Wireless communications: Building Obama’s re-election hopes?

The worst kept secret right now is that the US Economy is beginning to strengthen as we head into the 2012 Presidential election primary and general election cycles.  This would definitely help the incumbent, Barack Obama, as he attempts to win a second term.  How much that economy strengthens may determine whether Obama gets that second term or whether Mitt Romney becomes President.  It appears the key number is 8, as in 8% unemployment rate.  The current unemployment rate sits at 8.5%, and according to historical evidence, no sitting President has won an election with an unemployment rate above 8%.  Not to mention the fact that a lot of people have stopped looking, and if they start looking again, the unemployment rate will rise again.  So if Obama is going to win a second term, the economy needs to improve and soon.

Probably one of the hottest areas for employment right now is the Wireless Industry.  2012 is shaping up to be the year where “4G” communications, notably LTE, will stand to make huge inroads across this nation as wireless data networks continue to replace cell phone networks as the dominant form of wireless communication.  Verizon Wireless is well on its' way to complete nationwide LTE service by next year.  MetroPCS and AT&T have deployed networks in several locations and will look to expand their networks to compete with Verizon on a national level.  Leap Wireless and other regional US cellular are beginning LTE build-outs in various locations.  Sprint and Clearwire will be beginning their switch from the older WiMAX standard to the LTE format, as they try to play catch-up.  T-Mobile will use advanced HSPA+ in an attempt to compete speed-wise with the other National carriers.  In short, this year will mark the largest change in the wireless industry since the late 1990s when digital cellular began to replace analog cellular as the US’s main wireless communications.

Right now, talking with industry insiders, many of these wireless networks are putting up new cell phone towers and even software-defined radios antennas in order to meet the increasingly changing world of communications.  Sprint has just started deploying a new multi-mode base station that they hope will be the future of cellular base stations.  But another dynamic is at work.  Given the increase of smartphone usage in this country, more people are using their phones to such a point, that a cellular network meltdown is projected in 2013.  Cellular providers know this, and are doing everything they can to try and prevent their networks from crashing.  Putting together smaller base-stations and linking them with their larger cell tower into networks could spell the difference between expanding the capacity of the networks or leading to disaster as more people move to smartphones.

There’s also a hope by the wireless industry that Congress and the FCC will free up additional RF spectrum, also allowing these networks to increase spectral capacity.  So far, the Obama administration has shown interest to help free up spectrum, but so far, not enough spectrum has been released.  Wireless networks have attempted to buy up all unused spectrum as a result, led by Verizon and AT&T.

So there’s a lot of work to do over the next two years.  And that work requires creating high paying jobs to meet those demands.  The question is will the FCC and other government agencies help or hurt the wireless industry.  Based on the last 6 months, there is a perception the FCC and the Dept. of Justice may block the ability to create wireless jobs, based on the opposition to the AT&T – T-Mobile failed merger attempt.  But some analysts, including Yankee Group, concluded the merger would cost jobs, damaging AT&T’s claims that the merger would add jobs and ultimately killing the merger.  The FCC later approved AT&T’s efforts to buy Qualcomm’s unused 700 MHz spectrum.  So the FCC’s role is still unknown whether it will be a roadblock or rubber stamp for the wireless industry.

Regardless, the ability for the wireless industry to upgrade their networks to handle the increasing traffic demands may either benefit or hinder the job market.  And that may be the difference between a one-term or two-term Obama administration.  So, it will be a very interesting year in the wireless world to say the least.

High School Yearbooks and Showing off too much, too early

By now, everyone has heard of the story regarding 18-year old Sydney Spies, a Senior at Durango High School.  Sydney wanted the High School Yearbook to use a provocative picture of her as her Senior Picture.  The picture was of her wearing a white mini-skirt and a black shawl that only covered her upper chest area.  The Yearbook and School refused to put the picture in the yearbook, and now Sydney and her family are suing the school claiming that their rights were violated.  Sydney claims that the picture is consistent with her desire to be a model when she graduates and was meant to show her beauty.  Most people, however, disagree with that line of thinking and believe the picture make her look more like a stripper.

Long before I met my wife, I attended South Gwinnett High School, where my class was full of beautiful young ladies who were even more beautiful than Ms. Spies.  In fact, 3 of my classmates won Miss South, which I’m sure has not been done before and hasn’t been since.  But I don’t remember any of them dressing provocatively in their Senior Year pictures.  Come to think of it, I don’t remember any of them dressing that provocatively in school.  They looked great in prom pictures, in school pictures, and even when they were dressed modestly or casually.  These were the kind of ladies you could take to mom and dad, go on a fun date, or just watch a movie with.  They had great restraint, because many of them wanted to be known for more than just good looks.  Many have grown up and gone on to be successful outside of High School in various ways.

Single young guys probably see the pictures of young Ms. Spies and probably think of the Rick James song, “Super Freak”.  You know, “She’s a very kinky girl, The kind you don’t take home to Momma…”.  Ms. Spies comes from a new generation of ladies who prefer to show off their bodies instead of being modest.  Many of these new generation of young ladies are willing to wear Victoria Secret’s pants that have the word “Pink” labeled across the buttocks or some other word that would give the impression they want to get intimate immediately.  They dress way beyond their years and more often than not find their way into trouble with teenage boys, or in some situations, older men.  These men are less interested in marrying these kind of young ladies and more interested in one-night stands.  The inability to show modesty or restraint is going to lead to problems for many of these young women.

