I’d heard of Go America in the go-go days of the dot-com boom, but back then it was just one of a million hot new suppliers of wireless data services for handheld computers. I never knew about its Wyndtell subsidiary, which focused exclusively on providing telecommunications services for deaf and hard-of-hearing people. After I suffered my severe hearing loss and couldn’t use the phone, my audiologist told me to get the Wyndtell handheld service for text messaging, but I thought she said “Wintel” and never found it on my internet searches. Instead, I got a Blackberry device with Skytel text messaging and email. It worked great but was way too expensive. Later I tried out a Sidekick II device from T-Mobile when it first came out, but the service initially had all kinds of bugs that kept me from getting onto my T-Mobile web account, so I returned it before the 30-day trial period was over. I currently use a very inexpensive and simple AT&T Wireless (now Cingular) Ogo handheld device. It works very well, and at only $17/month for data and email service, the price is right. But now I’ve finally stumbled across the fact that Go America has brought its Wyndtell business front and center and repositioned itself with an exclusive focus on meeting the needs of deaf and hard-of-hearing consumers. When Go America got caught in the downdraft of the dot-com bust and telecommunications industry meltdown, the company apparently went through a serious rough patch. But now the company has a new direction and strategy focused on a market that is guaranteed to grow rapidly.
The company’s young CEO, Dan Luis, was the founder of Wyndtell. After being acquired by Go America, he managed to continue developing new Wyndtell services for deaf and hard-of-hearing (HOH) customers as an independent Go America subsidiary. When the company’s revenue stream from its regular data services plummeted with the telecomm industry crash, the Wyndtell deaf and HOH business continued chugging along. So the board of directors made Luis CEO in January 2003. The company raised new money and repositioned itself, and though it is much smaller right now than it was at the peak of the boom, it appears to be on more stable financial footing than immediately after the telecomm industry bust. In its most recent earnings release on March 31, it pointed to stablizing revenue from the success of the Wyndtell services and a new cost structure that should return it to profitability. It is also showing signs of potential growth with new products and services coming on line. So keep Go America bookmarked on your browser. These guys are going places.