January 06, 2004, 4:22 PM — Let me be the nth to welcome you to 2004, and let me tell you, I'm feeling more optimistic about the general state of affairs in the world than I have in a long time. Think back to January of last year - was the recession really over? Was the general malaise abating? Would 3G ever arrive? Surprise, surprise - 2003 wasn't too bad, and I think 2004 will be even better.
Look at all we've accomplished in wireless in the past year - wireless LANs are an unqualified success, and continue to make both technological and marketing progress. Wide-area data use is growing, with the "wireless Web" looking a lot more like the Web itself. Prices continue to fall. But this is not to say wireless is without its challenges - the issues are there no matter how good we may otherwise feel. And so, here's my top-ten list of the key issues in wireless, and how I think things will shake out over the next 12 months:
- Roaming, single service image, and single bill
