3G Not Immune From High-Tech Slump

date: 09th March 2001, source by: internet.com

Advances in wireless technology could actually slow business growth as product and service offerings exceed the market's interest, according to an industry productivity consultant.

The development of 3rd generation wireless technologies resembles the history of high-definition television and electric vehicle markets, Richard LeBlanc, corporate director of management engineering company IMPAC, said. Companies rushed those products to market because they had the technology, but they encountered little demand from buyers, LeBlanc said.

"The 3G technology that everybody has been waiting for is about as anticipated as the sinfully expensive conversion to HDTV," he said. "Nobody seems to have a need for [high-speed] wireless access when there are existing wireless systems...[that] fit the bill for what people are actually willing to buy."

Mobile telecom service providers and particularly wireless technology developers should reconsider their business strategies if success depends on widespread uptake of 3G services, LeBlanc added.

"Everyone is still looking for the killer app," he said. "But looking for that killer app takes a lot of money and a lot of time."

The Bottom Line

Reconsidering business strategies is particularly important as the U.S. economy slows, LeBlanc said.

"The wireless industry, right now, is in a state of flux because of a lack of integrated strategy," he said. "It has been suggested that the wireless industry will be immune from the economic downturn, that it is bigger than the overall economy. My response to that is, bull."

top