Sony (SNE, $313, up 24) is
developing a Net-enabled phone using Microsoft
Mobile Explorer software.
regards
The Bull Market Wireless Investor -
bull-market.com
COMMENTARY
While investors clamor to get into biotech,
companies are stampeding to
get into the wireless space. Whether they are
Microsoft or Amazon,
semiconductors or retail, they want to get in on
the Wireless Internet and
they want to get in today.
If you have any doubts, take a look at the
announcements made at this
week's Wireless 2000 conference in New Orleans,
and you can clearly see
that the mobile Internet-access business is
heating up. AOL (AOL, $59,
down 2) announced its partnering with a host of
companies, including
Sprint PCS (PCS), BellSouth (BLS, $41, up 2),
Motorola (MOT, $170, up 12),
and Nokia (NOK, $203, unch.), all in an effort
to offer wireless access
to its content and services. Microsoft (MSFT)
got in the mix, announcing
it is offering its MSN Mobile 2.0 to Pocket PCs
and Palms as well as to
subscribers of Nextel (NXTL) , Vodafone AirTouch
(VOD), WebLink, and
Totally Free Paging. And rounding things out,
Sony (SNE, $313, up 24) is
developing a Net-enabled phone using Microsoft
Mobile Explorer software.
Then there are the retailers eager to be able to
sell their wares over
mobile phones, with Amazon leading the way. Can
you blame them for
drooling over the notion of being able to sell
you a new widget while you
are sitting in a taxi? Amazon is not just
working on being able to
conduct e-commerce over the mobile phones, it has
already LAUNCHED a
shopping portal for those connecting through
mobile devices. Talk about
getting ahead of the curve!
Everybody is jumping onto the wireless Internet
bandwagon. Which is
funny, because the wireless Internet is not in
existence yet, but that
isn't stopping anybody. Which is fine by us, as
the buzz over everything
wireless is moving related stocks dramatically.
Analysts are pushing
these stocks up as well. They are largely
subscribing to the theory that
where the big boys are doing deals today, there
will be major growth
tomorrow. It doesn't hurt that International
Data Corp. is predicting
that there will be 40 million wireless devices in
the United States used
for Internet access by 2003. While many in the
business consider the
majority of estimates concerning future wireless
use to be
over-aggressive, they tend to acknowledge that
most of the numbers will
become a reality eventually, it just may take 18
months longer than
targeted.
Sure, you can make the argument that the wireless
Internet exists, that
there are already Internet-enabled phones, yeah,
yeah, yeah. Sure,
technically it exists, but currently it is too
slow, too confined, and too
little just about everything else. The moral of
the story is that the
wireless Internet just isn't ready yet. Now,
given a couple years to grow
and mature, and we have no doubts that wireless
technology is going to
revolutionize communications, e-commerce, and
probably how we live our
daily lives.
All in all, it is a good time to be investing in
wireless, whether you
have you have positions for a few months or are
just starting. The future
is wireless.
Good luck and stay connected!
Michael Makowsky
Interim Editor
The Wireless Investor
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IN THIS ISSUE
1. VODAFONE PLANS EUROPE-WIDE, GLOBAL ONE-RATE
PLANS
2. SPRINT PCS AND AMERICA ONLINE TO OFFER 'AOL
WIRELESS'
3. AETHER SYSTEMS AND NEXTEL FORM ALLIANCE
4. RF MICRO DEVICES ANNOUNCES ALLIANCE WITH
QUALCOMM
5. MICROSOFT, QUALCOMM IN WIRELESS DEAL
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1. VODAFONE PLANS EUROPE-WIDE, GLOBAL ONE-RATE
PLANS
Top global wireless telecommunications carrier
Vodafone AirTouch Plc (VOD,
$58, up 2) will take advantage of its wide reach
to offer customers a
calling plan charging a single rate throughout
Europe, and later
worldwide, Chief Executive Chris Gent said. The
one-rate Europe plan
should be available in the second half of the
year.
COMMENT: This is an aggressive move, and should
have competition worried,
as Vodafone's tremendous network reach makes the
idea of a one-rate mobile
plan very attractive to potential customers.
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2. SPRINT PCS AND AMERICA ONLINE TO OFFER AOL
WIRELESS
Sprint PCS (PCS, $52, up 3), the nation's fastest
growing wireless service
provider, and America Online, Inc. (AOL), the
world's leading interactive
services company, today announced a strategic
agreement that will deliver
"AOL Wireless" content and services to millions
of consumers via Sprint
PCS Internet-ready phones. Beginning this
summer, Sprint PCS customers
nationwide will have clear access to many of
AOL's best-known features and
content directly on Sprint PCS Internet-ready
Phones.
