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Posted on 11.07.05 by Nikhil @ 6:31 pm
XO Communications is a company that I had in my Wireless Portfolio in Forbes Wireless Stock Watch last year. I liked the CLEC, whose biggest sharesholder was Carl Icahn. Icahn had bought the debt of a bankrupt company and Now, the company is changing tact. XO says that it is getting out of the wireline business, selling the business for $700 million to Elk Associates, also owned by Carl Icahn. The wireline business will keep the name XO Communications. The company will use the proceeds to launch a fixed broadband wireless service tailored to businesses and service providers. XO will keep its spectrum assets which gives it access to one of the largest wireless licenses in the 28 GHz-31 GHz spectrum. The wireless business does not yet have a name. Light Reading has more on this. Filed under: Stock Watch and News Comments: None |
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Posted on 11.07.05 by Nikhil @ 6:04 pm
Don’t think you want to access the Web using your cell phone? Big steps are being taken to make the experience better and more compelling but so far, they have been coming mostly from new MVNOs (mobile virtual network operators) such as Amp’d Mobile and the new Helio. Now two of the biggest Net companies, Google and Yahoo, have their own plans. Google says that its taking its satellite mapping programs and making them work on handsets loaded with Java. So if you are lost or looking for directions, you would be able to turn on your cellphone, download the software and pull up driving or walking directions, search for businesses in a certain area and even have their phones automatically dial businesses that show up from the search. Google says its service will work on over 100 different handset models. Yahoo, on the other hand, is working with carriers. The company just said it was working with SBC to launch a new handset that will link with users Yahoo accounts, address books and preferences. The phone will be made by Nokia, barring any last minute changes, and should become available next year. Besides those capabilities, the phone will come with many extras that are now considered standard, including an MP3 player, a 1.3-megapixel camera and a removable memory card. You can read more about this in an interesting article in the San Jose Mercury News. Filed under: Stock Watch Comments: 2 Comments |
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Posted on 11.06.05 by Nikhil @ 12:17 am
The New York City marathon takes place on Sunday, November 6 and some 37,000 runners will run the 26.2 miles through New York’s five boroughs. I’m excited about the event and while I don’t run such distances myself, my wife and I attended the Barilla pre-Marathon dinner this evening with a friend who is running. While I am inspired by the mental and physical preparation that goes into tackling this event, I also find myself intrigued by the role that wireless technology is playing. You see, from my apartment or from First Avenue with a bloody mary in hand - a New York Marathon tradition - I’ll be able to track the progress of any runner I wish in real-time. In other words, if I really want to see a friend run by, instead of waiting in the crowds, I can track my friend’s progress on the Internet and then go outside at about the same time that he will run by. The reason: Each marathon runner will have a radio frequency identification chip tied into his or her shoe. At certain points, when a runner crosses strategically placed tartan mats, the chip will transmit a signal to a receiver which will then post the data onto the Internet, allowing you to know where any runner is located. The system uses a miniature transponder from a Dutch company called ChampionChip that uses radio frequency identification (RFID) technology from Texas Instruments. This isn’t completely new technology, nor is it particularly sophisticated technology. New York, in fact, has been using similar technology for some years and it is also used in marathons in other cities. But it has its advantages. Tracking runners helps event organizers to keep more accurate results of runners times and as well as monitor the flow of runners at different areas along the marathon route at any particular time. For spectators like me, this use of wireless technology makes enjoying a Marathon brunch while being there to cheer on our more athletic friends, just a bit easier. To read more about this, visit the ChampionChip website. Filed under: Applications and Cutting Edge Comments: None |
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Posted on 11.04.05 by Nikhil @ 4:24 pm
I wrote about Radvision’s strong earnings results in my November 1 post. But here is more detail on Radvision’s strategy, from a story I wrote for Forbes.com. NEW YORK - Video telephony has come a long way. Since the 1964 World’s Fair in New York City, the world has been waiting for the videophone. Now, with 3G wireless networks and Internet Protocol-based networks being deployed, the videophone is arriving, though in a very different format. The difference between now and 1964: The notion of seeing people while you talk to them has expanded to being able to collaborate with them as well. That means that while there will be the sort of videophones imagined back in 1964–Cisco Systems already makes them–video telephony will also take other forms. Click here for more from Forbes.com Filed under: Stock Watch and News Comments: None |
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Posted on 11.03.05 by Nikhil @ 11:23 pm
Industry-wide consolidation could be taking another turn. I’ve been saying it for a long time. If phones are to replace our computers, Ipods, cameras, videos and televisions, the service providers must be able to provide not just cellular telephony, but also broadcast TV service as well as a myriad of other technologies, including voice-over-IP. Well now, demand for VoIP service could lead to a takeover of Vonage. There have been rumors for weeks that Vonage could be looking for a buyer. At first, BellSouth was a potential candidate. Now, says an article in today’s Wall Street Journal, the list has expanded to Sprint and T-Mobile. Alternatively, the company could choose to go public. According to the article, if Vonage is acquired it could be a $2 billion deal. If it goes public, Vonage could raise as much as $600 million. So far, Vonage hasn’t said a word about the report. Filed under: News and Mergers/Acquisitions Comments: None |
