It's time for FierceTelecom's 2007 Year-End Review. As I looked back at the big stories of the past year, I realized I had the good fortune of not having to live up to any crazy predictions of forecasts I made at the beginning of the year. That's because FierceTelecom.com has been around for only about five months. Of course, plenty happened in the telecom industry in the first seven months of the year, but strangely (and fortuitously for our five-month-old publication) most of the big stories of this year either occurred in the last five months, or at least came to a head in the last five months after lengthy preambles.
The exception to that perception was the release of the iPhone, a piece of news that broke in the first half of the year, though just barely. In my year-end review, I'm giving the iPhone a special place above and just adjacent to my Top 5 Stories of 2007. The reason is mostly because FierceTelecom.com is primarily wireline-oriented and the iPhone is a wireless device. However, I think the iPhone's converged nature, timing and implications already are affecting how the telecom industry at large addresses content, broadband access, open access, security and fixed-mobile convergence, among other issues.
As for crazy predictions, as we look ahead at 2008, I will be required to stick my neck out a bit. You can read those predictions in this space on Jan. 2, 2008. For now, read my Top 5 Stories a 2007 below, along with some breaking news of the day at the bottom of our "Also Noted" section. I'll run more lists throughout this week, along with some picks and pans from our readers, so stay tuned. - Dan