March 2006 Edition

GTA HotNews

March 2006

Stay Connected!

A publication of the Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance, the GTA HotNews is an e-Newsletter designed to keep you current on the GTMA’s programs and initiatives. It also promotes the activities and regional economic development efforts of our public and private sector partners. The Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance is a multi-faceted, collaborative effort, and the GTA HotNews is one way for us to communicate our shared accomplishments and to encourage involvement and participation in our mandate.

GTMA Activities & Announcements:

BREAKFAST BRIEFING: Findings and Insights from the GTMA’s Mission to India, April 7

The GTMA organized its second investment attraction mission to India from February 12-22, 2006. The 22-member delegation was led by GTMA Honorary Co-Chair Hazel McCallion and included representatives from government, business, academia and economic development organizations. This year’s program was focused on meeting and developing contacts at the NASSCOM Conference in Mumbai, visiting BPO, KPO and ICT companies in Mumbai, Delhi and Gurgoan and attending the official opening of the Ontario International Marketing Centre at the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi.

A breakfast briefing focused on “Indian Companies Going Global” will be held on April 7 from 7:30–9:30 a.m. at Ryerson University. Speakers include Minister Joe Cordiano (invited); Mayor Hazel McCallion, City of Mississauga; author David Ticoll, CEO of Convergent Strategies, as well as a number of panelists from among the delegation members. Topics will include India’s strategies for going global; Canada’s opportunities for Nearshoring; and the future of Business and Knowledge-based Outsourcing.

Registration, which includes a hot breakfast is $35.00 per person. REGISTER ON-LINE

The post-event sponsors to-date include the Town of Markham, City of Brampton and Next Wave Marketing Inc. Sponsorships are welcome (Table sponsors, Event Sponsors and Gold Sponsors). Thank you as well to Ryerson University, the venue sponsor. For more information on this event contact Murray Jans maj@cogeco.ca 905-877-7474.

BREAKFAST EVENT: GTMA and York Technology Association Present the GTA Launch of the BRANHAM 300 – CANADA’S LEADING IT COMPANIES, April 20

On Thursday, April 20th, the Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance in partnership with York Technology Association will host the GTA launch of the Branham 300 at the Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites, 7095 Woodbine Avenue, and Ellesmere Room 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Continental breakfast will be served.

The guest speaker for the event is Wayne Gudbranson, President & CEO, Branham Group. Now in its 13th year, the Branham 300 presents Canada’s top 300 IT companies. Nortel, Celestica, CGI, ATI, RIM, NexInnovations, Minacs, Hummingbird, Astra Technologies are several of the leading companies ranked among the top 25 in last year’s Branham 300. The Branham 300 is considered the authoritative listing of Canadian software and IT Services firms and represents a truly unique piece of intelligence on the Canadian Information Technology market. As such, the listing has become the pre-eminent the world over as the authoritative indicator for the health of the Information Technology industry in Canada.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

For further information on sponsorship opportunities, please contact Tony Romano, Director, Corporate Affairs, GTMA at 416-360-5758 or by e-mail at tromano@greatertoronto.org. REGISTER ON-LINE

Join the GTMA in Meetings with Australian Developers and Investors in Sydney and Melbourne, May 8-13

If you are in the real estate and development industry you will be interested in following up the specific opportunities presented during the Australian delegation visit to the GTA in October 2005. The visit by our GTA group will focus on leading edge developments in the Sydney and Melbourne CBD and waterfronts. Investment funds in Australia are considerable and fund managers are looking abroad for higher returns than may be possible in Australia. Some are also already in the USA, but few are in Canada. They are interested in Canada because we have similar legal systems, language and culture, in addition to being a safe haven for investment. Most of the companies we will be meeting with in Australia are very large globally oriented players who have developed large parts of the Sydney and Melbourne waterfronts and new buildings and other developments in their central business districts. In addition to these company meetings, we will meet with the key players in the redevelopment of these waterfronts, the Olympic site and Commonwealth Games site. We will tour Darling Harbour, Circular Quay and the Rocks in Sydney with the company officials and development organizations, as well as the Sydney Olympic site with the Sydney Foreshore Authority. We will also visit the Lend Lease buildings and new developments in the Sydney CBD. In Melbourne we will focus on the Docklands with VicUrban, the Melbourne Dockland’s development authority as well as new developments in the CBD including Federation Square, the new rail terminus and Digital Harbour. Contact John Jung for details on the program and information on prices jjung@greatertoronto.org or 416-360-6701.

