CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment 2008 kicks off on Wednesday, September 10 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. This conference and expo, also known as the CTIA fall show, is smaller than the spring or "big" show and it is aimed at a different set of attendees. Many wireless industry people use the three days for meetings, seeing exhibits, attending conference sessions and mingling at parties, but Hollywood is also there in large numbers as are many small, medium and large business IT folks.

Each year it seems this show grows a little larger and more content is added to the program. This year might be a little different because of what is happening with the economy and the cost of travel, but I have no doubt it will still be a good, worthwhile show. The three keynotes should be both entertaining and educational. On Wednesday, September 10, which is opening day, the lineup includes senior executives from Yahoo, T-Mobile USA and Sprint Nextel, Craig McCaw, John Stanton and Lowell McAdam, the CTIA chairman who is also the president and CEO of Verizon Wireless.

Thursday, the second day, begins with an opening keynote  by the co-chief executive of RIM and the president and CEO of Adobe Systems along with a panel discussion moderated by Trip Hawkins populated by 13-19 year-old teens. The name of this session is, "Real Teens, Real Feedback on Current Technology and Next-Gen Mobile Trends." This session alone will make attending CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment 2008 worthwhile.

Andrew Seybold Wireless University

The day before the official start of the CTIA show, Tuesday, September 9, we will be presenting a new session of Andrew Seybold Wireless University at the Moscone Center, now in our fourteenth year as a CTIA Partner Conference. (Pre-registration closes soon, on-site registration starts at 8:00 a.m. with the session starting at 9:00 a.m.). We will feature updated and new material and for the first time, we will have a panel segment in the morning session where I will question both the CDMA Developers Group (CDG) and 3GAmericas on the importance of LTE and how much life is left in 3G.

In the afternoon we will hear from a guest speaker from the Gobi Group at Qualcomm about using universal chipsets to build world phones and to embed in notebooks and other products, along with some insight into where this is headed and, of course, information about Qualcomm's Gobi universal wireless chipset. We will also discuss content, applications and operating systems and wrap up with a few rumors and predictions, a segment I always enjoy. For the full agenda, click here.

Location 2.0 Summit

Wednesday, September 10, I will be hosting SiRF ecosystem's Location 2.0 Summit at the St. Regis across the street from the Moscone Center (this Summit is independent of the CTIA event). The focus will be on helping both the location industry and the wireless industry move to a point where location-based services are no longer only a niche market that includes navigation, friend finders and nearest ATM locations to understanding the value of embedding location services in almost all types of existing and new applications. Admission is free but by invitation only (email ecosystem@sirf.comto request an invitation). The Summit will start at 11:00 a.m. with registration and lunch, opening remarks will start at noon, and the day will include keynotes and panels on consumer, enterprise and then future technologies.

Last year's Location 2.0 Summit was a big hit and it is shaping up to be the same this year. The number of interested companies and individuals is growing and I have a feeling that this Summit will be even more exciting than last year's.

This year's Summit introduces unique three-minute Fast-Pitch presentations-high-intensity sessions that demonstrate the benefits of using the power of location to enhance the daily lives of individuals, enterprises and communities. Developers will pitch their innovative LBS applications to the top global location industry executives in attendance at the conclusion of each panel discussion. Attendees will vote for their favorite Fast-Pitch in each category and, during the cocktail reception and awards program, the winners will be presented with a People's Choice Award.

The Location 2.0 Summit is where the two industries meet to talk to each other, to share information and to come to understand how tightly coupled these two technologies will become over time. In addition to navigation, real-time traffic and the location of the nearest ATM, think about the implications of location on social networking and being able to know where your friends are, being able to choose a point to meet or playing a multiplayer game where location is part of the game.

Location adds a whole new set of value propositions to wireless devices, and the Location 2.0 Summit is a great place to find out more about what is happening and how these two industries are working together to add value. I hope to see you there, at Andrew Seybold Wireless University and on the CTIA show floor. It's going to be a great week for wireless.

Andrew M. Seybold