James A. Dwyer, Jr., Chairman of Interop Technologies, Founding Father of the Competitive Wireless Industry, Passes Away at 73
FORT MYERS, FL-Aug. 8, 2010-James A. Dwyer, Jr., 73, a visionary and serial entrepreneur who was instrumental in launching the cellular telecommunications industry worldwide, passed away Friday evening at his home in Fort Myers, Florida, after an extended illness. Born Dec. 31, 1936, in Woodside, Queens, New York City, he is survived by his wife, Nancy, as well as 12 children and 15 grandchildren. Funeral services are scheduled for 11:00 am Eastern time, Thurs., Aug. 12, atChurch of the Resurrection of our Lord in Fort Myers.
One of the founding fathers of the cellular business worldwide, Mr. Dwyer was a lawyer and salesman best known for starting early cellular systems in several top U.S. markets and working with colleagues and competitors to build a strong base for the young industry. American Cellular Telephone Corp., the system he launched in Indianapolis on Feb. 3, 1984, was the third cellular system in the country and the first built from the ground up for commercial service. The first two systems had been in experimental trials for several years.
A courageous challenger to the status quo, Mr. Dwyer and his allies successfully convinced the FCC to allow independent paging operators and radio common carriers (RCCs) to build public cellular networks and compete with the monopoly wireline telephone company. At the time, many of these businesses were family-run operations licensed by the commission to provide private paging, answering, and early car telephone services. The decision unleashed a historic wave of investment and competition in wireless telecommunications. Mr. Dwyer's efforts were instrumental in creating today's competitive wireless environment, and nearly 5 billion people around the globe are now cellular customers.
In 1998 Mr. Dwyer received the prestigious Sarnoff Citation from the Radio Club of America. The award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the advancement of electronic communications.
"The entire wireless industry is saddened by the loss of Jim Dwyer," said Dennis F. Strigl, retired President and COO of Verizon Communications and former President and CEO of Verizon Wireless. "I can't think of an individual with a higher degree of integrity. Jim was a genuine, down-to-earth individual who kept growing businesses, and one of his strongest contributions was the honesty he brought to the business world. The people who worked for him and with him loved the man."
Mr. Dwyer was a founding member of CTIA-The Wireless Association and crucial to its success. He served on the CTIA Board of Directors from its inception in 1984 until 2000. During 1995 and 1996, he was Chairman of the Board and a member of the Executive Committee. He led the association through Congressional revision of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the first major overhaul of U.S. telecommunications law in nearly 62 years, which resulted in strong policy positions for wireless services. In 2000 he received the CTIA President's Award for outstanding contributions to the industry. Mr. Dwyer also served on the Board of Directors of, and made a key investment in, CIBERNET Corp., a for-profit subsidiary of CTIA engaged in financial transaction management for wireless voice and data services. His participation in the leadership of CIBERNET enabled the company to expand its clearing and settlement services beyond North America into Western Europe and India. CIBERNET later was acquired by a group of private equity investors.
"When we first discussed the notion of creating CTIA at a lunch with executives from several of the Regional Bell companies, I looked around and thought that Jimmy was the guy I would most want to be in a fox hole with in that situation," said John Stanton, Founder of Trilogy Partners and Founder and former CEO of Western Wireless Corp. and VoiceStream Wireless. "He was a brilliant lawyer, but never intimidated anyone, and a strategic genius, but you never knew that until he had executed his strategy."
Mr. Dwyer's telecom career began in 1958, when he took an entry-level position at the New York offices of Radio Engineering Labs, Inc., a company based on FM technology that Maj. Edwin Howard Armstrong introduced to the world in 1935.
In 1969, he moved to Western Union International, where he became President of a subsidiary, Airsignal International, Inc. He proceeded to build its paging and mobile phone operations into a business providing wireless service in 40 markets.
Inspired to strike out as an entrepreneur, Mr. Dwyer left Airsignal in 1976 and started Radio Paging, an RCC providing services in Massachusetts, Illinois, Indiana, and Texas. For the next six years, he operated his successful business while deeply immersing himself in the RCC community's intense campaign for regulatory parity. After the FCC bowed to the RCC's arguments and granted wireline and non-wireline licenses in U.S. markets, Dwyer established American Cellular and grew his cellular empire to include 15 markets across the country. In 1986, the company was sold to BellSouth Mobility, which became part of AT&T Mobility.
Later Mr. Dwyer was Founder and President of Independent Cellular Network, Inc., and Wireless One Network, operating cellular systems under both wireline and non-wireline licenses in Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Florida. In October 1996, ICN was sold to 360 Communications Co., which was acquired by Alltel Corp. in 1998. WON was sold to AT&T Wireless in June 2000. Mr. Dwyer also owned and operated Qualicom Electronics Corp., a company specializing in paging and trunked radio systems for businesses.
Using intellectual property Mr. Dwyer's wireless operating companies developed, he co-founded Interop Technologies, a technology solutions company based in Fort Myers, with his son, John, in 2002. At the time of his death, Mr. Dwyer was Chairman of the firm, as well as a board member of NSight Communications, Green Bay, WI, and Pharos Systems, LLC, Rochester, NY.
Mr. Dwyer was a military veteran, serving in the late 1950s in the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division. By attending evening school, he earned both his BBA from City College of New York in 1965 and his JD from the New York University School of Law in 1971.
In Fort Myers, Mr. Dwyer was an organizer and board member of Florida Gulf Bank, an independent community bank.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to Hope Hospice, 9470 Health Park Cr., Fort Myers, FL 33908 or Community Cooperative Ministries, P.O. Box 2143, Fort Myers, FL 33902-3429.
About Interop Technologies
Interop Technologies (http://www.interoptechnologies.com) provides core wireless solutions for messaging, device management, and connectivity gateways. The company's unmatched deployment flexibility enables operators of all sizes to compete immediately, and 4G-ready architecture makes migration to next-generation technology simple. With a lengthy history in the wireless service provider business, Interop is a trusted partner to operators worldwide. Interop provides the world's fastest SMSC, a massively scalable MMSC, next-gen 4G messaging solutions, "one-click fix" SCOPETM Device Management, a state-of-the-art Common Short Code Gateway, and a WAP Gateway with comprehensive toolset. Interop is headquartered in Fort Myers, FL, with offices in Dallas, TX, and São Paulo, Brazil.
###
