|
|
INFOTECH REPORT: WIRELESS INTERNET READY TO TAKE-OFF IN US May 8, 2001 - Wirelesss Internet Parsippany, NJ, May 8 - With Europe and Japan well ahead of the US in accessing email and the Internet wirelessly, US firms are looking for ways to win big here. AT&T Wireless (NYSE:AWE), Nextel (Nasdaq:NXTL), Sprint PCS (NYSE:PCS), Verizon (NYSE:VZ), and Cingular, a joint venture between SBC (NYSE:SBC) and BellSouth (NYSE:BLS), sighting on i-mode's $400 million a month revenue, have all launched some form of wireless Internet access bearing similarities to i-mode and WAP. Not just technology upstarts like YadaYada, Air2Web, Pumatech (Nasdaq:PUMA), and Aether Systems (Nasdaq:AETH), but IBM (NYSE:IBM), HP (NYSE:HWP), Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT), Oracle (Nasdaq:ORCL), and other established companies are offering wireless connectivity for business. InfoTech believes that these forays will rapidly provide competitors with valuable market insights to create winning offers in the US. A new study by InfoTech, Winning the Wireless Internet Game: Global Learnings Applied to the US Market, provides a formula for jump-starting the US market based on transferable success factors from the introduction of i-mode, SMS and WAP. "Vendors who want to take advantage of this opportunity will have to jump in quickly. Assuming that wireless Internet will wait for 3G deployment before it can take off is naive", says John Freidenfelds, a Sr. Consultant with InfoTech. The researchers compared i-mode, SMS and WAP usage globally with surveys of US user expectations, and identified triggers for wireless Internet take-off in the US. Wired Internet penetration in the US leads the world at 60%. The study found the confluence of today's Internet and mobile communications engendering a new wireless Internet phenomenon that will augment - not supplant -- already high Internet use. "Wireless Internet is coming to the US, one way or another, sooner rather than later", commented Freidenfelds. InfoTech is a subsidiary of PBI Media, specializing in global information and professional services for the telecommunications and data networking industries. InfoTech offers a comprehensive scope of information and professional services, including custom project consulting, market and competitive intelligence programs, tactical sales support tools, primary research studies, industry conferences and custom marketing programs. Further information about InfoTech can be obtained at the company's web site at www.accessintel-infotech.com. To purchase a copy, or learn more about this study, please contact Craig Borne (infotech@accessintel.com). |
|
