Qualcomm subsidiary SnapTrack and SignalSoft agreed to jointly market and develop location-based applications and systems to wireless carriers, terms not disclosed. SnapTrack develops GPS-based location systems for wireless technology and SignalSoft develops software for such services. Companies said they would make their systems interoperable and support marketing efforts of combined location solution.
Wink Communications posted significantly heavier net losses for 4th quarter and year ending Dec. 31 despite increases in revenue, distributors, viewers, participating programmers and advertisers. Interactive TV service provider said it lost $14.6 million in quarter, vs. $4.5 million year earlier, on $1.7 million in revenue, up from $512,000. In year, Wink said it lost $33.3 million, compared with $18.2 million loss in 1999, on revenue of $4.3 million. Wink said DirecTV and 7 cable systems introduced its service in 4th quarter, quintupling its customer base to 2.5 million cable and satellite homes. It said it also added 7 programming channels and 8 new advertisers in quarter. Wink predicted that its revenue would approach $15 million this year, with continued large losses.
Sprint said it expected per-share profit in “upper 30 cent” range in first quarter, which would be below Wall St. expectation of 44 cents a share, research firm First Call/Thomson said. Sprint CFO Arthur Krause said per-share profit for 2001 would be at low end of earlier $1.65-$1.75 forecast and said it could be lower once Sprint’s investment in Brazil was factored in. Comments came as Sprint reported 4th-quarter and year-end earnings. Company, which reports its FON and PCS results separately, said it had slightly lower 4th-quarter revenue in FON Group -- $4.39 billion compared with $4.42 billion year ago. FON revenue for year grew 3% to $17.69 billion. Net 4th quarter income in FON was $97 million, drop from $416 million year in 1999, which Sprint attributed to merger-related costs and increase in operating expenses. Income for year rose to $1.96 billion from $1.57 billion year earlier. Sprint PCS added 1.25 million subscribers in quarter, marking 19% jump over year-ago period. Carrier ended year with 9.85 million subscribers, increasing customer rolls by 70% compared to 1999. Sprint PCS posted net loss of $512 million for quarter, compared to loss of $706 million for year-ago period. Revenue rose 84% to $1.94 billion in quarter.
Faced with choice between DSL and cable modems, more consumers are picking DSL, new Strategis Group study reported. Consulting group found that 60% of broadband users with choice of 2 rival services were going with DSL. But study also said cable modem subscribers were happier with their service, with 48% calling themselves “extremely satisfied” vs. 43% of DSL customers. Cable modems also had lower churn rate than DSL, 15% vs. 8%. Strategis Group analyst Keith Kennebeck attributed that seeming contradiction to superior marketing of DSL.
Wyo. House Revenue Committee unanimously passed bill (HB-259) that calls on state to work with other states to develop uniform method for taxing sales to Wyo. customers by out-of-state vendors via Internet and other electronic means. State Rep. John Hines (R-Gillette), bill’s sponsor, said that while 29 states had agreed to offer similar proposals in their legislatures, he knew of only one other bill, in Neb., that had been introduced. Hines said he believed his was first to make it out of committee. Informal national group of state revenue officials is working to develop single standard for what items are taxable and uniform administrative processes for tax collection so online merchants need register only once for all states.
Viacom said it plans to buy back up to $2 billion of its own stock “from time to time.” Viacom, which recently consummated its $3 billion acquisition of BET Holdings and completed repurchase of $1 billion in Viacom stock, said it would begin new buyback program immediately.
Nortel won $30 million contract from China’s Xinjiang Mobile Communications to expand carrier’s GSM 900 MHz wireless network and support up to 280,000 more subscribers. Nortel said agreement covered GSM 900 MHz base stations, mobile switching centers, signal switching points.
LOS ANGELES -- Loral Space & Communications is refocusing its broadband strategy and won’t compete with Hughes and others for consumer market, Chmn. Bernard Schwartz told Carmel Group DBS conference here. He said Loral would focus on its core competencies of satellite hardware manufacturing and providing services because it now realized that best role for company and its shareholders would be to stick to its core competencies of acting as “merchant/supplier” and letting others deal with difficult task of pricing and consumer acquisition.
Verizon announced solid profits and revenue Thurs. and said it met or exceeded its goals in other areas such as DSL and long distance growth. Company reported 540,000 DSL customers at year- end, surpassing 500,000 target, and 1.4 million N.Y. long distance customers, up from goal of one million. Company added 1.2 million U.S. wireless customers in 4th quarter, for total of 27.5 million, and saw its data revenue surge 30% in 2000. Net income for 4th quarter was $1.9 billion, more than 11% higher than year before. Revenue increased 10.5% to $16.9 billion.
Look for new FCC Chmn. Powell to act fairly early in his tenure to institute measures to improve Commission’s operations, his senior adviser Peter Tenhula said Thurs. at ComNet’s annual “Town Meeting” panel moderated by attorney Richard Wiley. Asked by Wiley what regulatory initiatives Powell would undertake first, Tenhula said question was hard to answer because Powell’s first priority may be to improve agency’s operations. He said some 80% of FCC’s agenda is “reactive instead of proactive,” such as responding to petitions for rulemaking or acts of Congress, and Powell thinks agency “should be prepared to act on those quickly and efficiently.” Nearly everyone who came in to see Powell and his staff in his first week complained about “process,” such as delays in getting action or items becoming “stuck” in pipeline, Tenhula said.