Birch, a competitive local exchange carrier that declared bankruptcy twice, has been sold to Access Integrated Networks. The combined company is based in Atlanta, has about 400 employees and will have revenue of $200 million to $210 million a year. The combination is but the latest in a continuing wave of consolidation in the independent CLEC segment, which like most other parts of the telecom business requires scale.
In many ways the VoIP business already has taken a path similar to that pioneered earlier by the "CLEC" business. The CLEC business was lead, in terms of market share, by just two companies: AT&T and MCI. There were lots of independent CLECs, but most had fairly small market share and sales.
Both AT&T and MCI were absorbed into SBC Corp. and Verizon, respectively, leaving the CLEC industry essentially "headless" in terms of national regulatory clout.
The experience of VoIP providers is analogous in many ways. Though the business was pioneered by independents, as was the CLEC business, it now is "lead" by U.S. cable operators, who might be seen as the AT&T and Verizon to the rest of the small independents.
Cable companies have distinct regulatory interests distinct from those of independent VoIP providers, for the most part, and compete directly with VoIP providers in a commercial sense.
One might argue that the independent VoIP providers now also will start consolidating, for VoIP also is a scale business. And some of the more interesting pairing will be of business-focused VoIP providers with business-focused CLECs.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
CLEC Precedent for VoIP Companies
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
Mobile Price War Impact?
Though the impact might be quite overblown, at least some investment analysts think the recent adoption of unlimited calling plans by three of the four largest U.S. mobile providers is going to hammer their revenues.
Credit Suisse telecom analyst Christopher Larsen, for example, has reduced his rating on at&t, Verizon, Qwest and Sprint Nextel.
He worries that unlimited calling plans will trigger “a wireless price war.”
UBS telecom analyst John Hodulik thinks the potential impact will affect Verizon and at&t, at least at this point.
Hodulik says Sprint is likely to launch an unlimited voice plan in the next few weeks is considering pricing at $60-$80 a month. If Sprint gets traction, that logically would compel Verizon and at&t to reduce their prices to match.
I am not so sure about that. Each of the carriers might see some lost "overage" revenue from heavy users. But each should gain some customers who upgrade from lower-priced plans, as well as some customers upgrading because they are substituting wireless for wireline service.
It is possible higher subscription revenue will compensate for the loss of "overage" revenue.
Credit Suisse telecom analyst Christopher Larsen, for example, has reduced his rating on at&t, Verizon, Qwest and Sprint Nextel.
He worries that unlimited calling plans will trigger “a wireless price war.”
UBS telecom analyst John Hodulik thinks the potential impact will affect Verizon and at&t, at least at this point.
Hodulik says Sprint is likely to launch an unlimited voice plan in the next few weeks is considering pricing at $60-$80 a month. If Sprint gets traction, that logically would compel Verizon and at&t to reduce their prices to match.
I am not so sure about that. Each of the carriers might see some lost "overage" revenue from heavy users. But each should gain some customers who upgrade from lower-priced plans, as well as some customers upgrading because they are substituting wireless for wireline service.
It is possible higher subscription revenue will compensate for the loss of "overage" revenue.
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
Euro Managed Services Sales Slowing?
Managed IP PBX contracts won by European telecom service providers declined by an order of magnitude during the first half of 2007, says Phil Sayer, Forrester Research analyst.
The number of IP PBX managed services deals fell to three percent of deals, where in the first half of 2006 managed IP PBX deals were part of 39 percent of new contracts.
Forrester says there was an equally massive drop in the number of deals involving managed security services as well. The only IT service that recorded any increase was the provision of help desks.
Overall telco IT services sales with an IT services component was down from 31 percent to 22 percent.
It isn't yet clear whether that trend was seen in other regions, whether it continued through the balance of 2007, or what it means, if indeed the trend did continue.
