Faster Internet and New Phones Hot Topics at Wireless Show

LAS VEGAS — Mobile Internet gadgets. New high-speed networks. Handsets aiming to be the next iPhone. New competitors and ways of doing business.

They're all on the agenda as the wireless industry gathers this week for its annual show, with more than 1,100 companies and 40,000 people expected at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

While the CTIA Wireless show has been overshadowed in recent years by events such as Apple Inc.'s Macworld conference, where the iPhone debuted last year, new developments have many in the industry buzzing.

Perhaps the biggest news that may erupt this week involves Sprint Nextel Corp. and its effort to roll out a new wireless Internet network, providing high-speed access for people at home and on the go.

The service, called Xohm, is deployed for testing with Sprint employees in Chicago, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. It uses WiMax technology, which offers speeds akin to cable modems or digital subscriber lines, with a range much greater than Wi-Fi.

While Sprint plans a commercial launch this year, the future of the project has recently been in doubt. Facing slowing growth and subscriber defections, the No. 3 wireless carrier changed CEOs in December and has been closing stores and cutting jobs.

But reports surfaced last week that Sprint and the wireless Internet provider Clearwire Corp. may team with the top two cable companies and other technology firms to keep the WiMax effort alive.

Cable providers have long sought a wireless role to better compete with phone company rivals Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc., which are pushing into the video business.

Comcast Corp. may put up to $1 billion into the WiMax project, with Time Warner Cable kicking in $500 million, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post reported, citing unidentified sources. Other potential partners to fund the tentative proposal include Intel Corp. and Google Inc.

The named companies have made no official comments.

Sprint CEO Dan Hesse has reportedly pushed to finish negotiations in time for the wireless show, where he is scheduled to give a keynote address on Tuesday.

Sprint also plans an invitation-only reception later that day with key executives involved in the Xohm project and to show off WiMax gadgets.

Whatever Hesse says, analysts and investors are looking to him for a strategy that will reverse Sprint's financial woes.

"This WiMax plan is obviously back on the front burner," said Jeff Kagan, an independent telecom analyst based in Atlanta. "This many companies may make managing the venture more difficult, but it also spreads the risk and the opportunity, which is always a good idea."

Other scheduled keynote speakers at the show include Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam, Virgin Mobile founder Richard Branson and executives from Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo Inc. AT&T is expected to make announcements at an event on Wednesday.

Industry experts say hot topics at CTIA Wireless 2008 should include:

— Faster wireless. While Sprint is focused on WiMax, the other big carriers are looking even further out toward a technology called Long Term Evolution, or LTE.

Verizon Wireless has committed to LTE for its "fourth-generation" network and AT&T says LTE is part of its network "evolution." The goal for both is to offer ubiquitous wireless access that matches the speed and capabilities of today's wired Internet connections.

— Cool handsets. For many show visitors, wandering the vast convention floor and seeing the latest and upcoming cell phones, smart phones and other gadgets is what CTIA is all about.

This year, many experts expect handsets inspired by or designed to compete with Apple's popular iPhone, which wowed the wireless world last year. Better phone interfaces, more touch screens and improved mobile Web surfing will likely be on display.

— Open access. The idea of using any device and any software on a mobile network is one of the hottest topics in a wireless industry known for tightly controlling what gadgets and programs will work. That's largely thanks to open-access advocate Google, which lately has been throwing its weight around the wireless business.

Google, which wants to spread its search and advertising business to mobile users, persuaded the government to impose an open-access requirement on some recently auctioned radio airwaves. Even before it won those airwaves, Verizon Wireless said it would allow third-party devices on its network.

Google also is pushing on other fronts, including developing mobile phone software called Android. Analysts say it's unlikely device makers will unveil handsets running Android at the show, but it will be a focus of behind-the-scenes discussions.

On the Web:

CTIA Wireless 2008: www.ctiawireless.com

Sprint: www.sprint.com

Xohm: www.xohm.com