Page 1 2 3 Page 1 2 3 | FRIDAY - JUNE 9, 2006 - ISSUE NO. 215 |
Dear friends of Wireless Messaging, Since there was no newsletter last week, please accept this double issue as a replacement. I attended the AAPC Wireless Forum in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and it was wonderful. I saw many friends there but unfortunately I didn't have time to talk to everyone as much as I would have liked. There are many photos of the meetings, lunches, presentations, and of the beautiful Marriott Resort where the event was held. If I took your photo and you don't see it here, don't think I am mad at you or anything. You may have blinked and so I didn't want anyone to think that you were asleep because your eyes were closed. Since I am a senior citizen now, I can say some things without getting into too much trouble. (I hope so anyway.) Like so-and-so has a pretty wife, or someone else is very smart, etc. So before anyone accuses me of ulterior motives, or even being paid to say something nice about someone, let me assure everyone that my motives are simply to be remembered as a person who said nice things about other people. One time several years ago, a fellow called me and angrily asked how much his competitor paid me to say nice things about him. Really. If you don't have a broadband connection to the Internet, you may have to wait a little longer than usual for each page of the newsletter to finish downloading because of the many photos. I have been trying to take good photographs for about 50 years now, and even with the new computer-controlled digital cameras, sometimes the shots come out looking good and sometimes they don't. I guess I am a slow learner. For example, I took one shot of Jim McLochlin that came out looking terrible. Fortunately I took another one where he came out looking like the handsome devil that he is. The good one is on page 3 in the "snapshots" section. The news about American Messaging Services Inc. acquiring the paging part of Verizon Wireless finally came out this week. See the press release below. I have made some phone calls to AMSI trying to get more information for you—so maybe next week I will have more. Some of my contacts "aren't there anymore," some have gone to work at AMSI, and some are staying on at Verizon Wireless. This was all kept very quiet for the last several of months. Even the usual "leaks" weren't leaking. Now on to more news and views.
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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.) MORE PAGES | |||||||||||
Myrtle Beach Marriott Resort at Grande Dunes
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A good time was had by all at the AAPC Wireless Forum in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
This is what you missed! Hope to see you there next year.
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| WIRELESS MESSAGING NEWS |
June 06, 2006 08:00 AM US Eastern Timezone
American Messaging Becomes the Second Largest Paging Company in the United States with the Acquisition of the Paging Operations of Verizon Wireless
LEWISVILLE, Texas—(BUSINESS WIRE)—June 6, 2006—American Messaging, formerly Ameritech Mobile Services, Inc., announced today that it has completed its acquisition of the paging operations of Verizon Wireless, becoming the second largest paging company in the United States with more than 1.5 million customers. The combined company provides a reliable and extensive nationwide paging network with coverage in 98 of the top 100 major metropolitan areas and in all 50 states.
"The acquisition of Verizon Wireless' paging operations together with American Messaging's previous acquisition of AT&T's (formerly SBC Communications) paging operations brings together two of the premier paging companies in the United States," said J. Roy Pottle, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of American Messaging Services.
Mr. Pottle also noted "the combination of these two companies gives American Messaging the local and national expertise to deliver on its predecessors' heritage of communications excellence, quality customer service and integrity."
The new American Messaging management team, led by executives from both companies, expect that the company's sole and absolute focus on paging will only serve to enhance the high quality customer service, network reliability and quality product offerings of its predecessors. Mr. Pottle indicated "American Messaging will continue to differentiate itself from its competitors through the breadth and quality of our service as we believe our commitment to service is in the best interest of our customers and American Messaging alike."
About American Messaging
American Messaging Services is a leader in business-to-business wireless messaging solutions, providing high quality customer support infrastructure and network reliability with cost efficiency in order to ensure superior customer satisfaction. American Messaging is the second largest paging company in the United States with 1.5 million customers, providing nationwide frequencies in addition to numerous local frequencies with coverage in 98 of the top 100 major metropolitan areas and in all 50 states. American Messaging offers a variety of services to meet the paging needs of organizations of all sizes. Services range from traditional numeric paging to two-way paging that allow the user to send and receive e-mail messages. Additional information about American Messaging and its services is available at www.AmericanMessaging.net.
