What happened?
Was it the global economic slow down? Or perhaps, vendors were making promises they couldn’t keep? Whatever the reason, the industry saw companies issuing hundreds of lay offs; investors pulling their money out as fast as they gave it; and a string of companies filing for Chapter 11 protection.

Nowhere was this more evident than in the wireless carrier domain. The industry saw Metricom, Aerzone, Broadband2Wireless, Arch Wireless, Omnisky and YadaYada, and Mobilestar face financial ruin.

Whether they died by their own hand is questionable. "Those who live by hyping wireless will die by it," Alan Reiter, wireless analyst and president of Wireless Internet & Mobile Computing, told Siliconalley. According to Reiter, these companies could not deliver what they promised: a wireless experience that replicated the PC-based environment. For example, CDPD operators like Omnisky were promising customers "theoretical maximum" speeds which they could not deliver, Reiter said. Even though Metricom’s Ricochet wireless Internet service could deliver speeds three times those of any dial-up connection, who would pay the $80 monthly fee?

One Man’s lost is another Man’s Gain
As these failed businesses unraveled, larger companies were scooping up their assets at rock bottom prices. For example, Voicestream stepped in to grab Mobilestar’s assets; GoAmerica consumed YadaYada; Earthlink purchased Omnisky’s network, and Aerie Networks snatched up Merticom for less than $10-million.

In a nascent industry such as wireless telecommunications, there is bound to be more companies dying or just clinging to life with the help of court protection or living under the control of larger and stronger organizations.