Page 1 2 3 Page 1 2 3 | FRIDAY - MARCH 17, 2006 - ISSUE NO. 204 |
Dear friends of Wireless Messaging, Rumors have been circulating for over a month about the possible acquisition of Verizon Paging Services by American Messaging. No one wanted to go on record as confirming this, so I searched the FCC's web site and found several applications filed on 02/17/2006 for Transfer of Control of Paging licenses from Verizon Wireless Messaging Services, LLC to American Messaging Services, Inc. [source] It seemed strange that there were two separate paging companies under the Verizon umbrella. SkyTel became a part of Verizon Business when MCI was acquired, and Verizon Paging Services remained a part of Verizon Wireless. Verizon Business is wholly owned by Verizon but 45% of Verizon Wireless is owned by Vodafone—who, by the way, recently received an informal offer from Verizon of about $40 billion for their stake. [source] Gosh—$40 billion—that would be enough to pay off all of my credit cards. (I have said a million times that I never exaggerate.) I am hearing very good things about American Messaging. Insiders are thrilled with the new management team. They are saying that these guys really know what they are doing and are committed to revitalizing the Paging industry. I must include the gals as well, because one of their lady managers is known to be outstanding too. This is good news. "A rising tide lifts all boats" and, happy employees help make companies more successful. Some of the Harvard-MBA weenies never learned these lessons. USA mobility did a very good job of getting their message about the reliability of Paging out to the public. I have found quite a few newsletters and newspapers, on the Internet, that have summarized Vince Kelly's testimony before the FCC's Independent Panel reviewing the Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Communications Networks. If you didn't get a chance to read it last week, here is the complete written testimony of Vince Kelly. (This is your reading assignment—there will be a test.) A very good question came from the Panel in Jackson, "When all the telephone lines are down after a storm, how can an emergency dispatch center send messages to pagers?" Vince Kelly had a good answer. Simple, bi-directional satellite data service is available for two-hundred and something a month. This is a great idea. Every TAS and every public safety dispatch center should have one of these backup links to the Internet. An article follows about a large layoff at SkyTel. I was sorry to hear this. SkyTel has always had some very good people. This company has pioneered several major developments in the Wireless Messaging industry such as nationwide roaming and two-way paging. After acquisitions and mergers, we have come to expect this sort of thing. Be sure to check out the announcement on page two about the upcoming EMMA conference in Athens, Greece. Once in a great while, a truly remarkable opportunity comes up for our industry. One thing that we all need right now is a new revenue stream product/service to replace the business we are losing to the cell phones. On page three there is a very interesting article from ParkMagic about that very thing. I invite you to read this piece and then let me know what you think of it. I know the gentlemen running this company and have been very impressed at the amount of thought and planning that they have put into "ParkMagic." Now on to more news and views. |
A new issue of The Wireless Messaging Newsletter gets posted on the web each week. A notification goes out by e-mail to subscribers on most Fridays around noon central US time. The notification message has a link to the actual newsletter on the Internet. That way it doesn't fill up your incoming e-mail account. There is no charge for subscription and there are no membership restrictions. Readers are a very select group of wireless industry professionals, and include the senior managers of many of the world's major Paging and Wireless Data companies. There is an even mix of operations managers, marketing people, and engineers—so I try to include items of interest to all three groups. It's all about staying up-to-date with business trends and technology. I regularly get reader's comments, so this newsletter has become a community forum for the Paging, and Wireless Data communities. You are welcome to contribute your ideas and opinions. Unless otherwise requested, all correspondence addressed to me is subject to publication in the newsletter and on my web site. I am very careful to protect the anonymity of those who request it. NOTE: This newsletter is best viewed at screen resolutions of 800x600 (good) or 1024x768 (better). Any current revision of web browser should work fine. Please notify me of any problems with viewing. This site is compliant with XHTML 1.0 transitional coding for easy access from wireless devices. (XML 1.0/ISO 8859-1.)
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| WIRELESS MESSAGING NEWS |
Nighthawk Systems Receives Order from Internet America
SAN ANTONIO, TX - 3/16/06- Nighthawk Systems, Inc. (OTC BB: NIHK), a leading provider of intelligent wireless power control and emergency notification products, announced today that it has received an initial order from Internet America, Inc. for its NH100 and NH8 wireless rebooting devices. Internet America is a leading regional Internet Service Provider in the southwestern United States, with operations based in Dallas, Texas.
Utilizing the proprietary Nighthawk board, the NH100 and NH8 allow customers to simply save the time and expense of traveling to remotely located sites to reboot network equipment, and provides insurance against unnecessary, extended network downtime. The NH100 allows a user to remotely control power to any device that can be plugged into a single15-amp outlet, while the rack-mounted NH8 allows the user to reboot up to 8 devices from individually controllable outlets.
