Found at: http://www.competitiveness.org/article/articleprint/35/-1/8/
Even though the growth of the wireless industry has slowed due to the economic recession and accounting scandals in the US over the past few years, Calgary's wireless cluster represents a stable environment for investment.
The cluster developed out of the enormous Oil and Natural Gas Industry, which is the largest industry in Alberta and produces 90% of Canada's crude oil and natural gas. With the need for effective communications across a vast a diverse landscape, industry leaders worked in conjunction with Alberta's government and the University of Calgary to develop wireless technology. This partnership produced NovAtel and led to the creation of the University of Calgary's GPS/Geomatics Engineering Department. NovAtel was the first to market hand held devices and in 1983 constructed the first North American cellular telephone network.
Today, Calgary continues to maintain a strong infrastructure that supports the wireless industry. Calgary has a large and educated employment pool, it is rich with related industries, there is strong local competition, high standard of living and low taxes and low cost of doing business. Perhaps the most important element is that it is an attractive environment for people to live. The proximity to the mountains, ease of travelling in and out of the city and clean and efficient urban amenities make it an attractive location for recruiting skilled employees. All this has combined to make Calgary's wireless cluster Alberta's third largest export industry. Furthermore it maintains a growth rate twice that of Ottawa and Denver (its two major competing locations) and five times that of the North American average.
The recognizable weakness within Calgary's wireless cluster lies in Canada's decentralized regulatory framework. Investor's feel that this framework has been ineffective and that investor confidence has suffered as a result. Processes are currently being initiated within the industry and the government has started taking steps towards encouraging future investment.
http://www.thecis.ca/working%20papers/Origins%and%20Structure.pdf