Contacts
American Messaging
Sherry Knuth, 972-353-1962
Source: Business Wire
RIM CEO cautious about unlimited wireless data plans
By Marguerite Reardon
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Published: June 5, 2006, 11:10 AM PDT
CHICAGO—The president and co-CEO of Research In Motion, maker of BlackBerry devices, warned the industry Monday that allowing people unlimited wireless data use will have a devastating effect on wireless innovation.
In a keynote address given at GlobalComm, a telecommunications trade show here, Mike Lazaridis told attendees that carriers need to be very careful how they roll out wireless Internet services.
"No matter how you slice it, bandwidth is not free," he said. "If we don't set up economic incentives now, research and innovation for new networks won't happen for the future. We want companies to be encouraged to make efficient use of the network, so we don't cross over and use up all the capacity of the networks."
Wireless operators have spent billions of dollars over the past several years upgrading their networks to 3G, or third-generation networks, so they can handle more voice calls and advanced data services. Carriers have already begun offering new applications, such as mobile Internet browsing, e-mail downloads and TV viewing to drive revenue.
Currently, all three of the major mobile carriers—Verizon Wireless, Cingular Wireless and Sprint—offer all-you-can-eat wireless Internet usage plans for a set price of about $80 per month. Sprint and Cingular also offer plans that charge people for the capacity they use each month.
But Lazaridis warned that as wireless data usage becomes more pervasive, these unlimited plans could have a devastating effect on the industry, since even the most basic data applications eat up more bandwidth than voice calls.
For example, an average voice plan that includes 500 minutes of airtime uses about 45MB of capacity per user per month, he said. By contrast, a user with an unlimited data plan who watches 15 minutes of video per day, reads at least three articles from a mobile Web site such as CNN.com, and checks e-mail using his company's virtual private network uses about 1.6GB worth of capacity per month. Translated into voice minutes, this amount of data usage would require roughly 20,000 minutes per month, he said.
"How do you handle pricing of these services?" he said. "The voice network was built for efficiency, and as a result, it's been properly priced and has predictable business models. We need to encourage conservation of spectrum and encourage users to use the network more efficiently for data, too."
He used Research In Motion as an example of how application developers could achieve this goal. He said roughly 90 percent of BlackBerry users use less than 2MB of data per month, which translates to about 22 minutes of airtime per month.
But some experts disagree with Lazaridis' contention. Jeff Pulver, the founder of Pulver Media, said that unlimited bandwidth use in the wireless world is needed because access to the network is what spurs innovation.
"I appreciate what he is saying," he said. "But he is discounting the future and the natural evolution of technology to provide more wireless bandwidth."
But Lazaridis said that unfettered use will destroy the economics of offering wireless data, discouraging carriers from future investments in new technologies.
"You have to let the industry grow by allowing the carriers to make money," he said. "The message here isn't that we shouldn't do new things, but that we need to have incentives for efficient usage. When you have a fiber running into your home, it is its own little universe with dedicated bandwidth, but wireless spectrum is something that we all have to share."
Source: c|net News.com
USA Mobility Declares Special Distribution, Returning Cash to Shareholders
ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 7, 2006 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ -- USA Mobility, Inc. (Nasdaq: USMO), a leading provider of wireless messaging services, today announced that its Board of Directors has unanimously approved a special cash distribution of $3.00 per share of common stock, an aggregate amount of approximately $82 million. The distribution will be paid on July 21, 2006 to shareholders of record on June 30, 2006.
This is the second special distribution declared by USA Mobility since it became debt free in August 2005 after repaying $140 million in bank debt used to fund the merger of Arch Wireless, Inc. and Metrocall Holdings, Inc. on November 16, 2004. On December 21, 2005, the company paid a special distribution of $1.50 per share, which represented a $41 million return of capital to shareholders. The company said the tax treatment of the July distribution will be based in part on the company's year-end results and that it intends to provide further information on the appropriate treatment of the distribution at a later date.
"This special distribution underscores our commitment to our stated strategy of managing USA Mobility for cash flow, and return of cash to our shareholders," said Vincent D. Kelly, president and chief executive officer.