H. Douglas Saathoff, Nighthawk's Chief Executive Officer, stated, "We are happy to help Internet America with their control needs throughout their service territory, and hope to continue helping them as their network grows."
About Nighthawk Systems, Inc.
Nighthawk is a leading provider of intelligent wireless power control products that enable simultaneous activation or de-activation of multiple assets or systems on demand. Nighthawk's installed customer base includes major electric utilities, internet service providers and fire departments in over 40 states. Nighthawk's products also enable custom message display, making them ideal for use in traffic control and emergency notification situations.
Individuals interested in Nighthawk Systems can sign up to receive email alerts by visiting the Company’s website at www.nighthawksystems.com.
Forward-looking statements
Statements contained in this release, which are not historical facts, including statements about plans and expectations regarding business areas and opportunities, acceptance of new or existing businesses, capital resources and future business or financial results are "forward-looking" statements. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, customer acceptance of our products, our ability to raise capital to fund our operations, our ability to develop and protect proprietary technology, government regulation, competition in our industry, general economic conditions and other risk factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or implied in the forward-looking statements. Although we believe the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, they relate only to events as of the date on which the statements are made, and our future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements may not meet these expectations. We do not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release to conform these statements to actual results or to changes in our expectations, except as required by law.
CONTACT:
Doug Saathoff
dsaathoff@nighthawksystems.com
(877) 7-NIGHTHAWK, Ext 701
SkyTel lays off 154 in metro
Owner Verizon says firings part of downsizing
March 11, 2006
By Nell Luter Floyd nlfoyd@clarionledger.com
And Scott Waller swaller@clarionledger.com
BY THE NUMBERS Year — Employees |
Nearly a fourth of the Jackson area work force at Verizon's SkyTel division lost their jobs Friday when the company cut 154 workers from the payroll.
Verizon, which purchased MCI last year, said the cuts were part of downsizing SkyTel. The layoffs were not merger-related, said Bill Kula, a Verizon spokesman.
"We are reducing the number of employees to operate more efficiently," Kula said.
The company laid off 219 people nationwide, of which 119 were in the Clinton office and 35 in Jackson.
Sherry Williams, 38, of Jackson isn't surprised her job at SkyTel has come to an end.
"The company has been merging for five years now with different people," said Williams, who programmed, tested and serviced pagers at a SkyTel office on I-55 North in Jackson. "We knew once Verizon took over they wouldn't need us."
Williams estimated 30 people worked in her office, and more than half were laid off on Friday.
Kula said Verizon still has more than 500 employees in Mississippi, with the majority working in Clinton.
"SkyTel is a valuable unit that provides cutting-edge wireless service for business and residential customers," Kula said. "But it's not a unit that fits our strategy in the three growth engines of the company."
Kula said the company's focus would be growing its wireless business, integrating MCI to expand the company's large-business sector and growing broadband.
Jeff Kagan, a telecom industry analyst based in Atlanta, said a traditional paging company, such as SkyTel, is not what Verizon is focused on.
"As a stand-alone business, it makes sense, but Verizon is focusing on wireless and long distance and Internet access," Kagan said. "You are not looking at needing a separate text messaging system."
Kagan said he doesn't know what Verizon eventually might do with the SkyTel division.
"They haven't said anything, but who knows, it might be for sale if it is not part of the core business," he said.
One reason there is less emphasis on paging is the versatility of the cell phone, Kagan said.
"The cell phone has grown up," he said. "There was a time I walked around with a SkyTel pager clipped to my belt on one side and a cell phone on the other. Now, with a cell phone, you can text message, go to the Internet and call up Web pages, send an e-mail and make a phone call."
All employees who were laid off received a severance package based on their years of service, Kula said.
"We all pretty much expected it," Williams said of the layoffs. "I'm just glad I got a severance package."
Williams, who said she worked for SkyTel for 6 1/2 years, plans to return to school to become a licensed practical nurse or a registered nurse. Before working at SkyTel, she was a certified nurse assistant.
Jehu Brabham, a Clinton alderman-at-large, said he's not familiar with why the layoffs took place but he's sympathetic with anyone laid off.
"When someone loses their job, it impacts not just them but their family," said Brabham, administrator at Parkway Baptist Church in Clinton.
MCI, formerly known as WorldCom, was based in Clinton prior to an $11 billion accounting scandal that sent the company into bankruptcy in 2002.
Verizon purchased MCI for $8.4 billion.
SkyTel, which was founded in Jackson, merged with WorldCom in 1999. At one point, WorldCom employed more than 3,000 workers in the Jackson area.
Most of those jobs have been cut in the wake of the accounting scandal, leaving only the SkyTel division with any significant number of employees.
Former WorldCom CEO Bernie Ebbers was found guilty of fraud and conspiracy a year ago. He was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison but remains free while he appeals the verdict.
