No one can say the mobile industry has been boring during the past year. In some cases, companies have gone from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows in just a few short months. But not all the changes have been negative. We have a new version of WAP, we have carriers that are still adding subscribers and increasing their average revenue per user (ARPU) figures, and we have the promise of third-generation (3G) services, albeit currently a bit elusive.
Those who are not happy about some of the recent changes probably did not foresee them coming. It is always hard to deal with change when it sneaks up on you and catches you in a less-than-positive light.
At Global Wireless, we’re trying to stay on top of the inevitable changes within the publishing and wireless worlds. Beginning in 2002, the print version of the publication will evolve into a completely electronic version. We are convinced we can offer a more timely, comprehensive news vehicle through an electronic medium.
Certainly, we are not the first publishing company to attempt an electronic endeavor. However, most publications use their print products as the main vehicles behind their electronic presence, while Global Wireless plans to transform the nearly four-year-old print product into a completely electronic service.
Here’s how it works. Go to www.globalwirelessnews.com to register. This does not take long; you just have to enter your basic contact information, along with your news preferences. Would you like mobile news specific to Asia only? Or perhaps you prefer news on Asia and North America. Maybe your position commands you be knowledgeable about the worldwide wireless market. Any of these options are possible. Just select your geographic news and technology preferences, and each week, from Thursday afternoon to Friday morning depending on where in the world you live, you’ll receive a free e-mailed newsletter with the week’s global wireless news. It will include updates pertaining to only the geographic regions you prefer and only the technologies you choose.
Also on the Web site, you’ll find a new analysis feature each week with more in-depth coverage than is included in the weekly news coverage. These stories will offer insight into what the week’s major developments mean to your business.
The nearly 30 Global Wireless correspondents and contributors, who currently write for the print product, will continue to be an integral part of the new electronic product. These journalists will continue to offer the comprehensive, timely country- and region-specific coverage that makes Global Wireless the best news source specific to the international mobile industry. They are well informed and well connected to the mobile scenes within their coverage areas, allowing them to provide first-hand accounts of news along with the analysis that helps readers better understand the effects on their daily responsibilities.
The Web site will also include archives of past Global Wireless stories, both from the print and electronic issues, along with information on our international database products that cover more than 1,000 carriers around the world in more than 215 countries on six continents. If you need to know how many subscribers a specific carrier in France has, which operators hold 3G licenses in South Korea, who owns each of the carriers in Argentina, or which vendors supply equipment to specific carriers in North America, the database products are an invaluable resource.
Any feedback you have about the pending changes or Global Wireless in general is always appreciated and welcomed; my e-mail address is swendelk@crain.com.
