YESTERDAY'S DEAD. LONG LIVE TOMORROW

This much we know: It's no longer about the economy, or the blaming or the whining. Now it's all about accomplishments. It's about the contracts, the network buildouts and the strutting of stuff. It's about the doing.

From 2001 on, Telephony's Supercomm issue has lamented the economic downturn and its effects on this industry — mostly by conveying the thoughts, strategies and mea culpas of telecom luminaries. There shall be no more of that.

This year, we give you not what telecom's survivors have done to deal with what's happened, but rather what telecom's innovators have done to get a jump on what's next. Our editorial staff went on the hunt for those in this industry that were doing rather than just talking. We profiled the people behind the things that will — if things work out as planned — result in something unique.

Make no mistake: I'm not apologizing for our coverage of years past. When everything's in the toilet, you can either hold your breath and wait for the final flush or figure an inventive way to rappel the hell out. For the past few years, we've tried to show you those who were doing the latter and would live to see another day, as well as those who were doing the former and would end up being little more than the detritus of the telecom industry.

That's all done now. To make the pages of this year's issue, you had to be doing something really compelling. To wit: Chief Correspondent Dan O'Shea disputes the majority opinion that workable Wi-Fi business models are few and far between in the telecom service provider sector, demonstrating how trendsetters like Airpath might be able to revive the optimism for carrier Wi-Fi. Executive News Editor Vince Vittore, meanwhile, shows how the smallest of the small telcos are the ones pioneering video service over copper wires, and what their bigger brethren can learn from them. Elsewhere, Senior Editor Tim McElligott gets to the bottom of why Sprint's strange strategy to sell minutes on its wireless network is somehow beneficial to its own wireless effort.

There's more: Staff Writer Kevin Fitchard details BellSouth's efforts to propel broadband beyond the capabilities of its competitors. Senior Writer Donny Jackson deconstructs the regulatory battle hampering the progression of voice over IP. And Senior Writer Ed Gubbins exposes the reality of the RBOCs' ongoing efforts to extend their fiber footprints all the way to customers.

These are stories that document what is, not just what might be. They're about practice, not theory. They provide answers, not questions.

Supercomm 2004: Less talk, more rock.