International -- Readers Report
Tech's Myopia Shut It out of the Top 50
For the first time in years, tech companies have been shut out ("BusinessWeek 50" Special Report, Apr. 8). It's the very urge to make the numbers next quarter that can get in the way of real progress for the next several years.
Over and over, we see companies not realizing that money held sacred in some departments should be used to make improvements that will leverage continued efficiency down the road--a year away, not a month or a quarter away. Those very companies that didn't make the top 50 were absolutely at the top of the top 50 not so long ago. It is not just the economy; it is how companies respond to an economic downturn.
Sheila Mello
Boston, Mass.
How to Improve U.S. Wireless Service
Reading your report on the wireless shakeout ("What ails U.S. wireless?" Special Report, Apr. 1), I can only conclude that the American wireless user gets what he pays for. I had many reasons to move here from Europe, but wireless was certainly not on that list. Europe was lucky to have governments (through their national carriers) control the birth of wireless. Commercial players were able to benefit from a single standard and build their services from there. The European customer pays huge prices for wireless, but he loves it, uses it, and is happy. So let's have all these carriers over here merge, agree on a standard, raise prices, and finally give us what we're prepared to pay for.
Philippe Vercruyssen
Los Altos Hills, Calif.
A Crooked Cop Is Even Worse Than a Crooked Robber
In "The heavy hand of justice" (American News, Apr. 1), we all know that Enron Corp. execs will go free while Andersen is pilloried. And yes, it's "unfair," as Joseph Weber points out. But somebody has to take the fall to send Corporate America a long-needed signal to stop the hanky-panky. And for Andersen to take the fall satisfies a basic perception of most Americans: A crooked cop is even worse than a crooked robber.
Jim Mooney
Jacksonville, Fla.
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