UNWIRED WORLD... U.S. CELLULAR SYSTEMS SUCK

I haven't been able to sit down and blog in three weeks. Definitely, this city hopping through the U.S. has been tiring and really hasn't allowed me to gather my random thoughts and write. I got into New York yesterday from Chicago and after a week in Los Angeles. One experience I've been going through is the frustration of dealing U.S. cellular services. The network and infrastructure is not widespread and has many gaps in their systems. Unlike Korea, many wireless services here don't work in various locations within buildings and homes, highways and city blocks. It has been too commonplace when my cellphone conversation gets cut off or difficult to hear. There is truly a world of difference in the quality and ubiquity of wireless services between the U.S. and Korea. Part of this reason is because the landscape of the U.S. is so great and spreadout versus Korea, but even in dense cities such as New York and Chicago I've encountered the same frustrations. I assume U.S. wireless carriers decided not to invest widely in infrastructure to provide a strong and widespread service. It's probably a chicken or egg dilemma where they don't know if it's worth the investment and how long it would take to get a decent return on their investment. It's similar to the dilemma that has faced the U.S. telcos and their efforts to provide DSL services.

Looking at Korea, which boasts 70%+ wireless penetration and where 95% of Internet users access through broadband, the infrastructure was set in place and consumer growth and use exploded. Long before the U.S., data services were regularly used by Korean consumers and still today with far greater frequency. You can see everyone from children to elderly text messaging, taking pictures, personalizing graphical interfaces on their phones, and other services. Korea is a nation with a large base of early-adopters, those who use and purchase the latest technologies, but I don't believe this alone can account for the widespread use of wireless and broadband services and products. For Korea, the "built it and they will come" approach was successful in sparking consumer use and growth in the wireless and broadband industries. It also allow for the creation and growth of new industry segments, such as online gaming where Korea is the worldwide leader.

For the U.S., I believe once the wireless infrastructure is truly widespread the related industry will experience an increase in consumer use and services. At this point, why would the average U.S. consumer want to use a cellphone for advanced services if they cannot even use it for simply calls?