TelecomNEXT focused on technology yesterday morning as the CEO of BellSouth shared the same stage with top executives from several major telecommunications manufacturers to stress the opportunities--and challenges--of creating networks that connect the world as never before.

TelecomNEXT, the only place where the business and technology of communications and entertainment meet, replaces SUPERCOMM as USTelecom's annual industry show. It runs from Sunday through Thursday of this week at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas.

The morning keynote session featured Duane Ackerman, Chairman & CEO, BellSouth; Hubert de Pesquidoux, President, Alcatel North America; and Harald Braun, President, Siemens' Network Division. The dynamic presentations were followed by a discussion moderated by Susan Miller, President and CEO of the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions, and featuring: Jim White, VP of Marketing for the Access Networks Division, Alcatel; Douglas Davis, VP of the Digital Enterprise Group and General Manager of the Communications Infrastructure Group, Intel; Roger Heinz, VP, Convergence Solutions Group, Lucent Technologies; Tony Bates, SVP--Carrier Core & Multi Services Business Unit, Cisco Systems; and Tony Zona, VP and General Manager, Wireline Networks, Motorola.

Ackerman said that for all the huge changes in speed and mobility consumers have witnessed during the past few years, the future is even more exciting. He said customers can expect an ever-expanding Internet, interactive TV, integration of wireless and wireline devices, and "smart homes" that can be monitored and managed remotely.

However, in order for this future to be fully realized, "Our charge as providers is to create easy-to-use products that manage the complexity of technology so users don't have to," said Ackerman. He noted that BellSouth is doing its part by building fiber and DSL networks that will be capable of delivering data at speeds of 12 to 24 megabits per second to 50% of the carrier's households by December 2007.

The continuing acceleration of data speeds for all sorts of communications devices already is leading industry officials to think beyond innovations that only now are reaching customers. For instance, de Pesquidoux said the world is moving beyond simply downloading videos for playback on portable devices to what he called "nomadic entertainment"--delivering live television and special channels directly to a handset. The wireless carrier Orange has launched this service in France and T-Mobile offers what it calls "TV in Your Pocket," said de Pesquidoux. He forecast that 130 million people worldwide will be watching TV on mobile devices by 2010.

Braun echoed Ackerman when he declared that, "We need to take communications to the next level by making it simpler." The typical business person has seven different ways to get or receive information, he said. Technological innovations such as IMS can provide cross-platform links, but Braun pushed for more. "Simply converging plumbing is not enough," he said. "We need to converge services." He noted, for example, that Siemens' systems combining digital images, data and communications functions can improve the quality of health care and enable a medical team to work more efficiently.

The ATIS panel discussion, part of the association's TechThink conference, featured a discussion of emerging technologies such as IPTV, IMS and WiMax. They also noted that they are working on carriers' behalf to build systems that exceed 99.999% reliability.

For more information on TelecomNEXT, go to www.telecom-next.com.