The opening of a small business incubator for the development of wireless communications near Glascow, Scotland, is a direct challenge to Ireland’s reputation as a growing telecommunications development hub, said Tom Ogilvie, the incubator’s director, who was in Atlanta last week.
“Ireland has enjoyed attention for the rapid growth of its telecommunications industry, Mr. Ogilvie, director of the Hillington Park Innovation Center, told GlobalAtlanta.
“But James Maxwell, the founding father of wireless telecommunications technology, was a Scot.”Mr. Maxwell was a preeminent 19th century mathematician and physicist who discovered electromagnetic waves that travel at the speed of light.
Mr. Ogilvie came here with a British delegation to man a Scottish pavilion at the annual Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA) convention held this year at the Georgia World Congress Center March 22-24. It is the largest wireless convention in the world and representatives from more than 80 countries were in attendance.
During a reception of the British Consulate General held at the offices of the Troutman Sanders LLP law firm, Mr. Ogilvie promoted the center as proof of Scotland’s continued interest in developing the sector and interest in attracting U.S. partners.
He asserted that Scottish companies in the incubator would make excellent partners for Georgia companies to license their wireless technologies for European markets.
Scottish companies in the incubator, he said, have access to the Global Scots Network, an association of Scottish senior technology executives worldwide that can advise on market entry strategies for a variety of countries.
He also said that the companies in the incubator receive business counseling from some of the biggest companies in the wireless industry, including T-Mobile USA Inc. and Cisco Systems Inc.
For more information, visit www.innovationcentre.org or contact Mr. Ogilvie at tom.ogilvie@innovationcentre.org