Ms. Spies appears to be heading down a dark path that will lead only to a life of ruin.  It’s not too late to turn it around, but if she doesn’t do it soon, I’m afraid she will become another sad story of a teenage “beauty” who ends up as an example of what can go wrong when you try to draw attention to yourself with your body too early in life.  It’s a shame they will never learn the examples that many of my female classmates at South lived.

The long goodbye to two business icons…

Since Christmas, the sad news of two American icons has brought back a flood of memories from my childhood and it has reminded me that nothing is forever. 

The news regarding Sears closing 100+ of its stores (both Sears and Kmart) across the country may not have been a surprise to anyone, but it was still a sad reminder that Sears nor Kmart are giants in their respective stores.  In the 1970s and 1980s, both Sears and Kmart were the place to go for anyone’s needs.  Sears was the home of great brands like Kennmore, Craftsman, DieHard, and other lines.  Sears even invented the Discover Credit Card back in the 1980s, and had businesses that included Caldwell Banker real estate, and Dean Witter Financial.  And who could forget the Sears Catalog?  Kmart was America’s discount store.  But, beginning in the late 1980s, Target and Wal-Mart cut deeply into Kmart’s advantage, and by the late 1990s, Kmart was headed for bankruptcy.  After emerging from bankruptcy, Kmart bought Sears out, but the combined companies continue to be hounded by Wal-Mart and Target on the discount side, Macy’s on the Expensive Mall side, Best Buy on the electronics side, and internet giants like Amazon.com.  Sears and Kmart have struggled to re-invent themselves in recent years.

The second icon to have serious trouble is Kodak.  Eastman Kodak was once a giant in American history.  The Rochester, NY company was the undisputed King of Photography for a long time.  Their cameras are legendary—Instamatics, Brownies, Retina, up to the Advantix.  But, unfortunately, Kodak success in film cameras would eventually lead to its demise in the digital age—even though Kodak invented the first digital camera.  The inability to see where the future was going cost Kodak, and a series of decisions that made people question what Kodak really wanted to do in the digital age has led the company to an almost certain bankruptcy.  (Side note:  what is it with Rochester, NY founded companies and the failure to see the next big thing?  Look at Xerox and the fact that they literally invented computer operating systems, but ceded that business line to Apple and Microsoft.)

As a kid growing up, we always had Kmarts close to us.  When we moved to Snellville in 1979, visiting a Kmart was a big deal.  We could find clothing, toys, daily products, and other goods at Kmart (at least until one of my sisters started working at Richway in the 1980s).  What we couldn’t find there, we could always find at Sears when we went to either Northlake Mall, or later, Gwinnett Place Mall.  My family had the Sears charge card.  Heck, we didn’t even have to go to Sears.  We could always go to the local catalog store in Tucker to buy stuff as we needed.

It has been some time since I really shopped at Sears.  Sure, we got a Washer and Dryer from them in 2009, but aside from that, I have rarely stepped inside their store to shop over the last decade.  It’s almost as rare for me to visit Kmart, though I must admit I do go in there a little more to shop.  Still, whenever I shop, it’s usually at JCPenney or Target, because the things I need I can usually find at those places.

My family was a photography family, or so I have learned through talking with various family members.  When I was a young boy, we would take pictures with Kodak cameras, send the film to the local Fotomat to be developed, then enjoy the pictures.  In the 1980s, we had a Kodak Disc Camera, which we used as our primary family camera.  My first camera was a Kodak camera and I used it to take pictures across the country from Elementary School to College and beyond.  For Christmas of 2003, I bought my first digital camera, a Kodak Easy Share, and I even got the accompanying printer.  That camera would not last long, but I was able to replace it for free and the next Kodak digital camera would document the greatest moments of my adult life—the courtship of my eventual wife, our honeymoon, my trip to Australia, and finally, the birth of my son, Joshua.  Shortly after Joshua’s birth, however, my love affair with Kodak ended, and the two cameras my family currently own are Nikons—a point and shoot for general stuff, and a digital SLR we use for special occasions.

Kodak and Sears/Kmart will not die.  My gut is they will still survive, but not at the levels they once dominated.  Some companies have a funny way of surviving, even after apparent liquidation (think Bennigan’s restaurants and Service Merchandise).  Still, we will not see them at the levels they once were.  Probably some 15 years in the future, I will come across a Mall, and see the Sears logo or drive past a Kmart, and it will bring back happy memories of my childhood.  Maybe I’ll even see a Kodak product and remember how I use to love their cameras.  But it won’t be the same.  Joshua will not revere either company the way daddy once did.

I am saddened by their downturn.  I wish they could continue to live on.  But time marches on.  And one day, every company will have to deal with what Sears/Kmart and Kodak are dealing with now—even Apple, Wal-Mart, Target, and other high-flyers of today.