What do you get when you put four influential carrier executives on a panel together at a trade show and ask them about their commitments to a fledgling access technology? Another potential setback in the technology's struggle to improve the way it is perceived in the industry.

That's what happened earlier this week at the U.S. Telecom Association's Telecom '05 event in Las Vegas, when the CTOs of BellSouth, Qwest, SBC and Verizon knocked the lack of certified WiMAX equipment available for U.S. spectrum. Never mind that there is currently no certified WiMAX product available for any spectrum in the world, since the certification process by the WiMAX Forum has only just begun. If executives of the former Bells characterize something as problematic, the industry will see it as problematic.

It is true that the first wave of certified WiMAX gear will be designated for the 3.5 GHz spectrum, which won't be of much use in the U.S., but that's just the first wave. Subsequent testing activity is planned that will produce products certified for U.S. spectrum, and--in theory at least--that certification will create economies of scale that will lower the cost of CPE.

The incident is more evidence of the licking any emerging technology must endure to make it in this industry, regardless of its merits and regardless of the attempts its backers take to ensure its success. That's not to say the backers of WiMAX have handled their technology's emergence impeccably. On the contrary, communication about the WiMAX certification process has been flawed at best, and the < ahref="http://telephonyonline.com/mag/telecom_wimax_forum_clarify/">WiMAX Forum itself has said it needs to do a better job educating the industry.

This week, the WiMAX World conference convenes in Boston, where certification, spectrum availability and other critical development issues are certain to dominate the conversation. It will be the best chance for the technology's supporters to directly answer its critics and clearly articulate its progress. Let's hope the WiMAX community seizes the opportunity to defend itself.

E-mail me at jmeyers@primediabusiness.com.