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Home > Membership > Join Us > Generating Value Generating Value
Conceived on a napkin at a TRLabs Technology Forum, FiberLINK (now called FRED), developed and patented by Associate Critical Telecom with the collaborative assistance of TRLabs, will record up to 50,000 unit sales in a first product deal with TELUS (2002) worth an estimated $8 million to $15 million dollars. FRED improves the economics of extending the range of high-speed telephone Internet service (ADSL) beyond existing central offices.
TRLabs provides R&D for companies that is:
- highly leveraged
- accelerated using staff, equipment, knowledge, and network
- effective given extensive access to leading expertise
- a vehicle to bring together multiple stakeholders in vertical market/horizontal technology convergence on neutral ground
TRLabs delivers membership value:
- Early access to technology: Members have full access to all technical information arising from the Core Research Program for evaluation purposes. Additional IP rights may also be negotiated for specific research areas and individual technologies.
--120/yr (average)-- - Influence over the Core Research Program: Members are encouraged to propose new research projects for incorporation into the Core Research Program. They can also shape the future direction of specific research areas by designating technical staff to serve on one or more Research Focus Groups.
- High financial leverage: Membership delivers a financial leverage of up to 100:1 for the Core Research Program. Cash and in-kind contributions are eligible for R&D tax credits.
- Business networking: Participation in TRLabs provides an ideal environment for all members to develop business and/or technology partnerships with one another.
- Recruiting: TRLabs has over 100 top graduate students working on research projects across its five laboratories. Upon graduation, these graduates are typically in high demand by members and industry at large. Members have an opportunity to assess this pool of talented individuals prior to their graduation.
--40 graduates/yr - 50% hired by TRLabs members-- - Personnel development: Members may assign technical staff to TRLabs to participate in research projects, gaining valuable experience and facilitating technology transfer.
TRLabs meets broad company R&D needs in three ways:
- 1) Pooled and Subscribed Research
Industry investment is leveraged in the consortium. Members participate in, and have influence over, a Pooled Research Program that is based on industry/university collaboration. Industry sets the direction of the program, specifying general areas of interest, and contributes investment, equipment and research personnel. Universities contribute professors and students who develop and execute original research projects.
Members also have the option of participating in additional research projects through Subscribed Research, which provides for a more focused, project-based research agenda for a subset of member companies. Cash and in-kind contributions will depend on the size and scope of the research projects and the disposition of intellectual property rights. Direct investment in these projects has the potential to be matched by at least 2:1 through external research funding sources.
- 2) Contract Research
Members can pursue specific R&D projects aimed at commercializing technical information and/or inventions on a proprietary basis. Cash and in-kind contributions will depend on the size and scope of the research projects and the disposition of intellectual property rights. Contract research is operated on a cost-recovery basis. Some leverage of research investment can be achieved through external sources of funding (eg. IRAP).
- 3) Development and Commercialization Support
TRLabs is the parent organization for Calgary-based NEWT (Network for Emerging Wireless Technologies), which offers technical wireless development support for companies holding their own IP.
TRLabs offers TRnet (a 10 Gb WAN) 'crash and burn' network for project-based testing and development of next-generation network services, applications and infrastructure.