Source: Clarion Ledger
CISCO SYSTEMS HOSTS SMART PASS EXECUTIVE CONFERENCE SERIES AT CTIA WIRELESS 2006
VIP sessions to highlight important business issues facing the mobile industry
Washington D.C., - March 17, 2006 - CTIA WIRELESS 2006® today announced that Cisco Systems® will host two VIP roundtable discussions as part of the Smart Pass Executive Conference April 5 and 6, from 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. The panels will explore the business models enabled by IMS and provide a global overview of businesses that are successfully implementing and benefiting from a connected workforce. CTIA WIRELESS 2006 runs April 5-7, at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Join Mike Volpi, senior vice president, Routing Technology Group, Cisco Systems and Jonathan Rosenberg, Cisco Fellow and co-author of the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), as they engage in a discussion on emerging IMS business models and revenue opportunities posed by non-IMS enabled technology. The session, IMS and Beyond: Enabling New Business Models, will be held on April 5, 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. and will be moderated by Dr. Philip Marshall, director, Wireless/Mobile Technology, Yankee Group. Distinguished panelists will address enabling new services in both a SIP and non-SIP environment and how to maximize revenue from emerging multimedia applications. The session will take a hard look at the strengths that IMS brings, including handset intelligence, and discuss how to achieve a robust network and enable content filtering through non-IMS enabled technology.
Additionally, Smart Pass holders are welcome to join the roundtable discussion, The Connected Workforce: Creating the Virtual Workplace, to be held April 6, 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Panelists include: Jeff Bradley, vice president, enterprise solutions, Cingular Wireless; Randy Ritter, vice president of product management, Sprint Nextel, Mauro Sentinelli, deputy chair of the GSM Association and previously managing director of the TIM Group; Peters Suh, president, Americas Vodafone; and. Dr. Shreekant (Ticky) Thakkar, director of mobile technology, Intel. Simon Aspinall, director of Internet Business Solutions Group, Cisco Systems will moderate the session, which will provide a global overview of businesses that are successfully distributing information using mobility solutions. Speakers will also present case studies of successful virtual workplace strategies and how enterprise and service providers can work together in developing solutions that bring increased efficiency and productivity.
"CTIA is pleased to have partnered with Cisco on the expansion of the Smart Pass Executive Series this year," said Robert Mesirow, vice president and show director of CTIA WIRELESS. "As a thought leader in the wireless industry, Cisco has developed a high-caliber session with an impressive lineup of industry leaders."
About CTIA WIRELESS 2006
As the premiere global event representing the complete wireless, mobile computing and wireless Internet industries and the largest wireless show in the world, CTIA WIRELESS 2006 brings together all industries within the communications ecosystem and all those affected by wireless technology for three days of intense learning and networking. Visit http://www.ctiawireless.com.
CTIA–The Wireless Association® is the international association for the wireless telecommunications industry, representing carriers, manufacturers and wireless Internet providers. Visit http://www.ctia.org
# # #
Cisco, Cisco Systems and the Cisco Systems logo are registered trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. in the U.S. and certain other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.
For Further Information:
Cheryl Delgreco
Media Strategies
cdelgreco@msipr.com
617-723-4004
Karen Blondell
Media Strategies
kblondell@msipr.com
310-325-6405
Source: Virtual Press Office
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GTES has recently made the strategic decision to expanding its development activities to include wireless location technologies; a market that researchers forecast could reach $3.6 billion by 2010. In support of this new strategic direction, GTES has developed SHERLOC™ a complete one-stop wireless location service, providing the flexibility of being protocol neutral and network agnostic. Targeted at business customers who need to track their high-value shipments or better manage their service or delivery fleets, SHERLOC™ is a hosted application that combines configuration flexibility with ease of use. GTES is offering SHERLOC™ services both directly and through authorized resellers. If your company has an interest in finding out how location services can enhance your revenue stream, and has the contacts and expertise to make you successful in the location marketplace, please contact us for further information at www.sherlocgps.com and select “Reseller Opportunities,” or call us at 770-754-1666 for more information. www.gtesinc.com GTES is the only Glenayre authorized software support provider in the Paging industry. With over 200 years of combined experience in Glenayre hardware and software support, GTES offers the industry the most professional support and engineering development staff available. Continued Support Programs CALL US TODAY FOR YOUR SUPPORT NEEDS
