Wireless For The Rest Of Us

14 June 2002


Not everyone lives in San Francisco. Those who don’t aren’t concentrated in New York. Until the wireless companies provide a differentiated, compelling value in services and handsets to the masses, the wireless ”boom” will remain more like a ”bust.”
I don’t plan to surf the web on a phone keypad. In Memphis, I may not be able to truly surf the web on a handheld with reasonable economics for quite some time. Though many cell phones are dirt cheap, the latest phones (ostensibly ready) for the latest generation of wireless services cost quite a bit more. The monthly service is also above and beyond the calling plan.
With a desire to combine cell calls, paging, messaging and PDA functionality, the buyer of a phone is faced with the march of Moore’s Law. Ironically, consumers have become more accepting of its impact on their computers than they have on their cell phones. Further, more and more consumers are looking at their combined budget for cable or satellite television, home security fees, local phone lines, long distance, Internet access, web hosting and cell phone service.
Plenty of people are ready for the company that can provide as many of these services as possible, on a family-oriented plan that permits a single bill and a single throat-to-choke when something goes wrong.

Sprint Cuts Target for New Wireless Subscribers. OVERLAND PARK, (Reuters) – Long distance and wireless phone company Sprint Corp. (FON.N) on Thursday said subscriber growth in its wireless unit (PCS.N) would miss its target by up to 15 percent in part because of discounting by competitors. By Reuters. [New York Times: Technology]
”PAV”

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