PHCM...
These two articles are about PHCM, and are from today's issue of the Bull Market Wireless Report. Just FYI....I thought you might like some of the positive things said about PHCM!
Libbyt
PHONE.COM - THE WIRELESS INTERNET COMPANY
By Michael Barrett
I do not pretend to know everything, and many times I am just plain
clueless. For example, last June, some hip company named Phone.com went
public. I was fed up with useless dot com offerings and I paid them no
attention. "Phone.com", I thought to myself, "what could they do? Offer
Internet phone services? I don't need them!" Soon thereafter, Phone.com
was trading at over $300 per share, and I finally decided to see what all
the commotion was about. Needless to say, after some investigation, I
felt just a tad silly.
Phone.com is not a phone company. What they are is a software company,
and their software allows you to access the Internet through your mobile
phone or handheld Palm computer. They make both the browser, which is
installed on your phone, and the server software that your cellular
provider uses to get you to the Internet. The development platform used
is called WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) and was developed to be a
standard by a wireless conglomerate consisting of Phone.com, Motorola,
Nokia, and Ericcson.
After realizing what I had missed, I still had questions. Seriously, what
good is a 2-inch, minimum resolution screen for cruising the net? What
exactly will users be able to do? How will they make money? What is the
purpose? I was very skeptical and somewhat closed minded. Just then it
struck me that my concerns were irrelevant. What is important is that
wireless Internet access is a reality, and Phone.com is a leader in that
revolution. The technology was only going to improve, and the uses -- as
I found out -- are increasing in number every day. I further recognized
that I found a business in its infancy, and it would be wise to learn as
much about it as possible.
What's to like:
-- Solid Business Plan. Phone.com is a key player in the WAP forum, and
they give their browser away. By giving it away for free, it encourages
providers and developers to use it. That technique is what allowed
Microsoft to win the browser war. Phone.com then licenses the server
software to the wireless provider (Bell Atlantic, Airtouch, GTE, etc.),
and they even collect fees from $10 to $15 from every user who decides to
use the service.
-- Standardized Platform. Getting a grip on wireless standards is tough,
but it doesn't matter what system a provider uses because Phone.com's
software will run on all of them. CDMA, TDMA, GSM -- any of them. It
also will work on any data-capable handset, including Palm devices and
certain pagers.
-- Market Penetration. Wireless access is so new that many providers
(like mine) do not even offer it yet. Still, Phone.com has access to
nearly half of the world's wireless users. They are not only the beasts
of their sector with a great first-mover advantage, but their lead over
the competition seems to be increasing daily. Their most recent victory
was a deal with British Telecom. Amazingly, the US is behind the curve a
bit with regards to wireless access. Phone.com has deals with AT&T,
Nextel, Sprint, Bell Atlantic, and US West, but there are dozens more
providers that do not yet offer these services. The US has several large
contracts up for grabs and given Phone.com's success so far, it would not
be a stretch to assume they will win a good portion of them.
-- Strategic Investments. Phone.com has made a few strategic purchases
to strengthen their position. First, they bought @Motion, a voice
recognition company. Integrating voice features into a mail client or web
browser is a natural progression, and this move brings that intricate
development effort completely in house. Then they went after Paragon, a
company that specialized in synchronization technology that allowed mobile
users to link up to Microsoft Outlook, Lotus Notes, and other sources.
They could then download e-mail, contact lists, or other items using
FoneSync, Paragon's main software product. Finally, they gobbled up
privately held Onebox.com, a leading communications application service
provider with 2.5 million registered users worldwide utilizing unified
email, voicemail, fax, and wireless-enabled communication applications.
-- Growth. In the past quarter, subscriber growth quadrupled to over
700,000 around the world. Last week, it was announced that they had over
1 million subscribers in Japan alone! With new deals being made
constantly, analysts are having a difficult time creating revenue models
since they are always increasing. Banc of America Securities claims that
in 2002 there will be three times as many wireless Internet users than
were Internet users in 1999 alone. This sector is just getting started,
and Phone.com is right in the middle of it.
What's not to like:
-- Limited Use. Sure, you can link into e-mail, but you cannot handle
attachments or reply in detail. Getting the weather is good if you need
it, but that won't keep them coming back. Online trading is available,
but you won't have access to charts or other advanced features. Speed is
also an issue, as most Sprint users will attest to. The networks are not
yet up to snuff there. Services are expanding and speed is expected to
increase, but overall, wireless access is still the equivalent of the 9600
bps AOL Internet experience.
-- Competition. The boys in Redmond will not go down without a fight,
will they? Microsoft continues to make noise about the wireless game, and
they even have a joint venture with Qualcomm that is aimed at taking some
market share from Phone.com. Handset makers like Nokia and Ericsson could
be a threat, as are wireless network operators. Phone.com may have a huge
lead but, in order to maintain it, they must continue to execute and
innovate in a fast paced, ever-changing industry.
All in all, Phone.com will have obstacles, but the market penetration that
they have already achieved should continue to pay dividends. Their
numbers speak for themselves as to the growth potential of wireless
Internet access, and I doubt they are done making deals at this point.
Institutional interest has been picking up and the company has emerged
from a 38 million share lockup expiration totally unscathed. Phone.com is
part of The Bull Market Wireless Portfolio.
Phone.com (PHCM, $170, down 9)
Shares Outstanding/Float: 69/45 million
Market Cap: $11.7 billion
Mike Barrett
Mfbarrett@mail.com
Mike Barrett owns a technical consulting firm specializing in financial
applications development, and he trades his own account. At the time of
this writing, he was long PHCM. This article is not to be construed as a
recommendation to buy or sell any of the companies mentioned.
And....also this article:
UNISYS USES PHONE.COM TO DELIVER MOBILE INTERNET SOLUTIONS
Unisys Corporation and Phone.com, Inc. (PHCM, $170, down 9), the leading
provider of WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) mobile Internet software
applications and services, announced that Unisys will use Phone.com's
UP.Link Server Suite as part of its global wireless solutions portfolio.
The alliance means Unisys will be able to market full WAP compliant
wireless solutions to the world's wireless operators, enabling delivery of
Internet communications and advanced telephony services on digital mobile
phones, pagers, personal digital assistants and other wireless devices.
Through mobile Internet services, wireless operators will be able to offer
subscribers access to Internet and corporate intranet-based services
including e-mail and voice mail, and to information such as news, stocks,
weather, travel and sports through their WAP-enabled mobile devices.
Consumer and business users will therefore have virtually anytime,
anywhere access to up-to-the-minute information.
COMMENT: There is probably no wireless play we are more excited about
currently than Phone.com. They are perfectly positioned to become a true
wireless gorilla. They are doing the smart thing: Getting as many
products using their applications as possible, worry about making hard
profits later. Have no fear, the profits will come, and in a big way.
But volatile? Wow. If you look up "volatility" in the dictionary, you
see the symbol, PHCM!
The Bull Market Wireless Investor - bull-market.com |
