Terry Vega: Helped launch some of the first wireless networks as head of Lucent's wireless infrastructure unit. Helped launch Telcordia into new sectors as head of wireless and emerging markets. Now heading Motorola's CDMA device business, helping launch it toward the next big wireless thing.

My view of the world is that the first wireless revolution was when the cell phone went from a hunk of gear in the trunk of the car that only a few thousand executives had to the point where everyone had one, including your mother, your doctor and your plumber. The second wireless revolution is when the capabilities enabled by 3G bring us to where, by the way, your cell phone also makes a phone call. We have a phrase in Motorola that I love: “The device formerly known as the cell phone.” That says it all.

One of the places where this is so very cool and interesting is the handset part of the business because of the amount of creativity involved in figuring out what people want, what people will use and what will excite people.

At different times, different parts of the industry drive. When I was in infrastructure we were building out the fabric of the wireless network. In the later '90s, it was more about software and services. That was why Telcordia was exciting because it was enabling the creation of new services. Now I see the handset space as exciting because of what handsets are turning into, as one of the ways converged networks bring services to people. It's also a whole thing about fashion a-nd personal expression. I have been handed the first and only pink CDMA Razr. It is so cool, and every woman I bumped into has almost knocked me over wanting to get it out of my hands.

My first job in wireless was in the early '90s. After a while it was so clear what was going to happen. If there was a moment when I said “A-ha, this is it,” it was when my mother got a cell phone.

One of the things that's been a surprise about Motorola is its vision for seamless mobility. It's much more compelling and there's much more capability to implement it than I even understood coming in. We're talking about bringing together all the pieces, and the device is the way it connects with you. It will be another world-changer.

We're really at the infancy of this revolution. There's so much that can be realized in terms of capabilities of individuals when you have broadband in wireless and when you are able to connect, and converge networks and bridge technologies. At this point, I think we're limited more by people's imaginations than we are by technical capability. This thing we're on the precipice of has a very long runway.