Dear Friends and wireless professionals,

I have some interesting news for you this week, but first my regular disclaimer:

This is my weekly newsletter about Wireless Data and Radio Paging. You are receiving this message because you have either communicated with me in the past about a wireless topic, or your address was included in another e-mail that I received. This is not a SPAM. If you have received this message in error, and you are not interested in these topics, please click here, then click on "send" and you will be promptly removed from the mailing list.

WorldCom's financial bomb:

"Our senior management team is shocked by these discoveries," WorldCom CEO John Sidgmore, who was appointed in April, said in a statement. "We are committed to operating WorldCom in accordance with the highest ethical standards." The news late Tuesday from WorldCom prompted industry analysts to say the heavily indebted long-distance provider might file for bankruptcy protection from creditors.

WorldCom is looking for about $4 billion in financing but some of its main bank lenders, including Bank of America, J.P. Morgan and Citigroup, are refusing to loan them any more, banking sources told CNN/Money. "They will have to file bankruptcy in a matter of days," a person familiar with the situation said. But other bankers close to the situation said it was too early to say whether WorldCom will file for bankruptcy soon.

In addition to describing improper accounting, WorldCom said it would cut 17,000 jobs, about a quarter of its work force, and fired Chief Financial Officer Scott Sullivan. David Myers, senior vice president and controller, resigned. The company, based in Clinton, Miss., said an internal audit showed that expenses of $3.1 billion for 2001 and nearly $800 million for the first quarter of 2002 were improperly accounted for. WorldCom said restating the expenses to account for their true costs would cut reported cash flow -- or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and other items -- for last year and the first quarter of 2002.

While CEO Sidgmore said the company remains "viable and committed to a long-term future,"Adam Quinton, who covers WorldCom for Merrill Lynch, said the developments bring the company closer to bankruptcy.

Another report from CNN/Money is even more alarming:

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Wall Street analysts punished WorldCom Group and the telecommunications sector Wednesday, following WorldCom's announcement of the biggest episode of fraudulent bookkeeping in history. "We expect WorldCom's fraudulent accounting will bring the whole [wireline telecom] group down," J.P. Morgan Securities analysts Marc Crossman, Jonathan Chaplin and Brian Hong said in a research note.

WorldCom said late Tuesday that it had discovered improper bookkeeping and would have to restate results for 2001 and the first quarter of 2002, cutting earnings by about $4 billion.

On October 1, 1999, SkyTel Communications Inc. became a wholly owned subsidiary of WorldCom, Inc.

ON THE SOAPBOX AGAIN
What is my opinion on all of this? I am allowed to have an opinion right? Thank you. I believe that most of the big companies of today are being managed by people who do not know, or have forgotten, the principles that made most of the businesses of this world successful. Those principles are very simple:

• customer satisfaction is priority number one—if you have no customers, you have no business;
• treat your employees with respect—happy workers make successful companies;
• run the business with uncompromising integrity—you may think you are too smart to get caught, but you are not.

Unfortunately, it appears that many managers are spending the majority of their time trying to manipulate the price of their company's stock and are not paying much attention to taking care of their two most important assets, their customers and their employees. They waste millions on poorly-thought-out projects, while treating employees like modern-day plantation workers, and awarding themselves million-dollar bonuses while continuing to lose money. When the only thing that matters in a person's life is getting rich, then we shouldn't be surprised when their behavior becomes dishonest, unethical, and illegal. It is sad, especially when you take a look the families affected by all of this. Big business is failing, but even more serious is the failure of the family system. The two are directly related. Is it really hard to understand the causes of rampant alcoholism and drug addiction that we have in our society today? This is all the result of a general moral decay taking place in the world—and before I start sounding too self-righteous—we are all probably guilty of contributing in some way to the problem.

MOTOROLA CUTS 7,000 MORE JOBS
"The job cuts will affect all business units, the Schaumburg, Illinois, company said, including manufacturing, research and development, sales and corporate headquarters. However, the company's wireless infrastructure division will suffer the brunt of the layoffs, where some 3,000 jobs will be cut, company officials said in a conference call Thursday. A majority of the layoffs will occur in North America, but Europe and Asia will also be affected, the company said.

Following the job cuts, the company expects to have about 93,000 total employees. Motorola executives were quick to point out that the layoffs and restructuring were not a reaction to the current economy, but rather part of a longer-term plan put in motion in 2000, when the company boasted some 150,000 employees."

Read the whole story at MacCentral.

INTERNATIONAL TWO-WAY ROAMING
Although not a recent development, congratulations are in order to Digitel and WebLink on getting a compatible two-way frequency assignment in Mexico that will now allow subscribers on either system to travel between the USA and Mexico. The Bell Mobility (Canada) - WebLink (USA) - Digitel (Mexico) networks, are interconnected, and now cover the NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) area.

In Spanish, NAFTA means: Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte entre el Gobierno del Canadá, el Gobierno de los Estados Unidos de América y el Gobierno de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos.

A SUMMARY OF THE WORLD CUP SOCCER MATCHES:

The final match between Germany and Brazil, for the world championship, will be played on Sunday morning.

I have one week to sell the following equipment. If you want any of this, make me an offer—any offer. FOB Canada.

The following reminder was received from our friends at Glenayre, in reference to the used Glenayre equipment that I have listed in this newsletter from time to time.

YOU SHOULD BE ADVISED THAT THE SOFTWARE LICENSE DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY TRANSFER IF SOMEONE PROCURES A GL3000 AND THAT THEY SHOULD CONTACT GLENAYRE.

ADIÓS AMIGOS
Well, that is all I have for this week. Thanks to everyone who contributed to this week's newsletter. I would like to ask anyone who sent me an e-mail yesterday to please resend it. SW Bell was not providing e-mail service all day yesterday.