Most likely, the data suggest a shift of buying to other channels, rather than a decline in aggregate purchasing. The survey suggests that most of the service provider sales were of the small sort. It is most likely the case that value added resellers and other providers now are increasingly active in that market with services that compete directly with service provider offerings.
The total number of managed services contracts signed in the first half of 2007 by European telecom service providers also showed a decline in the number of deals, compared to the first half of 2006, with slight less contract value.
Where 188 deals were reported by the participating carriers in the first half of 2006, with a contract value of €1.6 billion, contract value in the first half of 2007 was roughly flat at €1.5 billion.
The majority of deals continued to be small, but the increase in the average deal size was the result of a small number of very large contracts.
The number of IP PBX managed services deals fell to three percent of deals, where in the first half of 2006 managed IP PBX deals were part of 39 percent of new contracts.
Forrester says there was an equally massive drop in the number of deals involving managed security services as well. The only IT service that recorded any increase was the provision of help desks.
Overall telco IT services sales with an IT services component was down from 31 percent to 22 percent.
It isn't yet clear whether that trend was seen in other regions, whether it continued through the balance of 2007, or what it means, if indeed the trend did continue.
Most likely, the data suggest a shift of buying to other channels, rather than a decline in aggregate purchasing. The survey suggests that most of the service provider sales were of the small sort. It is most likely the case that value added resellers and other providers now are increasingly active in that market with services that compete directly with service provider offerings.
The total number of managed services contracts signed in the first half of 2007 by European telecom service providers also showed a decline in the number of deals, compared to the first half of 2006, with slight less contract value.
Where 188 deals were reported by the participating carriers in the first half of 2006, with a contract value of €1.6 billion, contract value in the first half of 2007 was roughly flat at €1.5 billion.
The majority of deals continued to be small, but the increase in the average deal size was the result of a small number of very large contracts.
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
T-Mobile Adds $100 Unlimited Plan
T-Mobile USA will offer consumers an unlimited calling plan including unlimited ationwide text messaging for $99.99 per month. This offer will be available beginning Feb. 21.
Note that the T-Mobile offer includes unlimited text messaging (SMS), picture messages (MMS) and instant messages (IM). Full details of the at&t Wireless offer are not yet available, but it wasn't immediately clear whether at&t Wireless would include unlimited text messaging as part of the $100 a month unlimited voice plan.
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
$100 Unlimited Plans Spread
Wasting no time responding to a major new Verizon Wireless offer, at&t Wireless has unveiled its own $100 ($99.99)a month plan for unlimited mobile calling. The plans will be available to new and existing wireless subscribers Feb. 22. Existing customers can buy the plan without extending their current contracts.
New customers can buy on a month-to-month, 12 month or 24 month contract.
Sprint has been offering unlimited calling plans in four markets at about $119.
New customers can buy on a month-to-month, 12 month or 24 month contract.
Sprint has been offering unlimited calling plans in four markets at about $119.
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
Monday, February 18, 2008
More Funding for U.S. WiMAX?
Sprint Nextel and Clearwire are close to announcing the formation of a WiMax joint venture funded in part by a $2 billion injection from Intel Capital, the Street.com reports. As currently rumored, the deal would create a new company that pools Sprint and Clearwire licenses in the 2.5-gigahertz wireless spectrum. Additional financing also is expected from other firms.
An earlier partnership between Sprint and Clearwire died last November, when the two parties could not reach agreement on terms of the partnership.
Through a joint venture with Clearwire and a big investment from Intel, Sprint can move the expenses off its books and yet still continue to build a fourth generation network. Intel's interest in WiMAX is creating a new market for chipsets supporting WiMAX devices, including mobile PCs and handsets.
The unusually large investment by Intel Capital, which hasn't invested so much in any single company before, seems to be a signal that Intel worries about the U.S. WiMAX market. Though at one point it might have been conceivable that large incumbent wireless carriers might move to WiMAX on a wider scale, at&t Wireless and Verizon Communications now say they will back Long Term Evolution as the basis for their fourth-generation networks.
