The mere word “convergence” has held great promise and pain for the wireless communications industry. Initially, convergence was the future.
But as quickly as carriers rushed toward the convergence of various forms of communications, they ran from them. Last month, U S West Inc. said it would split its two business groups, noting the convergence of the cable TV and voice communications industries wasn’t happening.
Although convergence, the term, is out of fashion, convergence, the force, remains. At the least, the lines are blurring.
RCR-born in 1981 before the first commercial cellular telephone call was made in the United States-covered the mobile communications industry when I started with the company. Mobile communications was rather easy to define. If it was mobile and people used it to communicate and it was licensed, we covered it. Fixed applications need not apply. No baby monitors, no video signals, no wireline phone systems.
Somewhere along the way, that changed. RCR started covering the wireless communications industry. The computer industry took over the word “mobile” and even though a palmtop computer could communicate via text, it required a landline telephone signal to do so. The definition of wireless communications still was fairly easy-mobile wireless communications. No LANS or wireless PBXs.
Then, manufacturers within the wireless industry created wireless local loop equipment and carriers were using those systems to offer wireless communications, albeit in a fixed environment. An exception was made.
Today, I’m still pretty sure we don’t cover baby monitors. But technology advances have blurred the parameters of wireless communications.
Wireless PBXs-We don’t write about them, unless, of course, they connect to a cellular system.
Competitive Local Exchange Carriers-we don’t write about them, unless, of course, they are wireless CLECs, which offer a communications service similar to WLL.
Wireless Communications Services-Hmm. Auction participants seemed to want to use the service primarily for video applications, like wireless cable. We don’t cover it. Except, of course, the WCS Forum announces four groups to guide product development. One group: wireless voice.
LMDS-We don’t cover it in the United States because it will be used for video applications. Unless, of course, carriers plan to use this service for wireless communications.
These blurred lines are leading to my blurred vision. Please Motorola, when you make the baby monitor with the built-in pager, don’t send me the news release!