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Posted on 11.03.05 by Nikhil @ 11:02 pm
Qualcomm is one of the stocks in my Forbes Wireless Stock Watch Wireless portfolio. Its also one of the company’s that I always tell investors, should be a core holding in any wireless portfolio. The company, which makes the bulk of its revenues from licensing its CDMA technology, is also a pioneer in many other areas of wireless. A big opportunity is in providing broadcast television to the cellphone. (see my post below.) After the markets closed yesterday, Qualcomm released its fourth quarter earnings, and again, the company did not disappoint. The company’s quarterly revenue jumped 40% thanks to increased demand for mobile phones that can play video and have Web browsers. Earnings were also strong - up 37% to $538 million on revenue of $1.56 billion. Qualcomm said that it will likely ship 255 million to 270 million phones based on CDMA and WCDMA technologies in 2006. It also predicts a surge next year for WCDMA-based handhelds. The company says the market for these should double to 86 million in 2006, up from its 44 million estimate for 2005. But prices of handsets will decline as Qualcomm tries to increase its market share in Latin America, among other places. Anticipated revenue for 2006: somewhere between $6.7 billion and $7.1 billion. You can read an Associated Press press release at Forbes.com for more info. Filed under: Stock Watch and News Comments: None |
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Posted on 11.02.05 by Nikhil @ 11:44 pm
If there is any doubt in your mind that the cell phone is going to replace just about every other electronic device you own - listen to this. While the news headlines recently have been all about the music phones coming onto the market - Motorola/Apple with ROKR, Nokia with its upcoming N91 and Ericsson with its W900, phones are fast moving to also provide you with TV. I think TV on a handset will be a hit. It’s already a reality in Korea where companies like SK Telecom provide satellite television to their cell phone subscribers at a price that is causing great worry to cable operators. But its happening around the world as well.
Expect to see a lot more of this. Here in the U.S., TV is coming as well. Qualcomm has been working on its MediaFLO technology that will provide broadcast TV hopefully sometime in 2006. And Sprint is providing video through its relationship with MobiTV. What this is all about is convergence. The cell phones of the future will enable you to do everything - from making phone calls, checking email, running typical computer apps to kicking back while listening to music or even taking in an episode of Desperate Housewives. Filed under: Applications and Cutting Edge Comments: 1 Comment |
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Posted on 11.01.05 by Nikhil @ 11:55 pm
People who subscribe to my newsletter, Forbes Wireless Stock Watch, were lucky if they took my advice on the shares of Radvision, on September 30. Today, the company released its third quarter earnings and the company’s shares rose 19% before closing for the day up 16%., The reason for its strength: Radvision just reported that its profit more than doubled in the third quarter from higher revenue during the period. It also gave an optimistic outlook for the fourth quarter. Here are the details. In the third quarter, income grew to $3.9 million, or 18 cents per share, from $1.4 million, or 7 cents, the year before. Earnings per share, at 18 cents, beat estimates by about three cents. Revenue totaled $19.1 million, an increase of 14% from $16.7 million. Much of the strength came from the company’s networking business where sales were up 19% to $13.5 million. Technology sales grew 4% to $5.6 million. Good outlook for the fourth quarter as well. Radvision forecast fourth-quarter income of 20 cents per share (Wall Street was expecting 18 cents per share) and $20.5 million in revenue (Wall Street was expecting $20 million in revenue). The year before, the company earned 13 cents per share and generated sales of $17.6 million. Behind the stock’s strength are recent announcements from Radvision that its technology has been integrated into Microsoft’s Live Communication Server and Live Meeting – to provide these platforms with multi-party video conferencing capabilities. I expect that we’ll be hearing more good new coming soon from Radvision. Filed under: Stock Watch and News Comments: 1 Comment |
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Posted on 11.01.05 by Nikhil @ 11:47 pm
All of a sudden, there has been a whirlwind of merger news in wireless from around the world. The latest is that Telenor says it will buy the Swedish division of Vodafone. Total cost: $1.5 billion. Its a bit of a strange thing for Vodafone to do - that is, sell off a region- but the company had dropped a few hints it may do so beforehand. For Telenor, its a good thing because it’s been competing in Sweden with a bit of a handicap - the company had to license space on the network of another carrier. With this deal, it will now have its own infrastructure. Analysts didn’t receive the deal so well and many think Telenor overpaid. For more on this, check out this article from Reuters. Vodafone also made headlines because on October 28, Vodafone said it would buy a 10% interest in Indian operator Bharti Tele-Ventures for $1.47 billion in cash. The reason: to expand Vodafone’s footprint into India. This news comes on the heel of an announcement by Spain’s Telefonica that it will buy O2, the British carrier, for $31.6 billion. The two companies said the merger would save them $351.8 million by 2008. For Telefonica, this is a great way to increase its presence in Europe. O2 is the sixth largest carrier in Europe and offers service in the U.K., Germany, Ireland the Isle of Man. Of course, this is bad news for KPN and Deutsche Telekom, both of which had earlier made bids for O2. Don’t be surprised to see them back in the picture with counterbids in the near future. You can read more about Telefonica and O2 at Light Reading. Filed under: News and Mergers/Acquisitions Comments: None |
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