#TBT: Sluggish economy hits carriers, vendors, tower companies … 13 years ago this week

Editor’s Note: RCR Wireless News goes all in for “Throwback Thursdays,” tapping into our archives to resuscitate the top headlines from the past. Fire up the time machine, put on the sepia-tinted shades and enjoy the memories!
A silver lining
Telecom layoffs have climbed above 175,000 since the first of the year. Earnings are down, stocks are down and a turnaround is not expected until well into 2002. It is often hard to keep your chin up in the current economic climate. For an industry that still holds plenty of promise, but may have gotten a little ahead of itself, there is good news on the horizon. It seems some executives are trying to look on the bright side of things- in between handing out pink slips-and say wireless has a place beyond the clouds. … Read More
Industry must deal with wireless vice
Just like the beginnings of the wired Internet, content on the wireless Internet is growing by leaps and bounds. Wireless Internet users now can schedule a flight out of Denver, challenge a stranger to a game of chess, check their stocks and access all kinds of other useful and not-so-useful sites. So it’s not really surprising that-just like wired Internet users-wireless Internet surfers can also now look at pictures of naked women or place a bet on the next big game. … Read More
Carriers begin to feel pinch of economic slowdown
A handful of wireless affiliates and regional cellular operators reported mixed results last week, showing the economic slowdown has not entirely missed wireless operators. Heading the list of mixed results, Western Wireless Corp. reported 30,000 net customer additions for the quarter, ending the quarter with 1.1 million wireless subscribers. Analysts were expecting customer additions of around 40,000 subscribers for the quarter. Western Wireless put some of the blame on higher customer churn, reported at 2.6 percent, due to poor network quality as the carrier migrates more of its customers and investment away from analog services. … Read More
Varied players must make tough decisions to jumpstart wireless data
According to new reports from two major analyst firms, wireless data will be a huge business in the future, but not before software vendors, systems integrators and-especially-wireless carriers get in gear and make the tough decisions to take advantage of the situation. The mobile Internet access market is set to explode, with last year’s 2.9 million active subscribers growing to a whopping 136 million by the end of 2007, according to Frost & Sullivan’s “U.S. Mobile Internet Access Market” report. These numbers translate into a jump in carrier revenues from $418 million last year to $26 billion six years from now. … Read More
NextWave details funding; Verizon DE makes offer
The NextWave Telecom Inc. saga continued last week as the hopeful wireless wholesaler unveiled funding plans to roll out its network, while its potential wireless competitors/customers continued to look for ways to wrestle some control over licenses that are still waiting for a proper owner. The company’s $5.5 billion financing plans were outlined in a filing with a New York bankruptcy court on Aug. 6. NextWave said the funding, which included $2.5 billion in debt financing and up to $3 billion in convertible preferred stock, would take it through the complete buildout of its network and pay off outstanding debts. … Read More
Economy, excess inventory keep auctioneers busy
One man’s asset recovery is another man’s poison. Like a stylized garage sale, wireless equipment manufacturers are auctioning off excess inventories, which are being shipped to needy markets in the United States and developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Industry sources estimate the business to be worth billions of dollars. … Read More
Trying times reach tower industry: Expenses, jobs cut in efforts to keep revenues in line
Crown Castle International Corp., SpectraSite Holdings Inc. and SBA Communications Corp. reported positive revenues for the second quarter ended June 30, but they did not escape the current telecom shakedown unscathed. All three companies laid off employees and cut back on general expenses during the quarter, and Crown Castle and SpectraSite shut down certain foreign operations, hoping to ease the burden of decreased carrier spending. … Read More
ROI critical to high-speed network enhancements
With wireless operators expected to spend billions of dollars in the next several years introducing high-speed data capabilities onto their networks, the need for a return on investment is paramount. If consumer’s current uptake of wireless data is any indication, ROI may be hard to come by. As wireless operators continue to rack up impressive customer addition numbers, the service that was supposed to be a big driver of adoption, wireless Internet, has had to play second fiddle to the old reliable voice services. For most carriers, wireless Internet users make up around 10 percent of their total customer base, with many customers using wireless data services only occasionally. … Read More
Making $$ from wireless Web more about strategy than code
The wireless application developer community is suffering, according to WirelessDeveloper.com President Konny Zsigo. “Fifty percent of the content developers have either left the space or gone out of business,” he said. “You’re going to have to be smarter now than before.” The reason, he said, is the lack of a clear way of making money. The wireless Internet is a money-losing venture right now, and developers no longer have the cash to stay in the game because the capital markets have dried up. “Subscribers aren’t paying a re-occurring fee,” Zsigo said. “That’s absolutely critical right now.” … Read More
OS: Who is the fairest of them all?
In the short lifespan of the still nascent wireless Internet, the owners of the operating systems have already learned that best is not always enough. Palm, Windows CE and Symbian are the three OSs trying to slug it out with marketing strategies, technical appeals and partnerships. While history, the great leveler, has shown that success crowns marketing, that strategy alone does not guarantee a great following. … Read More
Check out RCR Wireless News’ Archives for more stories from the past.
Photo courtesy of the Marconi Society.
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