NEW YORK, October 23, 2007 —Wireless companies from the Northeast were well represented in the first ever Wireless Fast 50, a ranking of the fastest growing wireless companies based on revenue growth over the past five years. Deloitte LLP, in partnership with CTIA, made the announcement today as part of the CTIA WIRELESS I.T. and Entertainment conference in San Francisco.

"Given the increasing influence of wireless technology on lifestyles and business models, the time is right to supplement Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500 rankings with a stand-alone assessment of the wireless market,” said Phil Asmundson, vice chairman, U.S. Technology, Media and Telecommunications, Deloitte LLP. “Our Wireless Fast 50 underscores the potential for both innovation and business performance in this evolving sector.”

Satellite Radio Gets Serious

Best known for its multi-channel satellite radio broadcast capabilities for home and auto, number one ranked SIRIUS Satellite Radio offers its 7.1 million subscribers a wide range of products and services including 80 channels of Internet radio, 60 channels of business radio as well as enhanced services for weather, traffic and marine broadcasting.

SIRIUS’s revenue has increased more than 79,000 percent since 2002, and the company is planning to merge with XM Satellite Radio, number 11 on the Wireless Fast 50 list.

Also in the top 10 Fast 50 Wireless companies is AirClic Inc., whose wireless devices, with advanced GPS tracking, allow mobile workforces to capture and access job-critical information directly from the field. 

A total of eight Northeast companies earned Wireless Fast 50 rankings reflecting the fact that the region remains a strong incubator and innovation center for wireless technology. Their average five year growth was 11,760 percent.

The Northeast companies in the 2007 Deloitte Wireless Fast 50 are:

Trends Driving Wireless

As a group, the 2007 Wireless Fast 50’s extraordinary growth rate reflects a number of underlying trends:

• Wireless voice connections surpassing wired connections: Wireless device usage is surpassing that of land lines. In fact, the majority of wireless calls are done within hands reach of a wired phone.
• More than just voice: People are increasingly using wireless mobile devices for more than just voice communication. They use them as personal devices and incorporate them into their lifestyles, leading to new business opportunities.
• Consumer mobility driving business disruption: Wireless technology is a key enabler of a mobile, un-tethered world.  This mobility is changing how people work, communicate and think about entertainment, which in turn is disrupting business models.

The 2007 Deloitte Wireless Fast 50

The complete Wireless Fast 50 rankings are as follows:

The Technology Wireless Fast 50 program is presented by Deloitte LLP, in association with its program sponsor, ONESPORT, an agency providing corporate advisory, business development and program management services to a select clientele.

Qualifying Criteria

To qualify for the Wireless Fast 50, companies must have had operating revenues of at least $50,000 in 2002 and $5,000,000 in 2006 and be a company that owns proprietary wireless technology or proprietary wireless intellectual property that contributes to a significant portion of the company's operating revenues or devotes a significant proportion of revenues to the research and development of wireless technology.  Using other companies' wireless technology or intellectual property in a unique way does not qualify.

Companies from the Wireless Fast 50 program are automatically entered in Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500 program, which ranks North America’s top 500 fastest growing technology, media, telecommunications and life sciences companies.  For more information on Deloitte’s Wireless Fast 50 or Technology Fast 500 programs, visit www.fast500.com.

About Deloitte

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