Both sides in the often bitter ultra wideband debate -- proponents of MultiBand OFDM technology and Motorola spinoff Freescale -- said Thurs.’s FCC decision revising UWB testing rules was good for UWB device makers as they start to build a market, with some of the first consumer devices possibly on shelves before Christmas.
SBC has reached 22 commercial agreements covering 31% of its UNE-P lines, a spokesman said Mon. Negotiations continue with other wholesale customers. Unlike BellSouth and Verizon, SBC didn’t give numbers on its negotiations March 11, as the FCC began its one-year phase-out of switching as a TELRIC-priced UNE. The Bells all reported substantial numbers of agreements just before the deadline.
In a major govt. contracting development, the GAO said the Treasury Dept. must reopen negotiations on a marquee $1 billion telecom contract that AT&T won from the Treasury Dept. The move is a setback for AT&T and a win for other bidders, who may have another chance to win the contract. “This is a big deal,” said Warren Suss, a consultant and expert on govt. contracting issues. “This is the Dept. of Treasury’s core communications network. A lot of important stuff goes over it, particularly the IRS data.”
Qwest made a higher offer for MCI on Thurs., changing its bid to the equivalent to $8.45 billion. MCI said it would consider the new offer and provide a response by March 28.
Harvard Business School Prof. Clayton Christensen warned Wed. that the Bells could face the same challenges that deeply wounded integrated steel companies in the U.S., losing much of their revenue base to mini-mills - low cost “innovators” that now own half the market. Christensen, a best-selling author, addressed the future of the telecom sector during a speech at the National Press Club. Christensen warned that “disruptive” technologies pose the biggest threat to incumbents like the Bells, citing the steel industry example. Mini-mill operators with their low cost technologies were able to offer steel at 20% below the costs of their larger competitors. Initially, they captured the most- undervalued market segment - rebar or steel used to reinforce cement, he said. Soon, they captured much of the rest. Mini-mill success led to the collapse of prices in the market, with low-cost competitors fighting each other for market share, Christensen said: “Entrants tend to beat the incumbents when they engage in a disruptive strategy. They create a situation where [incumbents] flee rather than fight.” Christensen said it’s not clear how the Bells will fare vs. challengers like Vonage as VoIP becomes more of a disruptive factor in the market. “In almost every instance the disruptive technology appears to the incumbent as a threat and to the entrant as a growth opportunity,” he said: “In the end it always proves to be both. It’s the destruction that by making something simple and affordable creates a new wave of growth. There’s no reason why the incumbent couldn’t cause the growth to happen themselves.”
U.S. promoters of ultra wideband (UWB) are closely watching developments in the U.K., as regulators there complete work on rules governing the technology. Controls the U.K. establishes could prove significant since UWB chip makers are likely to pursue rollout of products worldwide that will meet limits in as much of the world as possible.
Broadband equipment makers shipped 74% more units in 2004 than the previous year but revenue increased only 15%, Infonetics Research said Fri. The firm said revenue fell 7% 4th quarter from 3rd to $1.16 billion. That drop in the customer premises equipment (CPE) market came despite 17% sequential unit growth to 23.3 million.
Ultra wideband firm PulseLink, which recently formed the CWave Alliance, will present its technology to the FCC today (Mon.) at the FCC Lab in Columbia, Md. The demonstration comes amid growing speculation the FCC will grant a waiver request on radio frequency rules to the Intel-Texas Instrument led Multi-band OFDM Alliance (MBOA).
The WiMedia Alliance and the Multi-band OFDM Alliance Special Interest Group (MBOA-SIG), 2 of the primary groups that have been promoting ultra-wideband (UWB), announced Thurs. they're merging. The development gives UWB of the MBOA stripe the same standardization Wi-Fi and WiMax have already achieved. Microchip manufacturers and consumer electronics companies will have to look to only one organization for a certification logo. The new group will be called the WiMedia Alliance.
Qwest took its offer to acquire MCI to the N.Y. financial community, holding a breakfast meeting Tues. with investors and analysts at which CEO Richard Notebaert accused MCI of refusing to negotiate over the deal and of responding only through the news media. In a development that could make the merger more controversial politically, Qwest revealed that the merger could result in 12,000- 15,000 job cuts. That development comes on the eve of a House hearing on telecom mergers.