Join the GTMA on an ICT Mission to Australia, May 8-17

The GTMA will be taking an Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and Innovation-focused business and investment attraction mission to Australia from May 8-17 to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Included in the program will be participation at CeBit Australia 2006, Australia’s largest IT and communications gathering: http://www.cebit.com.au. We will also meet with key individuals related to Melbourne’s Digital Harbour and Australian ICT companies interested in going global, from Sydney to the Gold Coast in Brisbane. The capacity to innovate and adapt is one of Australia's strongest qualities and has made Australia’s ICT a sophisticated, internationally recognized cluster. The GTMA is interested in targeting these impressive companies interested in entering the NAFTA marketplace, especially if they are considering opening a branch operation in the GTA. If you are interested in exploring business opportunities, seeking partnerships or attracting investment to the GTA, this mission is for you. A focus for the group will be to seek meetings with IT related Industry associations in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, companies interested in partnering with delegation members and with firms in Australia who are interested in the NAFTA marketplace and are considering the GTA as a gateway into that market. The ICT cluster covers the following keys areas of interest: software, telecommunications, digital media, hardware, and semiconductors. In addition, we will be interested in ICT-enabled and innovative activities such as e-business, e-health, e-governance and e-learning applications and processes. Contact John Jung for details on the program and information on prices jjung@greatertoronto.org or 416-360-6701.

Join the GTMA in New York City at the Intelligent Community Forum, June 7-9

In addition to joining the GTMA at this annual conference and event, for the first time the GTMA will also develop value-added meetings in New York City with companies and organizations in the media, publishing and IT clusters. For more on ICF, please refer to http://www.intelligentcommunity.org. This year’s theme is Building the Broadband Economy. The conference will take place on Thursday-Friday, June 8-9, 2006 in New York City. Produced in association with Polytechnic University, it will take place at the MetroTech Center in Brooklyn, using the facilities of Polytechnic University and the nearby Marriott Brooklyn Bridge hotel.

Contact John Jung for details on the program and information on prices jjung@greatertoronto.org or 416-360-6701.

GTMA Job Posting – Client Services Position (1-year contract)

The Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance is looking at filling a Client Services position on a one-year contract from May 1, 2006 to April 30, 2007. Those interested in applying are asked to view the job description and submission deadline at Client Services Position. For further information, contact Tony Romano at 416-360-5758 or tromano@greatertoronto.org.

GTMA Gratefully Acknowledges Partnership Renewals

The on-going support and participation of the private sector is essential to the success of the GTMA. The GTMA gratefully acknowledges the following corporate partner(s) that have renewed their partnership. We encourage you to consider using the products and services of the GTMA’s corporate partners. Click here for complete listing of GTMA Partner’s Resources and Services

   Contact:

   Leila Fenc
   Associate Director

        Community Relations
   333 Bloor Street East
   Toronto, ON M4W 1G9
   Tel: 416 935-3520
   Fax: 416-935-3599

Leila.Fenc@rci.rogers.com

www.rogers.com

back to top

GTA News:

Karen Thorne-Stone Appointed City of Toronto Film Commissioner

GTMA Board member, Karen Thorne-Stone was most recently Acting Executive Director of Economic Development for the City of Toronto. Karen was instrumental in establishing the Mayor's Film Board and began developing a strategy for the film and television sector in Toronto. In her new position as Film Commissioner, Karen will be responsible for recommending and advising on effective strategies, policies and implementation plans to promote Toronto as a film production destination to film, television, and commercial producers nationally and internationally. Karen can be reached at 416-395-6152. The GTMA wishes Karen well in her new role.