America Online will debut its "AOL Wireless"
services on the Sprint PCS
Wireless Web. Under the agreement, America
Online will have premier
placement on the front screen of the Sprint PCS
Wireless Web. By using a
Sprint PCS Internet-ready Phone, AOL's more than
21 million members and
tens of millions of users of its Web-based brands
will be able to access
popular features such as e-mail, news, weather
and stock quotes.
AOL Wireless, a significant component of the AOL
Anywhere strategy, will
bring AOL's most popular features and services to
a wide range of wireless
devices. AOL members and users of its other Web
brands will be able to
easily extend their interactive experience to the
wireless platform in a
con venient, easy-to-use and valuable way. Users
will be able to check
their e-mail, exchange Instant Messages, and
access AOL's other popular
and consumer-friendly features and brands.
COMMENT: It is pretty self-explanatory what a
big deal this is. AOL can
bring bigger numbers to the wireless web than any
other company. How much
of their content will translate to the small
screen is yet to be seen, but
with 21 million members in love with AOL's ease
of use, you know they are
going to make their content as accessible via
mobile phone as it is via
computer. And don't think it slipped AOL's mind
that Sprint just happens
to be about to be merged with MCI WorldCom. AOL
is more than aware that
the combined companies with make a very powerful
partner down the road.
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=================================================
3. AETHER SYSTEMS AND NEXTEL FORM ALLIANCE
Aether Systems, Inc. (AETH, $258, up 45) a
leading provider of wireless
data services and systems and Nextel
Communications, Inc (NXTL, $137, up
1), a leading provider of wireless communications
services, announced an
alliance to provide wireless Internet and
wireless data solutions to
business. The alliance will focus on a number of
joint activities
designed to enhance the ability of both companies
to deliver complete,
customized wireless data solutions.
COMMENT: We would say that this deal has sent
Aether's stock price
soaring, but right now Aether, and wireless in
general, is so hot, we
suspect that they could announce that they are
partnering with a peanut
butter and jelly sandwich and the stock would go
up 15 points.
=================================================
=================================================
4. RF MICRO DEVICES ANNOUNCES ALLIANCE WITH
QUALCOMM
RF Micro Devices (RFMD, $138, down 1), a leading
provider of proprietary
radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) for
wireless communications
applications and, Qualcomm (QCOM, $142, down 1),
pioneer and world leader
of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) digital
wireless technology, today
announced an alliance to provide advanced power
amplifiers (PAs) for the
CDMA market. Initially, RF Micro and Qualcomm
have agreed to cooperate on
the development of CDMA PAs for inclusion in
present and future Qualcomm
CDMA chipsets. Future development may include
other RFICs for CDMA.
COMMENT: These two companies make for a very
strong partnership, and
investors and competitors have to respect that.
They are both the leaders
in their respective areas of wireless component
production, and the fact
that they are working together should lead to
nothing but good business.
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5. MICROSOFT, QUALCOMM IN WIRELESS DEAL
Mobile phone technology company Qualcomm (QCOM)
and Microsoft Corp.
(MSFT, $89, down 2) plan to jointly develop
advanced wireless devices,
expanding their relationship as the software
giant continues its push into
the communications market.
COMMENT: This deal is an investor's dream.
These are probably the two
sexiest companies to have gotten involved in a
deal today. If your
company announces a deal with one of these
companies, your stock is likely
to go up at least 10%. What happens when they
announce they are working
together? Well, not too much, actually, at least
in terms of stock price
(Qualcomm had a little pop). But don't doubt
that when they bring their
first joint product to market that investors and
analysts won't go nuts
over it. It is our feeling that if Microsoft
goes after wireless and has
some success, that is will not only put some fire
in Microsoft's stock
price, but the industry as a whole will benefit
with faster growth and
acceptance.
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Good luck with your investments in the coming
week. If you have any
comments or questions, please send email to us at
WirelessInvestor@Bull-Market.com
Mike Makowsky
Interim Editor
The Wireless Investor
Contributing Editor
The Bull Market Report
Todd Shaver
Editor in Chief
The Bull Market Report
Washington, DC USA
Todd Shaver is the Editor in Chief of The Bull
Market Report and The Bull
Market Wireless Investor.
(C) Copyright 2000 The Wireless Investor and The
Bull Market Report, LLC. |
