These and other companies were in town for Telecom '05, the annual gathering organized by the U.S. Telecommunications Association.

The theme of the convention's opening sessions was, amid rapidly changing technology that has allowed unusual competitors to enter the fray, what's next?

"The landscape is changing every day," Gene South, CEO of Lakedale Communications and USTA chairman, told a crowd at the Venetian. "The TV guys are the phone guys and the phone guys are the TV guys, and the dot-coms are everybody."

He outlined a series of recent industry deadlines that involved companies that were -- even very recently -- distinctly foreign to the telecom world. Those include cable giant Cox Communications reaching 1 million voice customers and fellow cable behemoth Comcast chasing a stake in Internet player AOL.

"It's a rapidly innovating world where the only real constant is change," said Walter McCormick Jr., USTA president. "What we've tried to do is create a show that really reflects the marketplace in which we do business today. ... What is the question that everyone is asking? It's where do I fit in?"

Susan Miller, president of the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions, a technology-based advocacy group, said that the ultimate result should be allowing consumers access to the services and content they want when they want them.

Tom Dobbertin of Motorola makes a cell phone call under an advertisement on the Motorola booth at the Telecom '05 convention at the Venetian. Photo by R. Marsh Starks

"Your telco wants to be your No. 1 source of information," she said, adding that getting to that point has created "strange bedfellows."

Most notably, Miller pointed to Internet auction company eBay's acquisition of Internet telephone company Skype.

A panel of chief technology officers said at the conference that Internet-based telephone service is the likely future of the industry. The technology allows maximum flexibility without the expense of maintaining traditional lines and switches. It also could eventually provide users with the ability to switch seamlessly between voice, data and video stream of information. That possibility brings such companies as cable networks and other content providers to the industry looking for distribution partners.

"IP is the future," said Chris Rice, the chief technology officer for SBC Communications. "The question is when, how?"

Balan Nair, chief technology officer of Qwest Communications, said that a challenge is now establishing standards that encourage equipment and software suppliers to generate products that fit together seamlessly. Beyond that glitch, the opportunities are many, he said.

"The products we have are just limited by the imagination," Nair said.

Kevin Rademacher covers utilities and finance for In Business Las Vegas and its sister publication, the Las Vegas Sun. He can be reached at (702) 259-4069 or by e-mail at kevinr@lasvegassun.com.