"Highly recommended."--Library JournalThe wireless industry was built by a motley band of characters who, from the beginning, have fought unrelentingly against one another for a cut of the business. It's a surprising history full of winners, losers, and lucky first-time entrepreneurs who made millions.Written by industry insider James B. Murray, Jr., Wireless Nation chronicles the unique development of the wireless industry and the protagonists who brought it to life. In the mix is the inimitable entrepreneur Craig McCaw, MCI Chairman William McGowan, John Kluge of Metromedia, and also Peter Lewis, a former Army officer and cellular business pioneer whose career ended in disgrace when he finally bent the rules a little too far. Murray tells the story as only an insider can, detailing the incredible circumstances--not to mention the greatest government boondoggle of our time--that shaped and defined the coming century's most promising business. It is a must-read for anyone interested in new technology and the American business landscape.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
It may be hard to remember now, but until just a few years ago only an elite few could even hope to obtain a mobile phone--and the service they got, if they were fortunate enough to get any, was both technically mediocre and inordinately expensive.
That all changed in the 1980s, of course, when cellular technology began moving from experimental to ubiquitous and those clunky early car phones went the way of the Model T and telephone operator. The subsequent rush to wireless has been one of the most dynamic business stories of our time, and James B. Murray Jr. does a fine job of running it down and sorting it out in Wireless Nation.
The negotiator of some of the industry's biggest deals as chairman and managing director of Columbia Capital, Murray has had firsthand access to most of the major players in the ongoing saga, and his book benefits tremendously from the insider's perspective that these connections helped forge. It also benefits from his novelist's eye, which virtually puts readers into the center of the action with big-time participants like McCaw Cellular's Craig McCaw as well as "regular folks" like a middle-aged truck driver named Bob Pelissier who snagged one of the country's first cellular licenses.
Moving effortlessly from Newfoundland to New York and Washington state to Washington, D.C., Murray deftly chronicles the emergence of the cell phone as a worldwide business and societal phenomenon. He also offers informed speculation on its future, as emergent wireless Internet connections promise to make current technology and consumer penetration look as quaint as a black dial telephone. --Howard Rothman --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
Writing from deep (occasionally too deep) inside the boardroom, Murray who, as chairman and managing director at Columbia Capital, has put together plenty of deals for telecommunications giants like AT&T Wireless and Bell Atlantic charts the rise of the cellular business, for the most part avoiding the canned statements typical of tech histories. In part because he barely offers a snapshot of each man and his company before flashing forward to the next, the book's setting is its most intriguing element. It begins in the early 1980s, when the FCC auctioned the country's cellular phone markets, section by section, to the highest (or, often, simply the most rabid) bidder. Murray treats us to a detailed look at how a ragtag band of media upstarts (and the occasional conglomerate) often risked their futures on a new and mostly unproven technology and established a multibillion dollar industry. While 20/20 hindsight allows us to recognize what a gold mine the cellular business has become, it seemed like anything but a sure thing at the time. Murray's book is most intriguing when he leaves the inner sanctum where the deal making is relayed in detail but without much sense of perspective or drama and shows us how far cellular communications have come (e.g., as recently as 1981, only 24 people in New York could be on their cell phones at one time). Some readers may be disappointed that Murray is more interested in what happened to which company than he is in explaining the societal effects of one of the greatest technological revolutions in history.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
Mr. Murray's account of the birth of the cellular telephone industry is remarkable. This is a subject I had little to no knowledge of (or interest in) and yet I found myself unable to put this book down. The story is truly incredible. The insider perspective he provides gives the reader a view into the birth of an entire industry.
Time and again he details the steps, and more often mis-steps, that led to the wireless world we live in today. As interesting as the stories of the visionaries who "got it" from the begining are, the tales of those who guessed wrong are even more incredible. Huge corporations, respected "experts," and the US government all made one wrong decision after the other, while a handful of players who figured out just how big this industry could be took incredible gambles to succeed. At the same time, every day individuals from widows to plumbers had a chance to participate, and make millions in what was essentially a government run lottery.
A riveting first hand account of the creation of an industry where billions were made and lost, and continue to be today.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book is a must-read for anyone involved in the cellular industry, and should be very interesting (and entertaining) for anyone interested in entrepreneurialism or emerging industries.
I work in the cellular industry and often hear, from those who worked in the industry in the mid-eighties, references to the "old days." While the current success of the cellular industry makes it seem as if its success was a "no-brainer," Murray makes clear that this was not the case--he does an excellent job of describing the free-wheeling, if not chaotic, beginnings of the industry, the fateful steps and mis-steps of some of the early players, and the vast uncertainty of whether the industry would ever be viable. Most memorably, he provides interesting profiles of some of the pioneers, cowboys, and charlatans that participated in the creation of America's cell-phone sector.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
James B. Murray, Jr. tells a fascinating true-tale of the wacky, wonderful world of wireless technology. As an insider, and an early investory, Murray has access to some of the yarns of the early cellular cowboys like Craig McGraw and John Kluge. Today, almost 120 million Americans use cell phones and more are swapping wireless for their landlines every day. This is a great primer if you're in any aspect of communications. Wireless promises to touch every aspect of our lives from work to play to education to entertainment. Murray's book gives us a birds-eye view to the past and a preview to the new spectrum of the future. He includes just enough tech info and countless stories, anecdotes and personal asides to make it a quick read yet, a valuable reference tool. No one else captures the excitement of the lotteries and wireless land rush. In his acknowledgements, Murray thanks Lisa Dickey who evidently was his collaborator on the book. He says she brought to live a dry narrative. And yes, the tome is easy to read but I yearn to dial my cell phone and talk directly to Murray whose voice on the era may just be much more colorful than polished prose can reveal. If you buy just one book on the history of wireless, you should start with this one. A great complement to any office bookshelf. Joyce Schwarz, JCOM, [...] author, "Cutting the Cord: Guide to Going Wireless", fall, 2001
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By RR
Format:Paperback
Very well written book! Jim Murray does a very good job of making an interesting story as he narrates how FCC distributed valuable cellular licenses in the US in the 1980s. Also, talkes about how McCaw built his empire. I highly recommend this for somebody who loves the world of telecom. However, this book is not for somebody looking for new business ideas or trends in the industry today.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Although the behind-the-scene account of how and why we became a nation of cellphone users may seem a bit dated, the story still intriguing, and "Wireless Nation" tells it well. Written by James Murray, an industry insider, it details the haphazard and chaotic way in which the wireless network in this country was developed, and how it came about despite the numerous missteps by both the public and the private sector. Written in an engaging and fast-moving style, Murray gives a thorough account of the industry winners and losers and how certain individuals, who were certainly industry outsiders, became wealthy as a result.
