With a new president and chief executive officer at the helm, Diva Communications Inc. is working to establish key strategic partnerships throughout the world to secure its niche in the wireless local loop market.
The company, based in Union City, Calif., was formed in 1993, with a strategy to focus on WLL deployments in industrialized nations. But rather than compete for contracts with a host of large manufacturers with microcellular systems that wish to install wireless telephone service to the world’s cities, Diva aims to help existing telephone operators extend their landline service wirelessly to suburban and rural areas in second-tier cities using its macrocellular system. The system, which interconnects with the public switched telephone network and is based on the Japanese standard Personal Digital Cellular technology, is able to provide coverage within a radius of 20 kilometers, while keeping the cost per subscriber low, said Diva.
However, in targeting this segment of the WLL market, Diva often must deal with a state-owned telephone operator. As a result, the company encounters long selling cycles and finds it doesn’t have the deep pockets large multinational companies have to wait out those cycles, said Diva’s new President and CEO Craig London, a former Northern Telecom Inc. vice president. The company now is looking to find strategic partners, pick certain markets that make sense and win, said London.
The company already has strengthened an existing strategic alliance with Japanese electronics manufacturer Kokusai Electric Co. Ltd. Kokusai designs and manufactures subscriber terminals compatible with Diva’s system. The manufacturer now has licensed certain technology to manufacture and sell key subsystems of Diva’s system and has made a financial investment in the company. In Europe and Africa, Diva has an alliance with Thomson CFS Communications, a large military communications supplier that wants to enter the commercial market.
Kokusai and Diva formed an international consortium in India with Punjab Communications Ltd. and Wi-Tel Communications Pvt. Ltd. that bid in March for a WLL network that supports rural communications in the state of Uttar Pradesh. London said the bid made the government’s short list for consideration.
Korean manufacturer Daewoo Telecom Ltd. and Kazak Telecom recently selected Diva’s system to provide telephone service to new residential areas in Akmola, Republic of Kazakstan. Akmola, north of the former capital Almaty, was inaugurated as the new capital of Kazakstan in October. Daewoo Telecom acquired 40 percent of Kazak Telecom this year and is the prime contractor for the project. WLL field trials in Brazil this year and an installation in China are included in the company’s activities.
The company plans to introduce a multiline subscriber unit installed in a centralized box, providing service to homes, apartments, multifamily areas and even small offices.
“We’re excited because when working with the government, money is critical,” said London.
In the future, Diva plans to apply its strategy in the domestic market as well. It is working to persuade smaller telephone operators that have wireline and wireless operations to use WLL for a second line in rural areas instead of using costly copper wire.
“Rather than spending $10,000 to get a pair (of copper lines) rurally, you give the subscriber a unit and put voice on it. They can use the Internet over copper line,” said London.
