Tuesday, January 3, 2006

Ascalade Deal with Skype - More Good News From Canada

Here's another good news item to make Canada proud about its contributions to IP. Ascalade Communications is a B.C.-based telephone vendor who I haven't been following until now. They're a vertically integrated company, meaning that they design, engineer and manufacture all kinds of voice endpoints - wired phones, cordless phones, conference phones and even baby monitors - on a white label basis.

The company had a $40 million IPO this summer on the TSX (ACG), and according to their website, shipped just over 3 million handsets in 2004. That number is certainly much higher now, and with today's news of their agreement with Skype for cordless phones, Ascalade looks to be getting some serious traction.

Between Ascalade and Aastra, Canada is shaping up as a major global player in the IP handset business, something I don't think many people are aware of. It's a good story, and to me, yet another example of how Canadian vendors are showing market leadership largely serving markets outside of Canada, while our service providers and regulators languish with IP here at home. Enough said - let's focus on the positive - good for Ascalade!