To: JP Sullivan who wrote (8754 ) 1/11/2001 12:41:23 PM From: S100 Read Replies (2) | Respond to of 34857 GPRS Flop? snip Operators have committed more than £200bn ($298bn) in Europe alone for investment in third-generation networks. To pay for this, more than half a dozen companies are hoping to raise money from the already depressed equity markets. Snip Snip Handsets using this high-speed system, known as General Packet Radio Switching (GPRS), have been slow to arrive in bulk and may prove as big a flop as earlier internet access provided through Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) phones. The delay in GPRS is particularly worrying with third-generation networks around the corner: many customers will delay replacing their handset, on the grounds that it will be largely obsolete by next year. On the other hand, mobile advances are often slow to catch on. Text messaging, for example, took five years before it rapidly gained users. Nokia and the stronger of its rivals can afford to wait, especially with all the revenue to come from orders to build third-generation network infrastructure. But other wireless operators who depend on investors' faith in the industry's unrealised prospects for growth have something to worry about. Snipnews.ft.com I have found that the FT is one of the more reliable sources of News. The WSJ seems to put a slant that may be incorrect. The others such as Bloomberg and Rueters seem to paste pieces together without understanding exactly what they are writing about. Years ago, the WSJ Heard on the Street column was written by Foster Winnans. He was caught in some problem and there was a big flap. I read a book about that many years ago and seem to remember that the WSJ was staffed by many very young people and the pay was very low for the New York area. My guess is that most of their reporters work in NY while the FT seems to have reporters stationed around the world. The FT seems to get the story correct more times than other financial news groups. Also, they are based in the UK and should be more familiar with Europe and should not have quite as many language and culture problems. Just my opinion.