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Ogo's window of opportunity The founders of IXI Mobile on Ogo, "the Blackberry for the masses." Tali Tsipori 16 Mar 06 14:18 “Blackberry for the masses.” These are the two words that Amit Haller, the founder of IXI Mobile (IXI) uses to describe the device his company has developed. IXI, a start-up which has been struggling to survive for the last five years is set to become, in effect, a public company upon its merger with shell company Israel Technology Acquisition Corporation (OTC Bulletin Board: ISLTU.OB; ISLT.OB; ISLTW.OB) (ITAC). ITAC announced at the beginning of the month that it would merge IXI’s activities with its own at a current company value of $42 million (the value of the shell as listed on the OTC BB) . Founded in 2000 by the entrepreneurs, Haller and Gidi Barak, IXI developed the “Ogo” handset, a device similar to the Blackberry, designed primarily for teenagers, students and small businesses. The Ogo can send and receive email, and browse the Internet, as well as deliver instant messaging through services such as MSN Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger or AOL. The company’s customers are cellular operators and Internet service providers (ISPs), which buy the handsets from IXI and then market them to the aforementioned key target groups, teenagers, students and small businesses. When Haller compares the Ogo to the famous Blackberry, he repeatedly comes back to the issue of price. “The Ogo is the Blackberry for the masses, since it enables any teenager, student or small businessman, from plumbers to junior sales people, to connect to networks at a very low cost,” he explains, during the investors’ conference that IXI held last Sunday, together with ITAC management. The Ogo costs up $99 (and is free, if supplied by the service provider), while the monthly service charges range from $4-18. The price of the Blackberry, ranges from $200-350 and its monthly service charges range from $40-50. “The Blackberry is not targeted at the ‘mass market’; the Ogo is,” says Haller. The Ogo was first launched in the US in September 2004, when AT&T became IXI’s first customer. The company has virtually no operations in the US today, following the acquisition of AT&T by Cingular Wireless, which decided to discontinue AT&T’s data activities. IXI’s main client in Europe is Swisscom Mobile, the largest cellular operator in Switzerland, which launched its Ogo service last November. IXI strengthened further its European presence following a product launch in Germany. The Ogo will operate on the network of UK mobile company Vodafone Group PLC (NYSE: VOD) and will be available as of April. The Ogo will sell for €1 only, (conditional on the buyer signing a 24 month loyalty agreement), with service charged at a monthly rate of €9.99. The deal is valued at $18 million. IXI’s total revenue, from the first US launch to the present day, is $20 million. While the Ogo has considerable potential, it is likely to face stiff competition. Firstly, Nokia and others may, in the future, consider developing a similar device of their own. “Nokia is still not there, because it has not yet managed to beat the Blackberry,” says Haller, “I hope they will penetrate this market in the future, since they could develop it for others. Until then, we have a window of between a year to eighteen months during which we need to grab market segments before the big players move in.” Blackberry manufacturer Research In Motion (NasdaqNM: RIMM), could also become a more aggressive competitor, if it decides to lower prices or develop, as Heller describes it, a “handset for the masses.” $18 million times two. When TAC chairman and CEO Israel Frieder talks about the shell company he launched eight months, the sparkle in his eyes is unmistakable. ITAC became the second Israeli specified purpose acquisition corporation (SPAC) to be listed on the US capital market, but was the first to take over the operations of another company. “We started in July last year,” he recalls. “At first we aimed to raise $18 million but we eventually doubled that figure,” is how he describes the floating of the shell company which raised $38 million (including the Green Shoe option). Frieder was formerly Kardan NV (TASE: KRNV;AEX:KARD) president and CEO, ECI Telecom (Nasdaq: ECIL), vice president for business development and Tadiran Communications (TASE: TDCM) president. “When I left Kardan and heard about the SPAC industry, I wasn't sure if this was entirely a legitimate business, at least not in Israel,” he recalls with a smile. “I called the then legal adviser to Tadiran and he told me that “not only is it legitimate, but is also one of the best ways of making an IPO for a company of a size of up to $100 million.” The “SPAC industry,” to use Frieder’s favorite term, began to gain momentum at the start of 2005. Several entrepreneurs, usually well-known names, invest small sums in a company that has no content, and then float it on the capital market. They then have a period of 18 months in which to find and takeover an existing company that has activities. “SPAC may be a pioneer entity in Israel, but worldwide it is a rapidly expanding trend,” says Frieder. Frieder’s claim speaks for itself. Since 2003, 47 SPAC companies have been floated in the US, and have raised a total of $3.2 billion. Not one SPAC was floated during 1997-2002. In 2005, 68 SPAC companies filed draft prospectuses, ahead of a share issue. ”When we conducted due diligence on IXI Mobile, we also did it on ten other companies,” says Frieder. “ We didn't hide this from the IXI management, and we finally chose IXI for three main reasons. Firstly, the management team headed by Amit Haller and Gidi Barak; secondly the company’s staff and thirdly the fact the Haller and Barak didn't ask for cash. They were satisfied with the shell’s shares. ”Even when we offered to include cash in the deal, they said they believed in IXI and that when ITAC stock reaches five or 10 times its current value, they will know what to do with their holdings in the company. Their absolute faith in their own company, helped us finally chose IXI over other companies,” concludes Frieder. Source: GLOBES online |
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