LOS ANGELES � There�s a lot of focus on how over-the-air radio technology is obsolete and becoming less and less relevant in the world of broadcasting. There�s some truth to that.
That said, we know that AM technology has been around for just about 100 years (or more if you consider what Fessenden did), and FM has been around for nearly 90 years now. That�s a pretty good run, in and of itself, and the end isn�t really in sight, especially for FM here in North America. Compare those two experiences to some other technologies that seemed invaluable just 10 years ago.
Blackberry: BlackBerry is now staring at a market share of virtually zero, according to Gartner Inc.
2G GSM and CDMA: Of course, spectrum is being reused for LTE so those �old� technologies are now out the door.
Smart glasses: Here�s a concept that just never really got off the ground, according to lightreading.com.
What about company downsizing? Well that isn�t only happening in broadcasting. Reports are circling that AT&T also laid off up to 2,000 workers (and maybe more) as 2017 wound to its end, also according to lightreading.com. �Even if AT&T’s spending increases as was promised following the tax bill, new jobs are far from guaranteed. Thanks to those “technology improvements” and the rise of automation, the fate of telecom employees is still precarious indeed,� from the same article.
I�m not gleefully telling you this now just for the sake of schadenfreude � just trying to put the work in the general category of telecommunications in to perspective. It can be a tough job market out there.�
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