Hedgehogging: hedge*hog*ging v. Interrupting conversations in an office environment by poking your head over the top of the cube.

We are two shows into the 2008 show season and so far not much has been announced to trip up the wireless market. The Consumer Electronic Show had but a handful of new handsets and some network trials, while last week’s Macworld was missing the hoped-for 3G iPhone and instead only produced some updated software for the now commonplace iPhone. (Was it only a year ago that Mr. Jobs strode onstage and changed the very landscape of the wireless industry with one device?) Here’s hoping that the upcoming Mobile World Congress – formerly known as 3GSM – in Barcelona and the CTIA show in Las Vegas produce some wireless pizzazz.
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Jan. 24 can’t come soon enough. After what seems like an eternity, and some predictions that it would never happen, the 700 MHz spectrum auction is set to begin this week. While we won’t be able to put names with the billions of dollars being proffered for the highly coveted spectrum licenses until the auction ends, there is plenty of excitement amongst the RCR Wireless News staff, which obviously need to get a real life. Will Google back up its talk of the necessity of open access with its vast bankroll and snap up some spectrum licenses? And if it does, what then? Build out a network? Partner with an established carrier? Partner with an infrastructure provider to build out the network? So many questions, and for once Googling it won’t provide the answer.
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What about the much-maligned D-Block? With Frontline now out of the running, it looks like plans for a public/private network to serve first responders is up in the air. Will an established carrier risk the potential headache of spending more than $1 billion for the spectrum and then build a network to an outside consultant’s standards? The mandate appears tough; the FCC requires the license winner to cover more than 98% of the population within 5 years.
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Speaking of CES, previous comments on the enormity of the show were reinforced this year as the RCR Wireless News crew sent to report on the show were nearly trampled on a dozen of occasions by what can only be described as frenzied, nerd-mobs. Whether it was the lastest 150-inch plasma TV or newest gazillion-gigabyte flash drive the size of a fingernail, CES seemed to have everything for tech-geeks. Of course, this is really just an assumption because it was nearly impossible to visit all of the booths within the allotted four days of the event. Better luck next time.