Summary:The telecommunications and technology panel brought together representatives from telecommunications, finance, and technology to discuss the state of tech, its future, and most importantly, as moderator Dennis Kneale joked, “how we can get our money back.” In a series of questions aimed at gathering perspectives from all angles, the panelists discussed their views on the future of telecom, investment strategies, and a lively debate over where the problems lie.
To the chagrin of many hoping for a quick resurgence, the panelists generally agreed that telecom is not going to bounce back in the near future, though panelists did agree that we have not seen the end of telecom, and particularly technology, though the new wave should be more prudent, and more attuned to their market. Spending on telecom and technology will be limited, with spending niches geared toward maintaining connectivity to customers. Afsaneh Naimollah predicted major growth on the wireless technology side.
“By year end,” Naimollah cites, “there will be one billion Internet-ready mobile devices in use.” She adds that the year 2006 will show the number of data-enabled phones exceeding Internet subscribers.
Describing the market spurred yet another lively debate. “The worst of the news is behind us,” according to Mark Weiss, “yet some more bad news may be coming.”
Weiss was referring to bankruptcies that will rid the industry of the debt that is clogging up the capital markets. Howard Jonas concurred that debt is a “horrible instrument” meant for companies to put together positive cash flow, which many tech companies notoriously did not.
The future of telecom and technology, panelists agree, lies with the customer and with the industry’s willingness to comply with the demand. Yossi Vardi stressed that the industry needs to cede to audience’s new interests, describing target groups as “swarms” of consumers whose demands need to be met.
Mort Aaronson brought up Ricochet, a product that did not suffer from lack of capital and had a high customer rating but created an artificial impediment by pricing its product higher than the competition and making it difficult for the purchaser to find. Customers complained but Ricochet didn't act. You have to listen to your customers, he said, or you won't have a business.
Panelists also spoke of content sharing and collaboration in the future as an issue that needs to be addressed proactively. The movie and music industries are missing out on the possibilities in this area due to a fear of piracy and limiting the technology they use as a result of this fear.
Howard Jonas bet that content will soon outgrow available bandwidth, causing the death of companies such as cable companies that cannot handle the big transfer of input comprising the future of technology.
