Word: verizon
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People in the wireless industry have been talking about what will replace 3G networks in the next two or three years. AT&T (T), Verizon (VZ), Sprint (S), and their peers overseas need something to spark consumer demand now that many people already own handsets and higher-end smartphones...
...With cellular growth slowing and landline business shrinking Verizon (VZ) has come up with a novel idea - $5 a month landline service. According to The Wall Street Journal, "Verizon believes the plan could help slow the rate of landline customers cutting the cord, so to speak. The company lost 3.7 million access lines, or 9.3% of its base, in 2008." The phone will take incoming calls and limited calls out. People will have to pay for additional telephoning at a modest price. Of course, smart people may use their cell to call out and take calls on their landline...
...Verizon plan works, most of the phone companies in countries including the U.S., much of Europe, and Japan will probably follow with their own super-cheap plans. None of them can afford to lose wired home phones at the rate they are today. The $5 phone may not be as profitable as old landline products, but it is better than nothing...
...Dell also lacks one of the most important ingredients for being in the handset business. It does not have established relationships with carriers like AT&T (T) and Verizon Wireless (VZ)(VOD). These companies already have product lines in place. It is hard to see what the incentive is for them to add a new brand to those lists, unless Dell wants to pay a bounty to edge itself...
...weirdly aggravating tone). The rest of it went to the highest bidder: last year, in the biggest government auction of all time, rights to much of the 700-MHz spectrum--known to you and me as UHF channels 52 through 69--were sold off for an astounding $19 billion. Verizon and AT&T were the big winners. What they'll do with them is still anybody's guess...