Reborn Tech Maniac

Chapter 735

……

The ship-attack war between Iraq and Iran, which targets each other and neutral oil tankers entering and exiting each other's ports, began on March 1984, 3.At that time, the Iraqi Air Force used Exocet missiles to attack a Panamanian oil tanker near Iran's Khark Island in the Persian Gulf. The Iranian Air Force retaliated the next day and attacked a Kuwaiti oil tanker.

Of course, this does not mean that every oil tanker that is attacked will sink. It is often only damaged or stranded. It was not until February 1985, 2 that a Liberian oil tanker was sunk by the Iraqi Air Force. For the first time during the war, there was an example of a ship being sunk.

Since Iraq's oil output mostly relies on pipelines, and the Iraqi Air Force was stronger than the Iranian Air Force in the middle and late stages of the Iran-Iraq War, the losses were smaller than that of Iran, and Iran expanded its attack targets to other Gulf countries that supported Iraq.

With the escalation of the attack on ships, Kuwait, a major oil exporter, suffered serious losses, so it applied to members of the UN Security Council for escort protection.

Beginning in June 1987, the U.S. Navy intervened in the Iran-Iraq War on the grounds of escorting Kuwaiti oil tankers, and the Soviet Union also dispatched a fleet to the Gulf region.

In this way, Iran and the United States are at odds again in the Persian Gulf.Iran used small boats to attack U.S. escort ships and laid mines in the Persian Gulf to block their escorts; in retaliation for Iran's actions to mine mines and attack oil tankers, the U.S. military launched multiple military operations to attack Iranian minelayers and offshore oil of military significance. platform.

It is not difficult to see that compared with Iraq, Iran's situation is more passive, so it will be more unscrupulous.

But now it is Iraq who recklessly picked a sensational target-the world's largest oil tanker, the Sea Giant, and it was sunk. In the eyes of the richest man, this is too ruthless.

The Iran-Iraq War brought countless business opportunities, as can be seen by looking at the weapons used by the armies of both sides.If we really want to find out who doesn't obey the rules, it will only further illustrate the darkness of this world.

Therefore, it is naive to describe the Sea Giant's venture into the Persian Gulf as a suicide attempt. There are many ships entering and leaving this sea area every month, and the ship attack only further increases the value of such business opportunities.Moreover, the targets selected by Iraq and Iran are ships registered in small countries with no hard background.

Besides, the heat of ship raids is not so high now.Beginning on February 1988, 2, the two sides turned to attack the city - the missiles had a new and crazy target, which led to the destruction of many buildings and the displacement of a large number of people. On the 27st of the month, it was declared over.

More importantly, in order to bring the Iran-Iraq War to an end as soon as possible, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1987 on July 7, 20, calling for an immediate ceasefire between Iran and Iraq. The next day, Iraq welcomed the UN resolution and decided to Suspension of attacks on Iranian maritime targets as a show of good faith.

But now the Sea Giant was sunk by Iraq. Did Saddam Hussein really think he was pinching a soft persimmon?
If it weren't for the children running around here, the richest man would have said "You are paralyzed".

After calming down, Tang Huan frowned and said, "Although the Sea Giant is not owned by me personally, I am an important shareholder of the commercial company that the ship belongs to after all."

"This kind of thing, you have to look at it. The business opportunities and risks in the Middle East are unpredictable." Bush shrugged, "Take the Hunter brothers who went bankrupt because of the failure of silver futures speculation. Their family is in Libya. China's oil business is very enviable, but after Gaddafi came to power, he was hit hard."

The Hunter brothers are senior figures in the Republican Party of the United States, and the example of Bush Jr. can be said to be handy.

"It's probably because of this reason that the Hunter brothers turned to put all their eggs in one basket on silver futures. In the end, they even sold their beloved horse racing and ranch to me." Tang Huan seemed to be persuaded to divert his attention, and his face changed There was a smile on his face, and finally he said lightly, "However, the actions of the demon king in Iraq are likely to further affect the interests of more people."

"If it is really so unpopular, there will naturally be corresponding countermeasures." Bush Jr. said pointedly: "In every general election, candidates have always attached great importance to the issues that supporters care about."

……

After entertaining the Bush family, Tang Huan planned to leave immediately for London, England, to attend the meeting of the Kuwait Investment Authority, and to learn about the latest developments in the Persian Gulf from the Kuwaitis.After all, Funan alone is inseparable from high-quality and cheap oil.

As for the cellular phone business, Tang Huan is not going to wait for a reply from Craig McCaw. McCaw Cellular Phone Company can't make much of a splash anyway.But when Mr. Richest Man really let go, he took the initiative to come up again - something happened.

Tang Wenmao brought back the latest news with an ugly face: it was pointless to meet with Craig McCaw, because Gein McCaw's cellular phone company and AT&T got mixed up.

“As early as 1985, Craig McCaw secretly signed an agreement with AT&T, which had been dismantled mainly as a long-distance phone business, conditional on the future of McCaw Cellular Telephone Company. Obtaining a full set of cellular phone operation network equipment and technology at favorable prices from the other party, and relying on [-]% compatibility with AT&T's long-distance telephone network, it has an advantage in the cellular phone roaming function, even Datang Mobile Communications Company is inferior Three points.”

"It turns out that the McCaw Cellular Telephone Company's communication network is [-]% American Telephone and Telegraph Company's standard, and there is this secret deal hidden behind it." Tang Huan couldn't help but frowned. "Is this Craig McCaw's card?"

In industries such as telecommunications, electricity, water supply, gas supply, and cable TV, the reason why it is difficult for latecomers to attack those leaders through simple repeated network construction is often because the backbone network connects end customers. on the "last mile".