About USA Mobility
USA Mobility, Inc., headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, is a leading provider of paging products and other wireless services to the business, government, healthcare and emergency response sectors. USA Mobility offers traditional one-way and advanced two-way paging via its nationwide networks covering more than 90% of the U.S. population. In addition, the company offers mobile voice and data services through Sprint Nextel and Cingular Wireless, including BlackBerry and GPS location applications. The company's product offerings include wireless connectivity systems for medical, business, government and other campus environments. USA Mobility focuses on the business-to-business marketplace and supplies mobile connectivity solutions to over two-thirds of the Fortune 1000 companies. For further information visit http://www.usamobility.com.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act: Statements contained herein or in prior press releases which are not historical fact, such as statements regarding USA Mobility's cash flow strategy, are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause USA Mobility's actual results to be materially different from the future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expectations include, but are not limited to, declining demand for paging products and services, the ability to continue to reduce operating expenses, future capital needs, competitive pricing pressures, competition from both traditional paging services and other wireless communications services, government regulation, reliance upon third-party providers for certain equipment and services, as well as other risks described from time to time in periodic reports and registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Although USA Mobility believes the expectations reflected in the forward- looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be attained. USA Mobility disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statements.
Contact:
Bob Lougee
(703) 721-3080
Source: USA Mobility, Inc.
Bob Lougee for USA Mobility, Inc., +1-703-721-3080
USA Mobility Notified of Full Compliance with Nasdaq Rules
ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/—USA Mobility, Inc. (Nasdaq: USMO), a leading provider of wireless messaging services, today announced that it has received notice from the Nasdaq National Market stating that the company is in full compliance with Nasdaq Marketplace Rules.
USA Mobility received notice of compliance after it recently completed filings of financial statements for prior reporting periods, including the company's 2005 Form 10-K and Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2006 as required by Marketplace Rule 4310(c)(14). As previously announced, USA Mobility delayed its filings to correct errors discovered by the company for prior reporting periods.
About USA Mobility
USA Mobility, Inc., headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, is a leading provider of paging products and other wireless services to the business, government, healthcare and emergency response sectors. USA Mobility offers traditional one-way and advanced two-way paging via its nationwide networks covering more than 90% of the U.S. population. In addition, the company offers mobile voice and data services through Sprint Nextel and Cingular Wireless, including BlackBerry and GPS location applications. The company's product offerings include wireless connectivity systems for medical, business, government and other campus environments. USA Mobility focuses on the business-to-business marketplace and supplies mobile connectivity solutions to over two-thirds of the Fortune 1000 companies. For further information visit http://www.usamobility.com.
Contact: Bob Lougee, 703-721-3080
Source: USA Mobility
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High Speed Internet, Literally!
Posted by Steve Laser on June 8, 2006 01:49 PM
While many airways are peeling back services in a desperate bid to save money, others are offering more services to win customers. Such is the case with JetBlue, who won 1 MHz of spectrum for $7million, while AirCell of Louisville, Co paid a hefty $31million for 3 MHz of spectrum, both of which are pending FCC approval. This spectrum could be used to provide in-flight telephone, Internet, or entertainment services.
Meanwhile, United Airlines has received FAA approval to start installing and testing wifi equipment on-board their airlines, in their quest to become the first domestic carrier to offer WiFi access on all of its flights. They haven't announced what they're planning to charge for in-flight access, but other airlines that offer in-flight WiFi, like Lufthansa, SAS, Singapore Airlines, and Japan Airlines, usually charge about thirty bucks a flight to get your WiFi on.
Not to be outdone, manufacturers Boeing and Intel have put their collective might together to offer Connexion, a business unit that already has 70 Wifi hotspots in place on 70 planes on Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Japan Airlines, ANA, Singapore Airlines and China Airlines. Austrian Airlines, Korean Air, El Al, Asiana and Etihad will soon add the service, the company said.
While WiFi is still considered a luxury item on airlines, and is still only available on a fraction of the total flights, airlines are running on tight budgets and the upward fuel prices are creating pressures for the airlines to create new revenue streams. Certainly very few people will pay $30 for WiFi access for a short flight. However, look for the airlines to adopt WiFi and sell it a la carte as they now sell their snacks. Odds are the beverage service will won't be free much longer either, but I digress!
All this makes me wonder. Why is there a ban on cell phones when you can use WiFi?
Source: Mobility Site
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