Maxime Dumas: Ottawa’s appeal and the future of wireless telecommunications

Feb 25, 2022

490 words | 2 mins

5G, 4G, 3G, 2G: Parallel Wireless does it all, and does it well.

Next up? They’re opening a slew of state-of-the-art research and development facilities to further reimagine the future, including one right here in Ottawa.

Founded in 2012, Parallel Wireless delivers the world’s leading All G, cloud-native, Open RAN solution. They are a US-based company that is expanding rapidly around the world with new offices in the U.S., U.K., Israel, India, and Canada.

On the latest episode of Invested in Our New Reality, the popular podcast from Invest Ottawa, host Shavonne Hasfal-McIntosh was joined by Maxime Dumas, General Manager of Parallel Wireless Canada to discuss the new facility and the company’s ambitious plans for the future of wireless communications.

But first, what exactly is an Open RAN solution?

“The goal is to break away from the current oligopoly of equipment vendors by favoring challenger vendors by a way of disaggregation,” explains Dumas. “Through clearly defined open standard interfaces, a new breed of companies may now work collaboratively and complementarily for each to provide its specific component of the system, and not have to provide a radio access network as a whole system altogether.”

A complicated answer? Yes. A sound business model? Also yes.

Parallel Wireless built the world’s first and largest fully compliant Open RAN portfolio and is uniquely positioned to deliver the next generation of wireless infrastructure. “We’ve so far been recognized with over 80 industry awards and have won multiple commercial rollouts with global tier one operators around the world,” says Dumas.

The architecture of the company’s system is what sets it apart from the competition and reduces costs, ultimately leading to savings for the end user. By design, capital expenditure is lower, as is maintenance and scalability. Operators, Dumas explains, spend less on a yearly basis because the networks are running on commoditized servers.

With successes piling up, Parallel Wireless, based in New Hampshire, is ready for growth. The company is expanding throughout the globe and investing heavily in research and development. Ottawa, says Dumas, was a natural choice.

“There are not many places in the world that have large pools of highly skilled talent in the mobile wireless space, and the Ottawa Region is one,” says Dumas. “… Not only is Ottawa a tech hub, but it is rightfully a wireless tech hub.”

Like a lot of others in his position, Dumas cites the excellent quality of living in Ottawa as a huge draw and knows it makes it easier for Parallel Wireless to attract – and keep – its talented staff. It is an appealing city for professionals looking to settle down, raise a family and grow their careers.

Canada, in general, has a lot of benefits too.

“It is very easy for foreign companies to set up a business here,” he says. “[Canada] is world renowned for its political stability, its trusted legal system and institutions, its monetary policies and for its well-being in general.”

To learn more, visit WhyOttawa.ca. Be sure to tune in to the rest of Season 7 of Invested in Our New Reality, a podcast hosted by Shavonne Hasfal-McIntosh and produced by Invest Ottawa.