Just as northern California drew the greatest technical talent in the
semiconductor industry to Silicon Valley, southern California has become a
hotbed for the telecommunications industry in San Diego. This mecca for
engineers, software developers, and technical managers has also become the
unofficial headquarters for the venture capital industry. Now that the hype
has died down, it's time to look at the next phase of wireless ideas being
generated there.
Fortunately for us, we're living in an era where technological progress can
be measured in "Internet Time" - the somewhat cloudy concept that innovation,
profitability, return on investment, supply chain, market creation, customer
acquisition, and most every element of business can and will move forward at
a lightning... (more)
Entrepreneurial interest in wireless was strong at this year's TiEcon
conference in Santa Clara, CA. After all, there's more money under management
at VC firms now than at any time in history. It's just not being handed out
as freely to seed and first-round investments.
Falling stock valuations, bankruptcies, frigid IPO markets, restructurings,
and layoffs by the thousands have overwhelme... (more)
Anticipation is a key factor in figuring out what will happen in the wireless
industry over the next couple of years. As entertainment migrates to the
handset, it's predicted that revenues from games on mobile phones will reach
$6 billion by 2005. How? Many questions remain, but there are some strong
players joining in to find the answers.
Do you remember Carnac the Magnificent? One of th... (more)
The slow death of Metricom threw their customers for a loop. Here was a
company that provided a unique service, yet burned through a billion dollars,
and is now seemingly missed by all. Denver-based Aerie Networks recently
bought most of the key Ricochet assets for a mere $8.25 million during
bankrupcy court proceedings. What went wrong? Here, leading voices from the
industry give their ... (more)
As a platform for games and entertainment, the mobile phone seems to have
ascended to a position that now demands serious attention. At the E3
convention in Los Angeles this past May, it seemed that an entire generation
of growth and development had occurred in less than 12 months.
E3 (Electronic Enter-tainment Expo) is the video gaming industry's largest
gathering, and it is now clear th... (more)
Tim Bresien is WBT's VC editor, the principal consultant with infraStar, Inc., and a freelance writer covering investments in the wireless communications sector. He is a former research analyst with the telecommunications consulting firm of Bond & Pecaro, Inc., Washington, DC, and a cofounder of the Telecom Investor Forum, held annually at SUPERCOMM.
Keith Bergelt
Gaurav Mantri
Aditya Banerjee
John Karamitsos
Kaj van de Loo
Bob Little
Alois Reitbauer
Chris Schin
Richard Gordon
Anil Parambath
