Wireless Is Killer App for Internet, Says Sprint PCS CEO; Part One of Exclusive Interview With IT Radio Network

Business Wire, March 2, 2000

Business Editors

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 2, 2000

"The Internet and e-mail are already very much an integral part of people's business and personal lives," said Andrew Sukawaty, chief executive officer of Sprint PCS (NYSE:PCS).

"Extending the Web to the handset is just a different kind of Web access. It's a smaller screen, but you're still accessing your vital information, wherever you are."

In a recent interview with the newly launched audio Webzine IT Radio Network, Sukawaty discussed the emergence of wireless as the new killer app for the Internet.

"Rome wasn't built in a day," said Sukawaty. "It evolves. When people first got mobile phones, they'd pull them out in public, and everybody thought they were showing off. Now it's commonplace. You're going to see a similar thing with Web access."

As quickly as the wireless market is forging ahead, the United States is still behind in integrating wireless apps into their everyday lives. Sukawaty believes that this is all about to change.

"It took us a good five years to go digital after Europe introduced it," said Sukawaty. "But we are now catching up. It's inevitable that we're going to lead in this category."

Sukawaty also commented on the importance of the emerging wireless market to the industry.

"It's huge," said Sukawaty. "Companies are now jumping on the bandwagon to develop new consumer services, where before the market wasn't big enough. Now you see the Microsofts (Nasdaq:MSFT) and Yahoo!'s (Nasdaq:YHOO) of the world developing new wireless products and services. Consumers will have a lot more choice and a lot more applications that they'll find really compelling."

The entire interview is available free online at www.ITRadioNetwork.com

About IT Radio Network

IT Radio Network is an online audio business magazine that features a daily dose of tech trends, company spotlights and one-on-one interviews with the very people reshaping the world of technology.

The site is produced by Sky Radio, a wholly owned subsidiary of InterRep Information and Communication Services Inc., which produces radio programs for online magazines, a network of corporate Web sites, several major airline carriers and CEOLive.com.

Also appearing on the IT Radio Network are Oracle (Nasdaq:ORCL), Red Hat (Nasdaq:RHAT), Sun Microsystems (Nasdaq:SUNW), Motorola (NYSE:MOT), Interwoven (Nasdaq:IWOV), Verisign (Nasdaq:VRSN), Forrester Research (Nasdaq:FORR), Meta Group (Nasdaq:METG), Gartner Group (NYSE:IT) and InformationWeek (NYSE:CTP).

Upcoming guests include Dell (Nasdaq:DELL), Peoplesoft (Nasdaq:PSFT), PSINet (Nasdaq:PSIX) and Corio.