What a difference genius can make. Thirty billion quid in one case. Hutchison has spawned two wireless flops in the UK and one stupendous success. Was genius the ingredient which made Orange a success but was lacking in Rabbit and 3?
With rumours flying around that Goldman Sachs is looking for a buyer for 3, the first company to get a 3G network up and running in the UK, it is instructive to look at the record of Hutchison, 3’s owner, in the UK.
In the late 80s it came up will the ill-fated Rabbit wireless network which allowed you to make a call but not receive one.
In 1992, realizing Rabbit was not going as well as expected, Hutchison sent over a genius to see what was going wrong.
He reported back to Hutachison with the recommendation to junk the Rabbit network, write off the GBP280m invested in it, and spend another GBP700m in a decent wireless network.
Hutchison made the investment and, eight years later, the network, Orange, was sold to France Telecom for GBP30bn.
Who knows the name of the boss of Rabbit? Or the boss of 3? But everyone knows the name of man who made Orange: Hans Snook.
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