Hi Phishpheet,Didn't realise the Unwired/BigAir relationship had...

Hi Phishpheet,

Didn't realise the Unwired/BigAir relationship had ceased (old announcement). Probably had to happen if they were using the 7.6Ghz.

The Broad IP acquisition was mentioned primarily to show the ease for which takeovers and consolidations can occur in the industry without affecting end user accounts/service.

From what I can derive, most providers are using Nokias and/or Cisco hardware. Also don't forget ENG don't own any portion of Unwired anymore (its all Seven's) and they've only got 85,000 or so clients (and still making losses). Seven own a portion of ENG ONLY due to the old ENG/Unwired relationship. Seven wouldn't have bought into ENG if it wasn't for that shareholding in Unwired.

One statement from Standup that I do support in the case of ENG is that the ENG directors have realised they are now a standalone VoIP now and if they didn't choose the most recent path of focusing on building numbers, Seven would have waited and offered them next to nothing for the rest of the Co - still possible too!

For Seven to earn anything commercially viable from any WIMAX rollout, their going to require an initial client base. This is where industry consolidation will occur (in 1 to 2 years time or perhaps less).

Hence why it is vital for all three (FRE, ENG, MNF) to get their business/balance sheets very strong so eventual acquirers are forced to pay top dollar for these listed VoIP companies. MNF have hit critical mass, ENG (who are now focusing on client numbers)look like they're on the way to reaching critical mass and FRE have sometime to go.

100% MNF option conversions will put an extra $8.6million in the coffers at April next year. Thats a substantial amount of dosh to play with (especially for a lurking predator). Most of the options are tightly held by the Top 20 - and like I said previously only $30K needs to spent on market in the fully paids to get the options in the money (worth spending I reckon!!!)

Other major Telco players who stand to lose alot of potential revenue may step in and convert them onto their own Naked DSL/WiFi networks (if possible) - or we could see JV's between Seven and others.

NOTICE TO ALL LISTED VOIP COS: BUILD YOUR CLIENT BASES AND GET YOUR BUSINESS PROFITABLE OR BE PREPARED TO SELL OUT YOUR SHAREHOLDERS AND HARD WORK AT A VERY DISCOUNTED PRICE. (Well done to MNF for reaching the critical mass milestone on only 60,000 clients - one way and thats UP!!!).

Cheers,
The Sparkler