DIDDY DALLY

The last time we went to a big wireless industry trade show, it was in New Orleans, a city that many of us probably haven't visited since, and, sadly, may not visit again for a very long time. But, one of the more memorable moments of that trade show — CTIA's Wireless 2005 event this past March — was a statement made by a visiting celebrity: “I am an MVNO.”

Those were the words uttered by Sean “P. Diddy” Combs during his keynote speech. It's been almost seven months since then, so long ago, in fact, that in the meantime P. Diddy has become just Diddy.

To say that some people thought it was a clue, or at least an indicator, of where the wireless industry might be headed, would be to give Diddy entirely too much credit as a high-tech prophet. It was already apparent at that point that the music industry, the TV/movie industry and the general entertainment industry at large were keenly interested in wireless. They were paying close attention to the evolution of mobile devices in form and function, and to a much lesser but necessary extent, the evolution of mobile broadband networks. Various companies were said to be considering strategic moves into mobile applications or entire mobile-focused organizations, including MVNOs. The idea of a celebrity-driven MVNO honestly didn't even seem all that far-fetched.

About seven months on, the wireless industry is meeting again at CTIA Wireless IT and Entertainment. At this point, it doesn't seem like the MVNO business has changed a whole lot. Sure, companies long rumored to launch MVNOs, such as Disney, have announced their plans, but the commercial effect of them won't be felt until sometime next year. And there is certainly no Diddy MVNO in sight.

Meanwhile, many entertainment companies seem ready to focus on content development, the area they know best. At this week's trade show, there will be many ringtones, games and even video-clip applications derived from music and movie industry artists and franchises. Also, some companies and studios have created mobile-devoted development groups.

But, as always, it seems like the full impact of these industries on the future of mobile services remains ahead of us. It has seemed, for a while now, like the music industry could either completely control or completely wipe out the ringtone business if it wanted to, but it still has yet to make a big play. Mobile TV services and movie-related video applications also are still waiting for some defining involvement from the entertainment industry.

Devices designed to take advantage of entertainment content appearing on the market seem to be greeted with a yawn or — in the case of the Motorola ROKR — negative criticism. That lack of appeal makes the big mobile entertainment moment seem even further off. So, will 2006 be the year the entertainment and mobile industries meld in a way that elevates both or will one still be waiting on a promise that the other hasn't filled?