Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Wired 11.05 UNWIRED: 25 Companies to Watch

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Date: Tue, 22 Apr 2003 03:54:38 -0400

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.05/unwired/companies_pr.html

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Issue 11.05 UNWIRED -
A Wired Special Report - May 2003

25 Companies to Watch

A user's guide to service providers, software companies, hardware makers, and chipset manufacturers.

By Paul Boutin

As the Wi-Fi industry evolves from a handful of hot spots into a full network, it is splitting into four sectors: service providers that operate networks; software firms whose apps tweak the usefulness of Wi-Fi or manage networks; hardware that connects you to the network; and chipsets at the core of the hardware.

Service Providers
Independent Wi-Fi providers, like early ISPs, face competition and consolidation as telecom firms enter the fray. Cellular carriers and Baby Bells have mostly avoided the scene: Compared with cell phone systems, Wi-Fi suffers from limited range and a puny market. It makes sense for the big boys to wait until smaller providers grow the market, then swoop in and take over. It won't happen this year, or next, but it's coming.

Untitled

COMPANY

CEO

OWNERSHIP

PARTNERS

SERVICE

WIRED OUTLOOK

AT&T Wireless Services
Redmond, Washington

John Zeglis

NYSE: AWE

Wayport

Cellular, corporate wireless, Wi-Fi data

AT&T’s still-growing wireless division isn’t waiting around for Cometa. Instead, it’s pushing its own GoPort service at airports and hotels. But availability is still limited to five airports and a few hundred hotels.

Boingo Wireless
Santa Monica, California

Sky Dayton

Private

Airpath, NetNearU,
Surf and Sip, Wayport

National Wi-Fi
network

Dayton’s strategy worked for EarthLink: Let others set up the networks, then place a single brand name and billing system atop them. But investor Sprint PCS may want its name on the marquee.

Cometa Networks
San Francisco, California

Lawrence
Brilliant

Private

AT&T, IBM, Intel

Wholesale national Wi-Fi network

This high-profile venture aims to build the infrastructure for mainstream Wi-Fi services. If it works, everyone will benefit, from consumers to other tech firms.

iPass
Redwood Shores, California

Ken Denman

Private,
has filed for IPO

Cometa,
Wayport

Remote access

Wi-Fi is just part of the roaming-access package iPass
provides to business road warriors. By ignoring the consumer market, it has established enough market share
to compete against telecom firms looking to offer Wi-Fi.

Surf and Sip
San Francisco, California

Rick Ehrlinspiel

Private

Boingo

National Wi-Fi network

The best, but probably the last, of the independents. This five-person firm operates 350-plus hot spots in small businesses in the US and UK, but much bigger players will soon be courting its customers.

T-Mobile USA
Bellevue, Washington

No CEO. John Stanton, board chair; Robert Dotson, president and COO

T-Mobile International, a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom AG; NYSE: DT

Starbucks

Cellular, Wi-Fi
network

Formerly VoiceStream, the American arm of DT operates networks at more than 2,100 Starbucks. This high-visibility service places T-Mobile ahead of the competition.

Wayport
Austin, Texas

Dave Vucina

Private

AT&T Wireless, Dell, Intel, iPass

High-speed fixed line and wireless Net access in hotels and airports

Wayport operates hundreds of hot spots in prime
locations like Sea-Tac airport and the Four Seasons. But how will it fare against lurking wireless giants?

Software Companies
Wi-Fi is attracting a wave of software innovators whose wares could disrupt the market by letting home and business networkers do without big-ticket hardware or service contracts.

Untitled

COMPANY

CEO

OWNERSHIP

PRODUCT

WIRED OUTLOOK

MeshNetworks
Maitland, Florida

Richard Licursi

Private

Software to extend wireless LANs

MeshNetworks’ software lets wireless laptops double as base stations for others, extending a network’s reach. This is a disruptive technology, which could provide a radical alternative to long-range cell phone networks.

Pronto Networks
Pleasanton, California

Jasbir
Singh

Private

Hot spot management software

Backed by $5 million from Intel and DFJ, the company’s wireless ISP management and billing software is becoming the choice of midsize players positioning for easy buyout in the coming consolidation.

Telesym
Bellevue, Washington

Raju
Gulabani

Private

Voice-over-IP software

Intel’s investment raises the likelihood the company’s wares will be bundled with laptops and PDAs as a cell phone alternative. Biggest threat: Microsoft could add a similar app to Windows.

Trepia
Fremont, California

Jawed
Karim

Private

Software that creates a buddy list of other wireless users nearby

A great application (why doesn’t my phone do this?), but like AIM or Napster, it will need big investment dollars to reach a critical mass
of customers. Acquisition by a major service provider seems likely.

