Good post about WK from the Qualcomm - Coming Into ... thread.
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SI: StockTalk: Communications: Qualcomm - Coming Into Buy Range
To: S100 who wrote (51556)
From: Ruffian
Tuesday, Nov 23 1999 4:02PM ET
Respond to Post # 51560 of 51591
Microsoft venture struggles to sharpen its
focus
By Corey Grice
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
November 23, 1999, 11:55 a.m. PT
More than a year after it was formed, a high-profile wireless telecommunications
firm backed by Microsoft and Qualcomm is still offering more questions than
service.
Hampered by service delays and the recent departure of its chief executive, Wireless
Knowledge has struggled to make a name for itself with the corporate customers it hopes
will use its mobile data services for cell phones and other handheld devices.
Wireless Knowledge now has a new CEO and announced its first commercial product
offering via a partnership with AT&T's wireless PocketNet service. Despite the recent news,
the company has so far disappointed those who had high expectations when the venture
first opened its doors last November.
"The Microsoft name really helped generate interest in the whole wireless Internet space,"
said Alan Mosher, a wireless industry analyst at Probe Research. "Now something that
Microsoft had been closely involved in since the launch just has not done what it promised
to do."
"They've had a couple field trials close down over the past couple months and other tests
have been slow. It came out with great fanfare and a long list of carrier partners and really
nothing has come of it," Mosher said.
But the company characterizes its growing pains as those typical of a developing firm.
"Even though we have a lot of backing, we're a start-up pure and simple," said Eric
Schultz, the new chief executive at Wireless Knowledge.
"We've been growing so rapidly. I think the [CEO change] is
just a natural step in the evolution."
But some analysts remain skeptical.
"Sure they're a start-up, but they've got a whole bunch of
backing," Cahners In-Stat Group wireless analyst Ken
Hyers said. "They've got Qualcomm, the grandfather of
CDMA technology, and the world's richest man in their
corner. With that kind of backing, it's a little different that
two guys in a garage."
So-called CDMA technology is the wireless transmission
method espoused by Qualcomm, a company that has seen
its stock soar as it revamps its business strategy.
Schultz replaced John Major, a former Qualcomm executive and long-time player in the
wireless voice market, as chief executive of the joint venture.
Schultz said Major's experience was helpful when Wireless Knowledge was first adding
wireless carrier partners. Now that the focus has shifted to delivering services,
Schultz--with nearly 15 years in the high-tech industry and two years as Microsoft's
director of wireless strategy--thinks his knowledge of "data services and the enterprise
customer space" can serve the venture well.
Major stepped down last week to pursue personal interests. But some analysts suggest
that Microsoft may have wanted its own man in charge all along.
"[Wireless Knowledge] hasn't performed yet. So I would imagine what's going on is
Microsoft is really concerned about it and that's why they've installed a Microsoft guy,"
Probe's Mosher said.
Wireless Knowledge intends to offer wireless connections to corporate networks and
software applications to big businesses. The company's "Revolv" service provides wireless
access to Microsoft Exchange server-based applications such as email, calendars and
shared contact databases.
"It's all about the bread and butter of what people actually use when
they're on the road," said Cahner's Hyers. "Contacts, calendars, and
sales order forms. It's not sexy, but it's what makes business work."
Although the wireless industry is buzzing about offering high-speed
Internet access, analysts say the next-generation networks necessary to make mobile Net
access compelling to a wide audience are still years off.
"We want to get the email and calendar up and running and then add in, rather than
diffusing the focus before the initial applications are out there," Schultz said.
AT&T announced last week that Wireless Knowledge's Revolv offering will be compatible
with its PocketNet wireless data service. The announcement marks the first commercial
availability of Revolv, which was expected to be available via some carriers during the third
quarter.
Now Wireless Knowledge expects the majority of its wireless carrier partners to make
Revolv available during the first quarter of 2000, although Schultz said some partners may
introduce service as early as December.
Several of Wireless Knowledge's carrier partners, including Sprint PCS, AirTouch
Communications and Bell Atlantic Mobile, among others, are offering trials of the service,
according to executives.
"The trials are really well beyond what we'd ever expected at this point," Schultz
said. "I'm real bullish in terms of the number of end users we have. These trials are
more inline with targeted commercial deployments for other carriers."
Analysts said the AT&T deal is a good first step for Wireless Knowledge, noting
that the wireless data industry has been plagued by many false starts in recent
years. And Wireless Knowledge executives insist there is a solid foundation upon
which they can build.
"We've moved from the 'shake the ground' start-up mode during the first year to
where we've now got the visibility," Shultz said. |
