Do you see wireless becoming the dominant player, vs. wireline?
It’s already happening, and I was one of the first ones to cover wireless back in the ’80s. As evidence of that statement, we’re seeing acquisitions in wireless being sold at premiums, while we’re seeing long-distance acquisitions coming at discounts. For most of the major telecom providers, not only in the U.S. but around the world, a key strategy from management is to grow wireless as a percentage of their total revenues. This seems to be the most relevant benchmark that investors are tracking for the growth outlook and value of these companies. Q: What about the wireless phones themselves? Who’s the leader? And will we be seeing more and more bells and whistles? A: First of all, wireless handsets grew 33% in 2004 over 2003, and we’re projecting handsets in terms of unit shipments to grow 10% in 2005. What’s driving growth is new market penetration in emerging countries such as China, Southeast Asia, India, Latin America, and Eastern Europe, as well as a high replacement cycle for ha
