Dispatch From the MobileCom Wars

When Qualcomm announced last week that U.S. Xpress Enterprises had “extended its contract with Qualcomm to deploy OmniTRACS mobile communications system to its trucking fleet,” it seemed more than just another customer announcement.

The Qualcomm news release raised eyebrows because just 17 months ago, in December of 2002, Qualcomm competitor Aether Systems announced that Chattanooga-based U.S. Xpress had committed to replacing Qualcomm’s OmniTRACS with Aether’s MobileMax system across its entire fleet.
The following month, Aether announced that U.S. Xpress had also committed to Aether’s GeoLogic trailer-tracking system for its fleet of 12,000 trailers.
The news was significant because U.S. Xpress, a long-time Qualcomm customer, is a high-profile carrier, in part for its use of technology. Clearly the lively competition between Qualcomm and Aether was heating up.
But there clarity ended.
A Qualcomm spokesman would not say if U.S. Xpress had ordered additional OmniTRACS units and would only confirm that the carrier had maintained a relationship with Qualcomm, even after the Aether announcement.
Aether had a bit more to say. According to the Maryland-based company, U.S. Xpress had not backed away from its commitment to MobileMax and that as many as 3,000 of the carrier’s 5,500 power units have so far been equipped with the MobileMax system. Similarly, according to Aether, U.S. Xpress was still committed to Aether’s GeoLogic trailer tracking system.
This week, U.S. Xpress CFO Ray Harlin provided some perspective.
“We had 100% of our fleet with Qualcomm and you don’t make a transition when you have 5,500 trucks overnight,” he said. “We never severed our relationship with Qualcomm. We entered into a relationship with Aether also.”
But the U.S. Xpress contract with Qualcomm was about to expire, Harlin explained.
“So we had to formalize an agreement with Qualcomm,” he said. “Qualcomm has served us well over the years and will continue to serve us well over the term of this contract.”
What of the U.S. Xpress relationship with Aether?
“As far as the details of the commitment, I think that’s not for public consumption. As it relates to Aether, we have (MobileMax) installed on almost half our units at this point in time and we’ve continued to install (GeoLogic) on our trailers as new trailers are introduced.
“Are we always looking for better things?” Harlin asked rhetorically. “Yes, we’re always looking for improvement.”