So it was about 24 hours ago when in these same pages – and if we did our jobs right, in this same general area – I made some wild claim that the wireless industry was “back to full strength” and that this year’s CTIA Wireless 2008 event covered a certain amount of hectacres. Well, after some further reflection, I feel the need to temper those remarks.
Now I’m not saying that the industry is not booming; but it seems this year’s event has not been quite the blockbuster event I had previously preached.
You see, the show is about over and for the life of me I can’t remember any defining moment from this year’s event. If I was forced to choose something that was talked about during the keynotes that will have the biggest impact on the wireless industry over the next year, it would have to be Federal Communications Commission Chief Kevin Martin’s decision to oppose Skype Ltd.’s petition for unencumbered access to wireless networks. And Martin was not even scheduled to speak at the show until the last minute.
(This observation does not include consideration for Richard Branson’s hijacking of the keynote stage with his plans to send a handful of “attendees” to Mars. That was classic and such stunts need to be included in every CTIA keynote.)
And it was not like the keynotes lacked big-name pizzazz. Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel, Microsoft, Vodafone, Yahoo, Nokia-Siemens, Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, Nortel. These are companies that by and large control the domestic and a good portion of the international wireless market and yet all I can remember from the event is something Martin said.
I know it’s never a good idea to force news when there is no news to announce, but this is the biggest domestic wireless-only show every year and you would think one of these companies could have some industry-changing insights. Perhaps the glut of events put on throughout the year dampen the ability to spring news on the masses, but this is the big show and as such seems to deserve some big news.