The issue is that WiMAX and LTE are different ways of creating capabilities seen as integral for 4G networks, so if Verizon and at&t aren't going to be creating WiMAX networks, Intel has to look elsewhere. T-Mobile USA, the fourth-largest U.S. mobile provider, is a logical candidate to go with LTE as well, as most of the GSM-based network providers seem to prefer that approach.
Aside from that strategic consideration, Clearwire 's part, the deal would provide cash it needs to continue operating and building its network.
Clearwire had about $1 billion in cash and investments at the end of the September quarter, but burned through about $400 million in cash to fund operations in that quarter, according to the company's most recent quarterly filing.
An earlier partnership between Sprint and Clearwire died last November, when the two parties could not reach agreement on terms of the partnership.
Through a joint venture with Clearwire and a big investment from Intel, Sprint can move the expenses off its books and yet still continue to build a fourth generation network. Intel's interest in WiMAX is creating a new market for chipsets supporting WiMAX devices, including mobile PCs and handsets.
The unusually large investment by Intel Capital, which hasn't invested so much in any single company before, seems to be a signal that Intel worries about the U.S. WiMAX market. Though at one point it might have been conceivable that large incumbent wireless carriers might move to WiMAX on a wider scale, at&t Wireless and Verizon Communications now say they will back Long Term Evolution as the basis for their fourth-generation networks.
The issue is that WiMAX and LTE are different ways of creating capabilities seen as integral for 4G networks, so if Verizon and at&t aren't going to be creating WiMAX networks, Intel has to look elsewhere. T-Mobile USA, the fourth-largest U.S. mobile provider, is a logical candidate to go with LTE as well, as most of the GSM-based network providers seem to prefer that approach.
Aside from that strategic consideration, Clearwire 's part, the deal would provide cash it needs to continue operating and building its network.
Clearwire had about $1 billion in cash and investments at the end of the September quarter, but burned through about $400 million in cash to fund operations in that quarter, according to the company's most recent quarterly filing.
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
Verizon Wireless to Launch Unlimited Calling?
Starting Tuesday February 19, Verizon Wireless will roll out new "unlimited calling" plans of the sort Sprint Nextel has been testing in several markets and which Sprint is said to have been considering for national availability. According to Engadget, the new plans include $100 national unlimited voice.
Other plans include a $120 plan with unlimited texting and voice; $140 for plans that add email and VCast content services. For $150 users can get unlimited data, voice and texting.
A $170 plan adds international data capabilities. A $200 family plan reportedly will be limited to additional two lines, priced at $100 per additional line.
It appears there will be no caps on data sent or received.
In one sense the new pricing plans represent an attempt to change the nature of mobile service pricing, making pricing a lot more like VoIP, or wired calling with unlimited, flat rate long distance within the continental United States.
And that might be the thing to watch: not so much a redefinition of mobile pricing as a new rationale for going "wireless only." Assuming a landline costs in the neighborhood of $50 a month, a user might rationally conclude that he or she is no worse off, and marginally better off, ditching a landline and using the mobile for all calling.
Other plans include a $120 plan with unlimited texting and voice; $140 for plans that add email and VCast content services. For $150 users can get unlimited data, voice and texting.
A $170 plan adds international data capabilities. A $200 family plan reportedly will be limited to additional two lines, priced at $100 per additional line.
It appears there will be no caps on data sent or received.
In one sense the new pricing plans represent an attempt to change the nature of mobile service pricing, making pricing a lot more like VoIP, or wired calling with unlimited, flat rate long distance within the continental United States.
And that might be the thing to watch: not so much a redefinition of mobile pricing as a new rationale for going "wireless only." Assuming a landline costs in the neighborhood of $50 a month, a user might rationally conclude that he or she is no worse off, and marginally better off, ditching a landline and using the mobile for all calling.
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
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