Hardware Makers
This sector will soon be a battle between scrappy gear makers and entrenched equipment makers. First-mover companies include those that manufacture or resell base stations, client cards, and Wi-Fi-ready devices. Look for notebook leaders like Dell to also offer client cards and quietly steal the market. Still, with so many laptops and desktop PCs already in use, demand for base stations and clients will only go up.

Untitled

COMPANY

CEO

OWNERSHIP

PARTNERS

WIRED OUTLOOK

Apple Computer
Cupertino, California

Steve Jobs

Nasdaq: AAPL

N/A

By renaming it AirPort and hiding the antennas, Apple made 802.11b
a household word. But PC makers have since caught up, and they’re
competing on price.

Cisco Systems
San Jose, California

John Chambers

Nasdaq: CSCO

Atheros,
Intel, HP

The network hardware colossus recently began providing free security
and range-extending software to makers of most Wi-Fi chipsets, ensuring demand for its access points and other backend equipment.

Dell Computer
Round Rock, Texas

Michael Dell

Nasdaq: DELL

N/A

Michael Dell has sent a message to the market: Dude, you’re getting Wi-Fi. Built-in Intel chipsets on all notebooks could undermine the premium positioning of add-on cards.

D-Link
Taipei, Taiwan

Ken Kao

TWSE: 2332.tw

N/A

D-Link or Linksys? It’s a common question. The company’s challenge
is to differentiate its products.

Linksys Group
Irvine, California

Victor Tsao

Private

Net2Phone

The Honda of hardware: fast-growing, cheap, utilitarian. New products
to extend existing networks add extra sales per customer.

Microsoft
Redmond, Washington

Steven Ballmer

Nasdaq: MSFT

Intersil

Software makers, stay home: Wi-Fi is the next thing to be absorbed into Windows. The company already resells base stations and other hardware that feature user-friendly encryption.

Netgear
Santa Clara, California

Patrick Lo

Private

Net2Phone, Philips

Rival to Linksys and D-Link, Netgear is the third name in do-it-yourself
networking’s Big Three. The company’s formula is simple: Make good stuff cheap. Private status may prove an advantage if tech stocks keep falling.

Proxim Corporation
Sunnyvale, California

Jonathan Zakin

Nasdaq: PROX

Avaya, Digital China Holdings, Motorola

The acquisition of Lucent’s Agere spinoff, along with its popular Orinoco cards, consolidated Proxim’s brand strength but added to last year’s
$240 million loss.

Vivato
San Francisco, California

Ken Biba

Private

N/A

This new kid on the block has a smart antenna that reaches out to find users hundreds of feet away. If it works, it could become standard for
big installations.

Chipset Manufacturers
Wi-Fi is one of a few bright spots in the moribund semiconductor industry. The companies that build the radio hardware to go into other firms' base stations, access cards, and computers are supplying the wireless equivalent of a cable jack. However, this demand is already spurring consolidation. Watch as giant chipmakers like Intel integrate 802.11 circuits onto motherboards, removing the need for a separate wireless chipset.

Untitled

COMPANY

CEO

OWNERSHIP

CUSTOMERS

WIRED OUTLOOK

Atheros Communications
Sunnyvale, California

Rick Redelfs

Private

D-Link, HP, Linksys, Netgear, Philips, Proxim, SMC, Sony

Four of the top five notebook sellers build in Atheros’ dual-band 802.11a/b chipset, and the company is at work on a new product that will also meet demand
for the emerging 802.11g standard.

Broadcom Corporation
Irvine, California

Alan Ross
(interim)

Nasdaq: BRCM

Cisco, Dell, HP, IBM, Motorola

Broadcom’s 54g chipset is poised for success, even before 802.11g is final. Linksys, Belkin, AMD, and
others have pledged to use or support it.

Intel
Santa Clara, California

Craig Barrett

Nasdaq: INTC

Dell, HP, Sony

Intel is the 800-megaton gorilla in this market.
Makers of dedicated Wi-Fi chipsets stand to lose
big as the company incorporates Wi-Fi into its
motherboard components.

Intersil Corporation
Milpitas, California

Rich Beyer

Nasdaq: ISIL

Cisco, IBM, Nokia, Sony

Intersil’s Prism2 is pretty much the industry standard. The company’s only real threat is a big one: Intel and other CPU makers want to eliminate the need for a
separate Wi-Fi chipset.

Texas Instruments
Dallas, Texas

Thomas Engibous

NYSE: TXN

D-Link, US Robotics

TI’s proposal for 802.11g was rejected, setting back plans to dominate next-gen wireless networking chipsets.

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