But lest we think it is merely a story, intriguing though it is, if it were nothing more, then it would simply be a piece of history. However, the story that Murray tells teaches us important lessons of what it takes to recognize an opportunity, to think outside the box, to go against the traditional wisdom, to find new ways of doing things--all of which are necessary to the entrepreneurial spirit. For in the end, the story is a testimony to American ingenuity that can make something succeed and can immeasurably alter and improve our lives, despite the well-intentioned but ultimately counterproductive rules of the government.
But lest we think it is merely a story, intriguing though it is, if it were nothing more, then it would simply be a piece of history. However, the story that Murray tells teaches us important lessons of what it takes to recognize an opportunity, to think outside the box, to go against the traditional wisdom, to find new ways of doing things--all of which are necessary to the entrepreneurial spirit. For in the end, the story is a testimony to American ingenuity that can make something succeed and can immeasurably alter and improve our lives, despite the well-intentioned but ultimately counterproductive rules of the government.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Murray has written an immensely entertaining view of the development
of cellular telephone, the wrangling over FCC spectrum, the con artists
and hucksters, the visionary businessmen, the unprecedented methods
of haggling used to settle license ownership. My own background gives
me familiarity with the Internet revolution; it was quite interesting
to compare and contrast the cellular revolution with it. Those who
studied the cellular revolution were probably better able to understand
of cellular telephone, the wrangling over FCC spectrum, the con artists
and hucksters, the visionary businessmen, the unprecedented methods
of haggling used to settle license ownership. My own background gives
me familiarity with the Internet revolution; it was quite interesting
to compare and contrast the cellular revolution with it. Those who
studied the cellular revolution were probably better able to understand
what was going to happen with the Internet than those who didn't.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well written book about how smart enterpreneurs outmaneuvered the...
A very well written, fast-paced, and captivating read about how a regulated scarce asset (spectrum) was captured by smart entrepreneurs. Read more
Published on December 1, 2007 by Amit Jain
5.0 out of 5 stars
Education, Entertainment, & Suspense
A thoroughly enjoyable read! Murray takes a series of broadly related threads culled from the rise of the US cellular industry and weaves them together to create a very... Read more
Published on September 26, 2005 by barberikyawp
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wireless Evolution ;)
This novel is actually pretty interesting after I read it. At first, I thought it was just another average book by some unknown, unpopular author that no one has ever even heard of... Read more
Published on December 7, 2004 by Nick I.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Spectral Analysis
For a book that calls itself wireless nation there is surprisingly little about the technology from the human aspect and how it came to be embraced by the common man. Read more
Published on November 20, 2003 by Chaitanya Gaddam
4.0 out of 5 stars
An entertaining historical account
This is a great book for getting a personal account from the major business personalities involved in building the nation's cell phone system. Read more
Published on July 30, 2003 by C. Watkins
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great behind-the-scenes look at lawbreakers making money!
OK, so I gave away the "big surprise", but it's true. This book does an amazing job of detailing the early days of the FCC "dispensation" of the cellular phone... Read more
Published on December 17, 2001 by Raleigh Chinn II
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Must Read Book for Wireless Professionals
This book provides useful insight for me in terms of assessing which markets and current players will play a significant role in the future. Read more
Published on December 9, 2001 by "digitalfilipino"
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good book on neglected topic
So much has been written about the internet industry in the 90's. But almost as important in the same period was the wireless industry. Very little has been written about wireless. Read more
Published on November 19, 2001 by Ronald Brown
4.0 out of 5 stars
GREAT book for technology / history buffs
I gave this book 4 stars because, while it was refreshing to read and I definitely learned quite a bit, it wasn't a paradigm-shifting book, which is what I am increasingly moving... Read more
Published on October 14, 2001 by Dan E. Ross
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 5
books:
4
books
cite this book:
- Catalina Island on page 99, and page 100
- Small Town and Other American Poems by John R. Lewis on page 180
- Puerto Rico: Freedom and Power in the Caribbean by Gordon K. Lewis on page 184
- The United States and Canada (American Foreign Political Library) by Gerald M. Craig on page 304
- Small Town by John Ransom Lewis on page 180
- Anytime, Anywhere: Entrepreneurship and the Creation of a Wireless World by Louis Galambos in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- The Second Information Revolution by Gerald W. Brock in Back Matter
- The Qualcomm Equation: How a Fledgling Telecom Company Forged a New Path to Big Profits and Market by Dave Mock in Back Matter
- Made to Break: Technology and Obsolescence in America by Giles Slade in Back Matter
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