Tomorrow's Technologies Today: A Wireless Staff Report

Five wireless technology sectors, the companies driving their development and what it all means for the mobile future, are discussed. One of the most remarkable things to note about push-to-talk technology is that at its core, it's a voice application that could become the hottest service of an era supposedly dominated by mobile data and content. There are a lot of eyes on Scott Richardson-not only eyes from his own company, but also eyes from vendors and carriers the world over. They're eagerly anticipating what the broadband wireless unit of Intel, of which Richardson is general manager, will do with WiMAX. The initial expectation is for Intel to produce the next generation of its Centrino mobile chipset for WiMAX. But the great hope is that Intel will accomplish what no other vendor in the broadband wireless space has done: to create a chipset that will pervade mobile computing and, in essence, build an industry around WiMAX. Verizon's announcement that it would deploy EV-DO technology in portions of its network this year generally might be considered a defining moment for the technology.