Wavefront Wireless, a Vancouver wireless industry incubator, forged an alliance with the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) Thursday in Delhi, on the last full day of Christy Clark’s mission to the subcontinent.
The deal was signed, coincidentally, the same day as the accused in a massive mobile phone licence conspiracy case made a court appearance in the capital city.
The scandal rocked India earlier this year when government officials and executives of Swan Telecom, Reliance Telecom and Etisalat DB were arrested for bribery.
COAI represents the subcontinent’s network operators and infrastructure and service providers.
Wavefront, which began with a $5 million injection of B.C. taxpayers’ funds, hopes to open the doors for B.C. companies to India’s $38.2 billion, 601-million subscriber market. By comparison, India has 34 million fixed phone lines.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for technology and service providers in B.C. – and the rest of Canada – to tap into the world’s fastest growing wireless market that will continue its rapid expansion due to the huge growth in India’s middle class,” Clark said.
India is one of the world’s poorest nations with $3,500 per capita GDP, ranked 162nd between Mongolia and Philippines.
Wavefront CEO James Maynard said the agreement would provide Canadian companies “insights and introductions required to navigate a complex market.”
Wavefront plans to introduce 10 Canadian companies to Indian carriers at the December 6 to 9 India Telecom 2011 conference in Delhi.
COAI director general Rajan Mathews said the alliance would help Indian companies explore Canadian opportunities.
India’s market leaders include Airtel, Reliance Infocomm and Vodafone.
B.C. boasts 1,300 digital media and wireless companies that employ 22,000 people and generate $3 billion a year.
Bob Mackin