Being There

Every couple of weeks for the last 18 years, I've sat at my keyboard — a typewriter in the early days and now at my computer — and registered an opinion on this page. Never in all of that time of experiencing monopoly busting and survival of the deregulation fittest have I witnessed the wireless industry so intertwined with world events as it has been in the last two months. I predict this intersection will have profound and lasting effects on how we gain and disseminate our vital daily information and our expectation for remaining on the leading edge of communications.

In the past few weeks, wireless technology has brought a realization of immediacy and personalization to world events, including but not limited to war. Once you get this close, you never can step away.

Consider the evolution of war news throughout history. During the Civil War, news came back from the front lines in the form of newspaper stories reporting lost soldiers. The telegraph, a major communications development of the era, was viewed as a national asset. However, by the time the printed version of the news reached the masses, it usually was dated or, in some cases, wrong.

During World War I, news came faster. Newspaper stories recounted military strikes and events but still lacked the current-event status because they were coming from battlefields a world away. During World War II, radio brought that world a little closer, providing a voice from the battlefields. Americans listened as the president and correspondents reported landmark victories.

Vietnam is recognized as the first war Americans “watched” from their living rooms. Conflicts such as Bosnia and the Persian Gulf suddenly provided individual faces and further personalization of events on the 11 o'clock news. Video and satellite phones contributed to the advances in technology that brought us a little closer to the front lines.

Today, wireless technology adds to this accelerating curve of immediacy and personalization. It's entirely possible for people on the street near the World Trade Center, on a dirt road headed to Afghanistan, in a trench at the Taliban's front line to send or receive wireless phone calls sharing information. It's all up close and personal.

In fact, this immediacy has posed some significant concerns for national security. Americans have found themselves in the position of virtually “being there.” Wireless devices enabled news of September's tragedies to reach a critical mass before the usual broadcast organizations.

With the aid of the Internet and wireless devices, we also have access to the news almost “too soon” in some cases. In response to this effectiveness, there's a notable concern and filtration going on in the name of national security.

For example, the White House asked the major U.S. TV networks to limit broadcasts of statements by Osama bin Laden. (Personally I would have preferred that President Bush respond in kind. Let them think we were sending coded messages to our infiltrates.)

Further, the administration launched a covert type of news approach because today's dissemination of information is too speedy. It seems it is merely a phone call away from the enemy.

The reaction of our country's president reveals the speed and power of today's communication. Although certain powers and agencies can curtail TV news, stifle Internet information and edit and shape newspaper reports, they can't stop people from talking to one another. In talking to one another, we break down barriers and in truly communicating with one another, real change could occur.

Wireless Review acknowledges the impact of the Sept. 11 tragedy on the wireless industry. This special issue investigates the effects on networks, capacity, site planning, regulatory issues and 3G spectrum.

If you'd like to comment, e-mail rwickham@primediabusiness.com, or visit www.wirelessreview.com for more coverage and information.