|
D10NDAY,SEPTEhf ,1999 F - "{ ;, . ,�', r?.tt ,. - TILE WALL STRE7 IJR AI R15
<br /> EOQUNiQA!I1IO
<br /> THE BUSINESS
<br /> IN THE LEAD. R . FOR Now
<br /> .....
<br /> ....
<br /> Metricom has been a b•ig fish in the small pond of wireless
<br /> Internet service firms. What happens as the pond gets bigger?
<br /> B DAVID P.HAhIILT0�1 wireless networks. h[etricom's network ,_ -, expensive proposition,even when each ra- gears from a technical focus to a market:
<br /> Y may deliver data faster than its competi- Ready to Connect? 3, dio cost just under S2,000,far less than an ing focus." „Y
<br /> tors, but it's still limited geographically Metricom has been a pioneer in prodding wireless interact service,but ttssub•', s ordinary cellular base station.As a result, Mr.Dreisbach's team decided that
<br /> F WIRELESS ACCESS to the Internet and its subscriber base remains fairly - t Metricom made the decision early to limit addition to expanding their network n
<br /> I
<br /> is finally coming of age in the U.S.,it small-only 29,000 customers as of the end scriber base remains cm;IU(subscribers in thousands) , ` „. its coverage to a handful of cities,a list tionwide,the company needed to more a -
<br /> may prove to be a mixed blessing for of June. Cellular providers, meanwhile, 30 -t that currently includes only the San Fran- gressively target highly mobile worker!
<br /> one of its pioneers,Metricom Inc, have announced network-upgrade Mans Cisco Bay area,Seattle and Washington, the so-called road warriors who need
<br /> These should be the best of times that could deliver data transmission -25 D.C. less access wherever they go.
<br /> wd
<br /> for hfetricom, a Los Gatos, Calif., speetis�tvatmgtaose of atetncom within a „ Metricom launched the Ricochet ser- Indeed,that was also one reason to he
<br /> company with one of the first fiat- few yeah, vice in September 1995,and for more than celerate the development of Ricochet..2;
<br /> rate wireless Internet services in the na- ''Wireless carriers are eyeing the In -20 • a year added roughly 3,000 subscribers now slated to begin service in mid-2000'in
<br /> tion.While traditional cellular carriers are ternet space with greed and envy,"says each quarter. By late 1997, however, 12 cities, including New York, Dalla$;
<br /> Just starting to target the suddenly hot Darryl Sterling, an analyst with Yankee r 15 growth started to slow,because Metricom Chicago and Los Angeles.Metricom plans
<br /> market for wireless data, Metricom al- Group,a market-research firm in Boston t, had specifically aimed its service at college to expand service to 46 cities by the middle
<br /> ready has an established subscriber base, By next year,analysts say,most new , 70 "„s• students and professionals who needed a 2002.
<br /> its own dedicated wireless data technol- cellular-phone handsets will handle data simple and inexpensive way to send a-mail The investment by Mr.Allen and MCI
<br /> ogy,and a network that can handle data at at least to the extent of providing simple a and surf the Web close to home.But college WorldCom not only ensures that Metricom
<br /> speeds of up to 23.8 kilobits a second, mail and two-way paging capability.And S - students tended to cancel their service at has the funds to complete Ricochet 2,but
<br /> roughly twice as fast as those of its nearest network upgrades should make it easier to ,-;`- ' the end of every school year,and the local also offers the prospect of raising its n9'
<br /> competitor, use cellular phones as wireless modems for F1 0 s, engineers and salespeople that Metricom tionwide profile. MCI WoridCom, for in-
<br /> ,,better, Metricom in June re- notebook computers. ', 19^"U.2Q ;,3q 49 iq 34 ' 34 .40 . 111 tq ,Sq . 4Q 1q' 2q' hoped to reach never signed on in large stance,will distribute the Ricochet service
<br /> ceived a S600 million investment from MCI Mr.Dreisbach and other Metricom off i- 1996 1997 1999 -ig99 : numbers. in a nonexclusive arrangement for five
<br /> WorldCom Inc.and Vulcan Ventures,an cials say they aren't worried about the can- Sixece MericorInc zs ; That prompted some soul-searching years.