Take MCI, which constantly challenged AT&T until the other party was dismantled. It suffered from various local Bell companies, and Pacific Telecom was kinder.

There are not so many opportunities to be choked by others in the "last mile" of the cellular phone network that does not need to set up open lines. This is one of the reasons why Tang Huan is interested in this industry; but it is not completely immune to the suppression of the industry's predecessors After all, the cellular phone network still needs to communicate with the fixed phone network, especially when it comes to the "roaming" function, the interests involved are more and more complicated, and it cannot be solved only by advanced technology.

"AT&T has a good plan. Although it has been deprived of its local phone business, cellular phones may make up for this shortcoming." Tang Huan laughed. "But if AT&T chooses this way, it will force everyone to Tang Mobile Communications Co., Ltd. is cooperating with long-distance phone service competitors such as MCI."

"Compared to our Datang Mobile Communications Company, McCaw Cellular Phone Company is definitely easier to be swallowed up." Tang Wenmao analyzed from the perspective of AT&T.

"These guys, really think they can use these means to play in the field of cellular phones?" Tang Huan snorted coldly, "The current analog system includes poor call quality, poor security, stolen calls, Strings included, there's a whole bunch of flaws that I'll soon drown in the sand with the tide of a new technological revolution."

They were discussing, and the secretary reported: MCI CEO William McGovern, came to visit.

"Say Cao Cao, and Cao Cao will be here. It seems that everyone has a good understanding." After laughing at it, Tang Huan hurriedly stood up to greet William McGovern, and greeted William McGovern with concern: "It seems that the recovery of the body after the operation is very good. good."

It may have something to do with the living habits of smoking, coffee, and workaholics. William McGovern had to undergo surgery last year due to a heart attack.

Before bidding farewell to his job, the founder of MCI sold the company's cellular phone operating license and paging business to Datang Mobile Communications to raise funds to tide over the business difficulties.

After the old AT&T company was dismantled, although the new AT&T company had more competitors, it was also able to let go of its hands and feet. "Stick" has long had lazy old users; and MCI, which was once supported by consumers as a challenger, due to the relationship between newcomers, the service quality of the communication network is obviously a bit worse than that of AT&T, and thus suffered Complaining gradually lost people's favor.

At this stage, the strength and weakness of the U.S. long-distance phone market is clear at a glance.AT&T occupies more than 70.00% of the share, and its position is unassailable; MCI, which is struggling, has obtained a [-]% share despite poor management; but Sprint is closely following, and is closing in step by step. Already captured [-]% of the share.

During William McGovern's absence, MCI, which laid off 16000 of its 2400 workers, almost failed to hold on, forcing William McGovern to come out again nine months later.

"It's not bad." William McGovern laughed loudly and got to the point without any delay: "I heard that McCaw Cellular Telephone Company received great support from AT&T for access to long-distance calls."

"You are really not very well-informed." Tang Huan replied nonchalantly: "Craig McCaw just got some price concessions. After all, AT&T dared not refuse Datang Mobile Communications. Outside the door, we are unmatched when it comes to accessing local calls, especially on the West Coast."

"Domineering! Money is never a problem here with Tang." William McGovern gave a thumbs up sincerely, "However, Datang Mobile Communications invested heavily in purchasing the cellular phone operation of LIN Broadcasting Company The license shows the emphasis on areas outside the West Coast, especially New York. The establishment of a cellular phone service network covering the entire United States is absolutely inseparable from the sincere support of long-distance phone access.”

Tang Huan nodded calmly, "Fortunately, the federal government has planned a competitive landscape for the long-distance telephone market. AT&T is certainly the only one, but there are still vigorous pursuers like MCI and Sprint to support us." cooperate."

"Don grasped the situation very well." William McGovern laughed loudly again and said very frankly: "After returning to work this time, I plan to strengthen MCI's commercial telecommunications services to improve the ability to attract large corporate customers. ability."

"For this reason, I specifically contacted IBM, intending to sell the shares of MCI to it, and then take advantage of the effect of this leading brand in American business."

"However, I found that IBM's mind is completely focused on the computer field that directly competes with Tang, and it dares and is powerless to be distracted."

William McGovern skillfully complimented in disguise: "After a round, I think Tang is much better than IBM!"

It has to be said that William McGovern has a vicious vision. If it had been a few months earlier, Tang Huan would definitely not have been interested in the mess of MCI, but the situation is different now—McCall Cellular Phone Company, a weak cell phone field Second, it has become a de facto ally with AT&T, and thus possesses enough threat to make a comeback; Datang Mobile Communications, which has already invested a huge amount of money, has to find a more reliable cooperation in long-distance calls partner.Is there a more suitable choice than MCI, the second in the same industry?
It is also ironic to say that providing wireless communication services similar to cellular phones is the ideal of John Goken, another founder of MCI, but as he left the company in 1974, especially the expansion of the microwave network system has kept MCI busy. It's time to pay, and there's simply no room left to get involved in building a staggeringly expensive cellular network.

If MCI forms an alliance with Tang Huan, who owns Datang Mobile Communications Company, it would be a natural fit that would satisfy John Goken's original intention of founding MCI.

Tang Huan's sentence "Since you trust me so much, how can I let you down", added a bit of real joy to William McGovern's laughter.

……

Tang Huan was dragged into New York by the matter of cooperating with MCI. Originally, he planned to simply attend the premiere of Jackie Chan and Hong Jinbao's "Die Hard", but the British side blocked all British Petroleum companies, including the Kuwait Investment Authority. Important shareholders issued a notice of emergency meeting.The implication is nothing more than, don’t think that you can really take away control of BP if you have money. It’s time for us to sit down and talk about it.

(End of this chapter)