NXTcomm keynotes: Wireless video, spectrum and of course the iPhone

CHICAGO-Telecommunications will be the disruptive force of the 21st century, with the potential to bring radical changes to areas such as education, medicine and the creative arts, Verizon Communications Inc. Chairman and CEO Ivan Seidenberg told NXTcomm attendees during his keynote address.
Echoing those thoughts, Motorola Inc. CEO and Chairman Ed Zander said the industry’s best application has yet to be designed, but that it would likely focuse on video and content services. Zander said that two devices will be key to the evolution of video: the television, where users already get much of their video content, and the increasingly ubiquitous mobile phone. Zander noted that user-generated content is changing where and how content is created, even as the distribution methods change and the presentation of content evolves. He mentioned some of the video-related advances in Europe, such as the ability to deliver high-definition-quality streams to the mobile handset, and added, “I think you’re going to see more of those capabilities here in the U.S. in the not-too-distant future.”
However, keynote speaker Robert Wright, CEO of GE Corp., brought up the challenges associated with the evolution of content: particularly the threat from piracy. He urged service providers to work with content vendors to discourage illegal distribution of movies and other content, and suggested that network technologies such as filtering, fingerprinting and even site blocking could help keep illegal distribution under control-as well as keep the often-heavy associated traffic off of service providers’ networks.
Seperately, a trio of regulatory heavy hitters-FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce, Communications and Information John Kneuer, and U.S. Ambassador for International Communications and Information Policy David Gross-debated the successes and failures of domestic broadband deployment, and U.S. policy to encourage innovation in the telecom space. All agreed that the upcoming 700 MHz spectrum auction will have broad implications and opportunities domestically and ripple effects abroad. Adelstein said that the FCC would like to see a new national competitor make use of a new national spectrum license. However, he added, the FCC doesn’t want to create such a license if no potential new entrants will show up to bid for it-and the presence of such new entrants in the auction is “far from certain” right now, he said.
During a press conference following his keynote address, Seidenberg was quested about the potential impact of the Apple Inc. iPhone on Verizon Wireless. Seidenberg said the company expects the device to stimulate the entire wireless space. He said the company believes it would hold its own against the exclusive offer of the much-anticipated device through AT&T Mobility.
He noted that Verizon Wireless has consistently led the industry in terms of growth and “we don’t have any reason to believe that’s going to change” with the advent of the iPhone.
AT&T execs have repeatedly referred to the iPhone as a “game-changing device,” but Seidenberg said that the high-priced entrant doesn’t change Verizon Wireless’ game plan for segmenting the market and attracting users with various handset price points and packages.
“The burden is on them to prove that the market will change,” Seidenberg said.