<br /> investment artnershi headed b Mi•p p y petition.And analysts generally agree that among company officials as capital started Mr.Allen,meanwhile,is rumored to be
<br /> crosoft Corp.co-founder Paul Allen.That Metricom stands a good chance of estab- to run short.By September 1997,Metricom considering linking the Ricochet 2 network
<br /> means Metricom finally has the support it fishing itself in the wireless world.Its ser- decided to scale back its marketing of Ric- with his extensive cable-television hold-
<br /> peeds to build out its even-faster next-gen- vice,designed for use with a notebook or ochet and to marshal its resources instead ings,possibly in order to provide cable-mo'
<br /> eration network,and to market its service desktop personal computer,provides a con- Wireless carriers are eyeing the Internet on the development of its next generation dem users with a wireless"upstream"con-
<br /> fo road warriors across the U.S. tinuous,"always on"Internet connection, network,Ricochet 2,designed to provide nection to the Internet that would bypiiss
<br /> "It's a great endorsement for us,"says in contrast to conventional dial-up service ] , data speeds of up to 123 kilobits per sec- local telephone companies.
<br /> Metricom President Tim Dreisbach."It's a .that requires users to login each time.Sub- space with greed and envy, says one analyst and-much faster than Ricochet l's 28.8 Mr. Dreisbach argues that Metricom
<br /> validation of the market and the way we're scribers seem generally happy,and while kilobits and roughly twice as fast as to- will be able to keep one step ahead of cellu';
<br /> going to apply our technology to a nation- there still aren't many of them.Metricom's day's 56-kilobit modems. tar competitors,whose next speed upgrade
<br /> wide network." iconoclastic struggle to build its own dedi- ity.Then Metricom officials hit upon the dio spectrum-one shared with garage- Focus on Marketin will take their network speeds only up to 6-i
<br /> Holding the Lead cated wireless data infrastructure could fi- idea of creatinga high-speed data network door openers.baby monitors and similar kilobits per second-and probably won't
<br /> pally pay bi dividends once it lights up its with their radio technology-one they short-range radio devices. So in mid-1993.Metricom's board de- deliver speeds comparable to Ricochet 2
<br /> • As that market grows,however,the big m - e ra ion nete e. a. would eventually name Ricochet because Metricom could also design its network cided to bring in new managers,including until 2002 or so.
<br /> question for Metricom is whether it can of the way the system bounced transmis- specifically to handle data,allowing it to Mr.Dreisbach•to revamp the company's In addition, he says, Metricom'l
<br /> stay ahead of competitors who have mid- i he Rise of Ricochet sions from radio to radio. sidestep some of the technological compro- strategy. (Metricom's former president• serving a different market by offering,
<br /> denty awakened to the emerging opportu• Metricom's unique path to wireless ' That approach held several advan- raises that cellular providers are wrestling Robert Dilworth,remains the company's high-speed wireless directly to PC users:
<br /> nities in providing electronic mail,mes- data service is largely the consequence of a tages.Instead of buying the rights to ex- with in converting their systems to carry chairman.) "We had a lot of folks who cellular companies,by contrast,are mdl'k'
<br /> salting and even full Internet access across quirk of history.Until 1995,the company pensive chunks of radio spectrum the way data. were bright at developing the technology." likely to focus oh more limited wireless'
<br /> was primarily in the business of building traditional cellular providers have done. However,use of the low-powered ra- says John Wernke,Metricom's sales and data services such as offering stock`
<br /> Ms.li+.MILTON IS A STAFF REPORTER IN THE WALL short-range radio sets that beamed elec- Metricom designed its network to work in a dios meant that Metricom had to install a marketing chief,who joined the company quotes,maps and access to airline resin
<br /> STREET JOURNAL'S SAN FR,+,NCISCO BUREAU. tric-meter readings back to the local util- largely unregulated twilight zone of the ra- radio transceiver every mile or two-an in August 1998. "But we needed to shift vat ion systems.P
<br /> • e
<br />
|