WHO'S NEXT

Telephony has closed out each of the last six years with a special report called “10 to Watch.” In the past, our approach was to profile the telecom service providers we deemed the most likely newsmakers in the coming year. The result was a lineup of familiar faces: BellSouth's Duane Ackerman. SBC's Ed Whitacre. Qwest's Joe Nacchio. And so on.

Because so much has changed in 2001 — in the world, in the economy, in the telecom industry and in the pages of this magazine — we took a different tack this year. We focused on specific people rather than entire companies. We talked to them not only about their professional pursuits, but also about their histories, their passions and themselves. We captured their personalities, their eccentricities and their distinctiveness.

We also expanded our scope to encompass those who create technology in addition to those who apply it and use it. And we stayed true to our editorial philosophy of looking forward rather than back — of conveying to our readers where this industry is going rather than where it already has been.

The result, which begins on page 25, is a collection of stories that together represent the future of this industry. The people featured in this year's “10 to Watch” symbolize the evolution of telecom technology across all sectors of communications.

You may not have heard of some of the people we profiled this year. What they're doing and where they're taking their companies or technologies might be new to you. But these 10 people, taken together, represent a microcosm of telecom innovation.

Take 23-year-old Angus Davis, for example: He got kicked out of Andover for figuring out how he and his classmates could make free long-distance calls from their dorm rooms. Now he's revolutionizing the way voice is transported over the Web. Or David Steinberg, who, as a 16-year-old, convinced the owner of a failing New York nightclub to let him handle promotions. He packed the house. Now he's helping redefine what it means to be a wireless service provider.

These people embody the ingenuity necessary to achieve success in this volatile industry. But we make no promises about the future livelihood of their companies. If the past year has taught us anything, it is that the impossible is entirely possible and that forecasting is all but futile. It is the people themselves who are inventive, and because of them telecom has a vibrant future. The people featured here will continue to lead by innovative example, no matter where they may go next.