Buildouts of optical fiber networks and fierce competition among telecoms have brought tariffs and margins to painfully low levels. The billions being spent for wireless spectrum and 3G infrastructures won't be recouped for years. Recall that it took more than a decade for the PC to become ubiquitous. Early adopters do not a mass market make. For every innovative device, people exist who feel they don't need it and won't sign on for it unless it becomes commonplace and utilitarian.
Mature products tend to work well enough to satisfy their users' needs indefinitely.
Let's deal with it. Whenever an industry brews a fresh pot of tea, there is usually toast as well, in the form of burnt-out technologies and paradigms. Older offerings may still be palatable in certain places and contexts, but insiders and investors lose their appetite for them. Table 1 serves up some hors d'oeuvres of trends and toast, with raisons d'etre, so to speak. How Come Wireless last mile DSL over copper Balky incumbent carriers, inadequate wirelines, and 3G buildouts favor fixed-wireless POPs.