There’s been a sea-change in the cellular industry since the introduction of the iPhone. Years ago the industry was profitable and growing. Feature phones were roughly equivalent, cheap to make and none of the vendors had pricing power. If Motorola tried to overcharge, companies could strike a better deal with Samsung or any other competitor. The vendors and the employees benefited from this rising tide.
Fast forward to today and smartphones have impressive capabilities but are much more expensive and brand loyalty means companies like Apple have pricing power. At the same time the increase in data consumption has required much larger investments in cell sites and spectrum. As a result, service providers are squeezing their suppliers and their employees as hard as they can to remain profitable. Sure, Lowell, Hans, and company made huge mistakes but the overall change in the industry is equally important if not more so.
I don’t foresee an improvement in this trend and I think it’s no longer worth it for those of us who aren’t ED, VP, or CEO to remain in this industry.