BOOM TIMES.

IS TELECOM BECESSION-PROOF? LOOKING AT THE NUMbers, you'd think so. * Sales for cellular operators are through the roof. Equipment makers of all stripes can't move fast enough to position themselves. All this despite the long slog out of the Asian crunch for even star economies in the region. * Companies kitting out Latin America Inc. are doing well, they say, even in problem markets. Diveo Broadband Networks, an Internet-based business telecom working the region, saw "15- to 17-fold growth" in Argentina during 1999 and 2000, and the privately held company expects that number to be topped soon by operations in Brazil. "There is a market out there even in tough economic conditions," says Diveo CEO David Schmieg. * That's because the cost of installing new technologies is a pittance compared to the old way. Stringing lines and breaking concrete is expensive; installing sleek wireless towers and ever-cheaper servers is not, says Toby Farrand, CEO of Broadlogic Network Technologies, a maker of satellite modems an d routers. * Farrand sees rapid growth as companies ditch older, more expensive services for Internet-based solutions. For many, Farrand says, the savings is a tactical move they cannot afford to delay. "You have to invest in your information technology infrastructure, or when the economy does turn around, you're going to be swallowed up," Farrand argues. * And that's a "vast sucking sound" no company wants to hear.