It's taken seven years, but a shareholder dispute between Winnipeg's Manalta Investments, the parent of Craig Wireless International Inc., and Toronto's Look Communications Inc., is finally over. In 2003, Craig Wireless International Inc., which owned some 29 per cent of Look Communications, started an action in a Manitoba court. That was dismissed, but it was started a year later in Ontario against Look, a broadband service provider and its parent, Unique Broadband Systems. On Friday, Look Communications issued a press release saying there'd been a settlement in which Manalta paid Look and UBS $15,000 each to settle the claim.
Look Communications began selling off its assets in 2009, starting with its wireless spectrum to the Inukshuk partnership between Rogers Communications Inc. and BCE Inc. In August, Look's broadband and TV service went to Telnet Communications of Oshawa, Ont.
Meanwhile, there's no word from Craig Wireless Systems about its new WiMAX service for the Vancouver area, which was supposed to debut in December. Network World Canada was told last month that a company official was willing to talk to us. However, since then we haven't been contacted. All call to a company official last week has not been returned. Motorola Canada, which is the equipment provider for the system, won't comment on the progress, referring calls to Craig Wireless.
In January, when it released quarterly results, the company said in a press release it is winding down its pre-WiMAX standard networks in Vancouver and Winnipeg in prepartion for launching full 802.16 WiMAX service in Vancouver and Palm Springs, Calif. The company continued to report net losses, which for the quarter ending Nov. 30 was $4 million, compared to $3.2 for the previous quarter. The release also said Craig's parent Manalta, controlled by co-CEOs Boyd and Drew Craig, had lent Craig Wireless Systems $1.5 million to help develop its spectrum.
Craig also has spectrum interests in Greece, New Zealand and Norway.
