Telcos Touchy on Net Push

It's fair to say that 3G hasn't been a storming success so far, at least in the U.S. But industry watchers like Ovum's Roger Entner say "it all depends on your expectations." And each of the three top players has helped determine a level of anticipation.

Cingular has set the lowest bar. The largest wireless telco -- a joint venture of planned merger partners AT&T and BellSouth (BLS Quote) -- plans to have its 3G universal mobile-telecommunications system, or UMTS, network in about 90 cities by year-end. But the company has been mum on what services it plans to offer, says Entner.

Verizon Wireless, co-owned by Verizon and Vodafone (VOD Quote), is in the middle, with its VCast media download offerings and a mobile-access card for laptop-toting business users.

Sprint (S Quote) has set hopes the highest, with lots of talk about video packages and TV phones. A lot of "hype," says Entner.

Of course, the telcos have a slightly different take.

"I would argue that it hasn't been a big disappointment," says a Sprint representative. "Video on the phone is one capability we offer, and it is definitely gaining traction."

The Sprint rep says the company is getting $7 in monthly average data revenue per user, which he says is tops in the industry. But as wireless experts point out, most of the so-called data revenue comes from text messaging -- an older technology that wasn't part of the 3G rollout.