#TBT: Fallout from DT’s $50B VoiceStream bid; Qualcomm sheds handset biz … 14 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!
DT justifies price for VoiceStream
Deutsche Telekom AG executives found themselves justifying the price the German company paid for Voice-Stream Wireless Corp. as it detailed the new deal to analysts last week. When the companies announced the deal on July 24, it was valued at $50.7 billion, or $195.75 per VoiceStream share, assuming 265 million fully diluted shares. The price tag dipped all week as DT investors showed their concern over price. However, shares recovered somewhat by RCR press time, valuing the deal at around $50.6 billion, or $190.80 per VoiceStream share. … Read More
Smaller transactions expected ahead on acquisition front
While international attention is focused on Deutsche Telekom AG’s $50.3 billion bid for VoiceStream Wireless Corp. and the fireworks it has set off in Congress, merger and acquisition activity in the coming months is expected to be dominated by smaller wireless transactions as large mobile phone carriers pick up licenses here and there to expand coverage areas and small operators consider cashing out. The drivers of M&A are varied, with some variables injecting a degree of uncertainty into the process. Paul Spurgeon, president and managing director of telephony at Nations Media Partners, said downward price pressure on roaming revenue-a consequence of national pricing plans deployed by top mobile phone firms-could prompt rural cellular operators to consider selling their operations. In the past, rural cellular operators have depended heavily on roaming income. … Read More
And the patent company stands alone
Qualcomm Inc.’s transformation is complete. The CDMA innovator last week announced it intends to spin off its chipset and software business, leaving the company as primarily one that collects royalties from CDMA technology. Qualcomm started out this way. It developed CDMA technology for mobile systems, patented its inventions and then entered the infrastructure, chipset and handset businesses to commercially jump-start the technology. With support in place from virtually all major manufacturers today, it has peeled away the businesses. Qualcomm sold its infrastructure business to L.M. Ericsson last year, followed by a sale of its handset business to Japan’s Kyocera Corp. As its chipset business threatened its royalty streams from CDMA technology, Qualcomm chose to spin off that business and take it public. … Read More
Organization formed to promote instant messaging interoperability
Several instant messaging companies, telecom carriers and Internet service and content providers have formed an organization dedicated to achieving true instant messaging interoperability among competing platforms. The IMUnified coalition said it intends to create specifications by the end of August that will allow interoperable instant messaging among its members by supporting protocols developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force. Founding members include AT&T Corp., Excite@Home, iCAST Corp., the MSN network, Odigo, Phone.com Inc., Prodigy, Tribal Voice and Yahoo! Inc. … Read More
Spectrum strategies unpredictable in pending auctions
The upcoming U.S. spectrum auctions present some interesting times for the wireless industry. Auctions in the past were more predictable, primarily reserved for veteran executives experienced in running wireless networks. Today, the story is much different. Wireless has caught the attention of many powerful and nontraditional companies, like Microsoft Corp., Cisco Systems Inc. and America Online Inc. Why? The impending union of the data and enterprise markets with wireless provides enormous potential, said Richard Siber, associate partner with Andersen Consulting in Boston. … Read More
AirLink finds niche in `Super Cordless’ service
AirLink PCS, the E-block fledgling of a century-old local exchange carrier, has found a niche providing its prepaid “Super Cordless” service for calling from and within a six-county area of Michigan. “We’ve had visits by dozens of people from the E- and F-block licensees, which have a little bit of territory. There is a big group expected to come to market in these rural areas. No one we’ve talked to has seen what we offer,” said L.J. Caruso, general manager of wireless. There is more to come. This summer, AirLink is rolling out mobile recharge, whereby customers can buy prepaid cards and activate them by phone. … Read More
Congress concerned over Carnivore and privacy issues
Privacy concerns voiced by lawmakers last week about controversial FBI Internet wiretaps have given added visibility to the wireless industry’s dispute with the Justice Department and Federal Communications Commission over digital wiretap requirements that carriers and equipment vendors claim are excessive and constitutionally suspect. The widespread backlash against the FBI’s Internet-sniffing device, nicknamed Carnivore, has become so great that Congress may try to pass limited legislation this year to address privacy fears. … Read More
AT&T to offer two-way SMS this year
AT&T Wireless Services Inc. said it will offer two-way short messaging service later this year, giving the carrier a more seamless data offering with its affiliates. AT&T Wireless offers SMS service today and relaunched its PocketNet service, based on Cellular Digital Packet Data service, earlier this year, using handsets from Mitsubishi and L.M. Ericsson. AT&T Wireless’ affiliates, the largest of which is TeleCorp PCS, are moving in their own direction with wireless data services. AT&T Wireless’ data offerings revolve around CDPD technology, while the carrier’s affiliates will offer circuit-switched data offerings this fall. AT&T Wireless and its affiliates won’t fully align their data strategies until Enhanced Data rates for Global Evolution technology arrives sometime in 2002. … Read More
WAP vs. iMode: A battle of execution
The mainstream media’s honeymoon with WAP technology ended long ago, but the relationship has deteriorated so much lately that the entire affair seems ready for marriage counseling. One reason for the discord is media has a new mistress-iMode. While the press and analysts have largely panned existing WAP services, applications and equipment for being too slow, too difficult and too boring, they have practically fallen over themselves to praise NTT DoCoMo’s wireless Internet service. … Read More
Tower construction enjoys growth spurt
Wireless carriers spend billions of dollars on spectrum to support the latest high-speed wireless applications that are designed to change the way the world communicates. Knowing they can’t provide that potential to end users without the proper infrastructure, companies are also spending a little extra on the towers needed to support that spectrum. Riding the wave of the booming wireless market, tower construction companies are scrambling to meet the demand of existing wireless services. At the same time they are planning for the coming deployment of third-generation and data services. … Read More
Check out RCR Wireless News’ Archives for more stories from the past.
Photo courtesy of the Marconi Society.
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