Hi Surf,......Regarding the IP........
I would say it is a virtual certainty that members of the OFDM forum would pay licensing fees to Wi-LAN. I see their involvement in the forum as tacit recognition of Wi-LAN's IP claim. I share your outlook completely and have come to exactly the same conclusions. It's why the Philip's deal was the big one and why their continued association is so valuable. Philips chose to recognize the IP, not that there is really any other legal option.
One has to look at deals closely because often we only examine what's in them for the company we have interest in. But we may be able to learn even more by examining what was in the deal for Philips. I've given this a lot of thought and it's why, whenever I become concerned about my Wi-LAN investment, I continue to hold strong.
I have concluded that Philips recognized, in W-OFDM, the opportunity to get a significant head start on it's competitors but, more importantly, to establish itself in a leadership role in determining how wireless technology is going to unfold in the early 21st century.
Companies like Philips and Motorola don't simply look at new opportunities for profit of course. Their perspective is naturally much broader. They look at how they can influence and control the marketplace in their favour, now and for as far into the future as they can reasonably look. And it is these heady matters which are debated in the boardrooms of megacorps like these. In many ways, they are more like nations than businesses, forgetting for a moment the political implications of that reality.
So.......Philips, recognizing the tremendous potential of W-OFDM maps out it's strategy with Wi-LAN. How does Philip's best capitalize on it's investment and assure a marketplace for it's cutting edge products in the years to come? The OFDM forum, of course. The FACT that this forum has managed to attract such an impressive list of members strongly suggests that these players also see the future and are going to make sure they stay well connected to those who are making it happen.
At the moment, it is the OFDM forum which enjoys solid support, structure and legitimacy. By comparison, Cisco's BWIF seems increasingly feeble and sleazy. The momentum is certainly strongly in the Wi-LAN/Philips court at this time, IMO.
The coming year promises to be very exciting for Wi-LAN for these reasons; (I'm sure there's more)
1) Mass production of the ASICs makes Wi-LAN's products much more attractive and easier to market and sell.
2) Production of the 90 and 155 MBPS chips will create a lot of excitement in the industry. Look out.
3) Let's not forget, despite all the hoopla up here in the Great White North, Wi-LAN and WIN are STILL relative unknowns in the USA. At some point, that will change, the Nasdaq listing will happen and the sky's the limit.....
Regards.
PS: I know this is a very rosy outlook. In the short term, I think our patience may be tried. But long term, I think things look better than ever. |
