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To: Jeff Vayda who wrote (7602)	9/28/1999 8:55:00 AM
From: djane	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 29987

G* antenna as a "gun or a cattle prod"? From the September 27, 1999, issue of Wireless Week Opinion: Online And Lovin' It By Judith Lockwood NEW ORLEANS--Ask two different people the same question, get two different answers. What was PCS '99 all about? PCIA President Jay Kitchen: "Convergence." Convention gala comedian Sinbad: "Stuff that doesn't really work yet, but hey, give it a chance!" Each has a piece of the truth and both could have been talking about industry consolidation as much as wireless data or 3G. Long-expected announcements regarding an agreement between Bell Atlantic and Vodafone-AirTouch, and VoiceStream's purchase of Aerial Communications didn't send the convention's pulse racing the way they would have in earlier years, when merger after merger wasn't the norm. It could take a year to close the BA-VOD deal and at least that much more time to consolidate legacy systems across U.S. properties including PrimeCo Personal Communications and AirTouch Paging. Gary Cuccio, CEO of the latter operation, which plans a commercial two-way launch late this year, was upbeat. Says he: "I think it will put us in a stronger position with significantly more brand advertising than our competitors" and broader distribution through stores owned by BA, already the company's largest reseller. George Schmitt, CEO of earlier VoiceStream acquiree Omnipoint, enlivened post-announcement analysis with a snap at bankruptcy attorney Jack Robinson, who filed a 24-page handwritten objection to the transfer of Omnipoint's licenses: "He should be eaten by a fish and thrown into the Mississippi River." Spotted the next day at the airport, Robinson--now CEO of CellularOne of St. Maarten--responded, "I'm not giving up my claims on C-Block licenses just because George is mad. He acts like I have nothing better to do than sue people." Ted Leonsis, president of AOL's Interactive Properties Group, set the conference's technology tone when he told attendees that wireless is the "sleeping giant of the Internet." Chatting over steak and salmon at the gala dinner, Ericsson Vice President of Strategy John Giere agreed, saying that "PCS '99 is a watershed for Internet protocol" and the industry is entering "a whole new computer age" with handsets. Indeed, new phones made a strong showing at the meeting, historically tilted toward pagers. Sprint PCS representatives demonstrated their wireless Web service, pumped with full-page ads in USA Today. Giere says he won't be surprised to see some commercial 3G offerings in North America by 2002, a couple years ahead of many estimates. Cuccio, a PCIA board member, is thinking about how the annual trade show could meld with Internet conferences. However, PCIA might do better to develop its own vision of data, so it isn't stereotyped as "CTIA-lite" and doesn't risk declining vendor interest in its profitable exhibition. The show's convergence focus showed up elsewhere, too. For example, Nextlink Communications, a McCaw fiber outfit that's also the country's largest broadband spectrum holder, plans to augment its circuit-switched network with digital subscriber line and IP overlay from Qwest. After razzing Nokia employees about phone shortages and asking a Globalstar representative whether the fat antenna on his satellite handset was "a gun or a cattle prod," Sinbad took on PCIA's broadband members. Summing up consumers' seemingly insatiable demand for wireless services, and spoofing the broadband carriers' goal of linking desktops to big pipes, Sinbad said he spurned his local phone and cable companies and turned to a wireless firm. "The wireless T1 guy came out and said, 'Gimme your child and I'll hook you up.'" After a pause, the comedian added, "I have one less child, but I'm online." E-mail: jlockwood@cahners.com Please send comments and suggestions on this Web site to wwweb@cahners.com Wireless Week, P.O. Box 266008, Highlands Ranch, CO 80163-6008 Voice: 303-470-4800, Fax: 303-470-4892 Published by Cahners Business Information ¸ Copyright 1999. All rights reserved.

To: Jeff Vayda who wrote (7602)	9/28/1999 9:59:00 AM
From: John Stichnoth	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 29987

Jeff, That OGara site that you referenced last night I thought had as good a list as I've seen of the target markets. Almost all of these niches have the potential of providing the 160 MOU per user terminal that Bernie seems to be expecting: snip---------- Natural Resources Firms--desire communications capability while busy mining gold, drilling for oil, or felling trees Transportation companies--experimenting for years in search of that wireless communications tool which provides ubiquitous coverage Mariners--want to supplement their emergency services systems with voice communications that can tap into the public telephone systems Police Officers--want protective cover even while in dead spots in urban areas too remote for cellular coverage Emergency crews--need rapid coordination communication tools (i.e.. firefighters, Red Cross, Doctors sans Frontiers, the National Guard) Traveling Executives--professionals want convenient and reliable communications Sports people--back-packing, skiing, or hunting desire access for emergency Rural communities--are desperately under served [sic] by wireline services and would like access to basic telephony services --------------end snip Best, JS