Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Lancing the bubble


A number of different sources are pointing to a decline in the semicondustor industry to occur by the middle of next year. Semiconductors are the canaries in the mine shaft of the technology sector.

These are the components that take the longest to make and are essential for all modern equipment from controllers for factory machines to laptops, microwaves and toasters. Demand is slowing down and may slip into a recession.

On the other side of the coin you are starting to have a new telecoms bubble hyped by companies providing VoIP services for cheaper calls the same way that the likes of Deltathree did eight years ago.

Wearing web 2.0 clothing the idea of the call back to get around mobile carriers for cheap calls has been floated as a new concept, when in fact it is already being done by low cost operators providing services to immigrant communities in London.

For the PR sector though this time around there has been little sizzle to the steak, what will the downturn bring?