Liaison

Harry Silverstone
Web Strategist

Richard Thomas
Events

Ken Charbonneau
Membership

 

Past Board Members:

Marwan Forzley
Founding Chair

Shawn Griffin
Past Chair

Eliot Burdett
Past Events Executive

A cluster of testimonials

Here we present a cross-section of commentary from OWC event attendees:

“I encourage the OWC to find and assemble the enormous hidden talent that is available in the greater Ottawa area, not only in wireless but also in management. The Cluster and this market can grow rapidly because [wireless] is attracting attention and investment.”

“I have enjoyed the presenters who spoke objectively about their company in terms of lessons learned, key success factors and their expertise in the industry.”

“Wireless is a key technology, but we should not forget that applications enabled by communications (including wireless) are the reason for all of this effort. The January session was an excellent example of focusing on the apps.”

“You gentlemen are doing a super job! Keep up the great work and relentless efforts!”

“The technology within the cluster represents viable solutions for the outer reaches of Ottawa in their demand for bandwidth initiatives that will work.”

“I have found the venue, format and speakers to be excellent and look forward to potentially getting more involved in this area. Please ensure that my e-mail address is on your distribution list.”

A Key OWC Program - The wireless event of the year—now held monthly

OWC hosts a networking and presentation event on the second Thursday of each month. These sessions bring together a large proportion of Ottawa's wireless business leaders to network and learn of the latest developments in the local, national and international wireless marketplaces.

In fact, OWC events have quickly become the meeting place for executives, entrepreneurs, engineers, marketers and other wireless professionals. The OWC arena provides an effective platform for education, collaboration, new business development, R&D showcasing, industry alliance and investment. At least two wireless start-up ventures currently in the negotiation phase were spawned at OWC events.

Our membership and our plans for growth

The Ottawa Wireless Cluster coordinates and mobilizes a growing membership of 120 independent organizations that share a common goal: To spur wireless development and continue to establish Ottawa as a key centre in the global wireless industry.

OWC members contribute to the wireless sector in a variety of ways, including the development of:

  • wireless applications and services
  • enabling software, service management and provisioning
  • wireless infrastructure systems
  • wireless semiconductors

Other kinds of OWC members include:

  • universities
  • research institutes
  • economic development agencies
The OWC Charter

To pursue its mission, the OWC concentrates on the following key areas:

Movement towards a wireless Ottawa — with WiFi connections and widespread wireless use

Leadership — serving as the focal point for Ottawa’s wireless sector  Technology - promoting technical events and discussion forums on the latest wireless topics and trends

Government relations — creating and sustaining relationships with relevant government departments and agencies to facilitate funding, lobbying and international business development

Research — establish partnerships and develop activities with local and international research institutes such as CRC, NRC, NCIT, OCRI, CITO, the University of Ottawa and Carleton University

Education — support and encourage local universities and colleges in the design of wireless education programs aligned with the industry’s short- and long-term needs

Mentoring — connect entrepreneurs and start-ups to mentors and local experts in legal issues, technology to business development

Investment — connect local wireless companies and investors

Recruitment — help local wireless companies recruit and retain top-level talent

Promotion—increase visibility and awareness of Ottawa’s wireless sector locally, nationally and internationally

Customer relations—promote forums and discussions that connect wireless companies to their customers

Cluster collaboration—facilitate the exchange of information and resources with other local technology clusters (e.g., software, telecom)