Wireless (and Wireless Review) in 2005

This issue of Wireless Review contains the first of what will become a recurring feature: An annual wireless technology preview that showcases what our industry intelligence tells us will be the sectors to watch in 2005.

For this WR special report, which begins on page 10, our editors scoured the industry to determine the hottest wireless technology trends for the coming year and the topics we'll be tracking closely in 2005. Vince Vittore weighs the viability of merging mobility with Wi-Fi (page 12), Jason Ankeny explores the burgeoning realm of mobile multimedia (page 14), Ed Gubbins predicts the progress for WiMAX in that technology's formative year (page 18), Kevin Fitchard examines the evolution of network architectures and infrastructure (page 21) and Tim McElligott analyzes the outlook for operations software (page 24). And in a special version of our Proving Ground department on page 28, Dan O'Shea handicaps the future of ultrawideband technology.

Finally, a few notes about the evolution of our editorial franchise in 2005: This month, veteran telecom industry journalist Carol Wilson joins (or rather rejoins) the Telephony & Wireless Review editorial team. Carol has close to two decades of experience covering the telecom industry, including a nine-year tenure at Telephony. She was the editor of Telephony when I joined the staff as an assistant editor in 1993 (with more hair, less mass and absolutely no idea what I was doing), and she continued to be a close friend and colleague throughout her endeavors as a founding editor of Interactive Week, The Net Economy and Broadband Edge. We're very excited about Carol's return and confident that she will add significantly to the expertise of our editorial staff.

Said editorial staff is currently busy making some important changes to the editorial strategy, format and design of Wireless Review, which will debut with our January 2005 issue. As ever, we are committed to making WR the most relevant, thorough and technology-focused resource for wireless service providers, and we're certain that the modifications we're making will further strengthen that mission. We'll also be overhauling and enhancing our Web site, www.wirelessreview.com, as well as our electronic newsletter efforts. We'll keep you posted on those changes in the pages of upcoming issues, but rest assured that 2005 will bring a stronger, more timely and more relevant electronic presence for this publication.

On behalf of the staff of Wireless Review, I wish you a festive holiday season and a happy and prosperous new year.