TiEQuest 2006 - $50K Business Plan Competition – Due March 31

“TiEQuest” is an Annual Business Plan Competition jointly developed by the Rotman School of Management and TiE Toronto. TiEQuest 2006 prize package includes $50,000 prize value in cash and in-kind support for entrepreneurs as well as media coverage for the winners. Entrants are individuals or teams of up to five people in pursuit of a new business idea or early stage company. Business plans will be judged by an expert panel of actual venture capitalists. Entry forms are due on March 31, 2006 and final submissions for business plans are due on April 14, 2006. There is an optional elevator pitch workshop on March 11, 2006 for registrants only as well as our next event on March 29 where a panel of successful entrepreneurs will share their start-up success stories. For more details, please visit www.tietoronto.org and click on programs to view the rules and entry forms. Registration forms can be e-mailed to tieadmin@rogers.com and any questions can be directed to TiEQuest 2006 Contest co-coordinator, Mr. Pat Raman, at execdirector@tietoronto.org.

Toronto Hydro Telecom Announces Blanket Wi Fi Coverage in Downtown Toronto Core

TORONTO, March 7 /CNW/ - TORONTO HYDRO TELECOM INC. (www.thtelecom.ca) today announced plans to provide a blanket of Wi Fi coverage in the downtown core of Canada's largest city, making Toronto the largest Wi Fi zone in Canada.

"We are proud to be the first company in Canada to deliver a ubiquitous Wi Fi zone, which will provide Internet access as well as next generation applications," said David Dobbin, President, Toronto Hydro Telecom. "Wi Fi technology is the new benchmark for urban living. It's standard equipment in many electronic devices, from laptops to portable entertainment units. We think it's time to enable that technology to be used in what will be the largest Wi Fi zone in Canada. Today we're opening the door for Toronto to join the ranks of other major international cities such as San Francisco, Philadelphia and London, England."

The plan calls for Toronto Hydro Telecom - the competitive telecommunications subsidiary of Toronto Hydro Corporation - to install radio access points on streetlighting poles throughout the six square kilometer area that stretches from Jarvis Street west to Spadina Avenue, and from Front Street north to Bloor Street. Installing the access points on streetlighting poles, which are evenly situated throughout the downtown service area, will enable Toronto Hydro Telecom to avoid the pitfalls of most Wi Fi service offerings whose access points are predominantly housed in coffee shops and restaurants, making connectivity sporadic or non-existent. The streetlighting poles are assets owned by Toronto Hydro Street Lighting Inc.

"This is both an exciting and very important initiative for the City of Toronto," said Mayor David Miller. "It puts us on the leading edge of the telecommunications industry nation-wide and globally. The applications for Torontonians and our various City agencies from libraries to public transportation and safety to economic development make this a historic moment in Toronto's development as a world-class city."

The new Wi Fi zone will be implemented in stages. The first phase - located in the City's financial core from Front Street to Queen Street, between Spadina Avenue and Church Street - is planned for completion at the end of June, 2006. The entire Wi Fi zone will be completely operational by December 31, 2006.

During the first six months of operation, Toronto Hydro Telecom will offer customers free access to its new Wi Fi zone, after which time a variety of access packages will be available at competitive rates.

An RFP for equipment vendors was issued on February 8, 2006. Once the vendor of record has been selected, installation of the radio access points will be entrusted to Toronto Hydro Streetlighting employees who are members of CUPE Local 1.

Toronto Hydro Telecom Inc. is the telecom subsidiary of Toronto Hydro Corporation, which is fully-owned by the City of Toronto. A highly specialized and innovative provider of telecom services to businesses in Toronto, Toronto Hydro Telecom owns and operates a fibre optic network that spans 450 kilometers and connects more than 450 commercial buildings in Toronto and with interconnections to utility-affiliated telecom networks bordering the GTA.

For further information: MEDIA CONTACT: TANYA BRUCKMUELLER-WILSON, Media & Public Affairs Consultant, TORONTO HYDRO CORPORATION, (416) 542-2621, tbruckmueller-wilson@torontohydro.com; DANIEL PAQUETTE, PR Counsel, ML & CO., (416) 413-7714, danielpaquette@sympatico.ca.