I currently work in the ISP billing industry, with a focus on WiMAX. Yes, it really is a low margin headache. It's also filled with moribund oligopolists intent on squeezing every last penny out of their consumers (nee customers).
I'm anxious to see how the upcoming auctions on the 700 MHz spectrum turn out. If one of the new contenders such as Google or (possibly Apple) can upset the status quo it will be a huge win for customers and innovation in the wireless market. Google's proposed 4 levels of openness, for example, would be a huge breath of fresh air which could provide the level of competition and innovation which could possibly get the USA back in the game in comparison to other nations in terms of the wireless market and broadband penetration.
High-speed wireless broadband is a possible solution to the "last-mile" problem which could bypass the current broadband monopolies based on physical presence in homes (cable and DSL.)
Here's hoping that we manage to not screw this one up. We're not going to see an auction and opportunity like this again for a very long time.
Disclaimer: My views are my own and not necessarily representative of the corporation I work for.
I'm also eager to see a shift towards openness in the US mobile industry. Let startups complete fairly in this emerging space, without the telcos walled gardens.
While I would primarily like to see the major telcos fail to win the auction, I am not too keen on the idea of Apple winning either... Unlike Google I dont think they have openness objectives in mind. The iPhone, iTunes, and just about everything else with Apple recently is an indication of this. They are all about walled gardens. I wont go as far as saying they are as bad as the telcos. I think the end users would still benefit more (at least when using Apple wireless devices), but I suspect Google would better represent most end users.
The strategic importance of owning the network could be incredibly valuable for any tech company. If the author is correct though, and the business really is a low margin headache, wouldn't it still be in their interest for Apple, Google, Microsoft, etc to set up some kind of joint venture to administer the network while they focus on their individual services?
I know it may be tough for them to work with their competitors like this, but it's better then being squeezed by and independent operator.
Microsoft appears to be very interested in the proposed "white space" auction. Basically, the white space frequencies are the wasted spectrum between the various frequency bands. Microsoft apparently wants in on ownership of these series of smaller bands to use for mobile devices.
I'm anxious to see how the upcoming auctions on the 700 MHz spectrum turn out. If one of the new contenders such as Google or (possibly Apple) can upset the status quo it will be a huge win for customers and innovation in the wireless market. Google's proposed 4 levels of openness, for example, would be a huge breath of fresh air which could provide the level of competition and innovation which could possibly get the USA back in the game in comparison to other nations in terms of the wireless market and broadband penetration.
High-speed wireless broadband is a possible solution to the "last-mile" problem which could bypass the current broadband monopolies based on physical presence in homes (cable and DSL.)
Here's hoping that we manage to not screw this one up. We're not going to see an auction and opportunity like this again for a very long time.
Disclaimer: My views are my own and not necessarily representative of the corporation I work for.