Allied Wireless Communications Corp. CEO Frank O’Mara is profiled in the latest edition of RCR Wireless, an online telecom industry publication.

The Little Rock-based wireless firm has been assembling managers and employees from the former Alltel unit, which sold to Verizon Wireless in 2009.

  O’Mara discusses the challenges he’s facing with AWCC’s rapid ramp-up.

Q: Tell me a little bit about your device lineup? What’s the profile of your typical customer? 


O’Mara: Our customers look more like the big guys’ customers – the Verizon and AT&T customers. We’ve got a lot of postpaid customers and fewer prepaid customers than some smaller guys have, so we’ve got to find a way to keep those customers happy. That is a challenge because our cost structure is not the same as the big guys’ cost structure. And as much as rate plans distinguish your offering, the most distinctive feature of your offer is your device lineup. And of course, we have huge disadvantages not just in cost when we acquire these devices but in our ability to get access to the devices.

Obviously, we have difficulty getting our hands on the exclusive devices – beyond which is what we would pay for them if we could get them. 

There is a vein of good news here and that is that Verizon was gracious enough to give us access to those exclusive devices six months after they have launched the device, but that doesn’t solve the problem either, but it is a much better position to be in than the alternative. So Verizon is onto the Droid X and we are about to launch the Milestone, which effectively is the Droid. The other good news is that HTC is a fantastic partner and they have some great Android devices that we have launched. … And the Google Android platform gives us a shot through HTC and Samsung to give us compelling products to put in our customers’ hands.

Interestingly, O’Mara mentions that the new platform for Allied’s billing system is being built by Convergys.  Former Alltel #2 Jeff Fox is now leading Convergys after consulting on several industry financing deals.

You can access the full interview at this link.  And, you can access our recent interview with O’Mara here.