BONKERS FOR BANDWIDTH

I have seen the future, and it needs more bandwidth.

At this week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the most heavily trafficked booths were those belonging to two satellite radio providers and Microsoft, which was putting a heavy emphasis on its various versions of Windows designed for mobile phones.

The two satellite radio providers, XM and Sirrius, undoubtedly generated a fair amount of traffic because of the gee-whiz factor. XM was getting a big boost from its recent launch that made it the first to provide subscription radio. Sirrius, led by Joe Clayton, late of Global Crossing nee Frontier Communications, made a big splash with a press conference that resembled a Hollywood movie premier. Microsoft, meanwhile, was drawing the massive hordes taking their breaks from the craps tables simply by being Microsoft. The company had a number of interesting demos in its booth, including one that would put full-motion video onto wireless devices.

The three companies, in a nutshell, represent the choices wireless carriers will have in the future. Satellite radio, which is going to use some terrestrial-based relay stations, will soon be competing with wireless operators for spectrum. That’s spectrum that operators currently don’t have but almost certainly want to get their hands on.

Microsoft and dozens of other very cool developers will continue creating applications that will strain the spectrum limits of carriers. Running streaming video, playing interactive games and downloading massive files all will require spectrum the carriers don’t have but may soon have access to.

Carriers now must answer the basic question: Will you lead, follow or get out of the way?