MobileBeat 2010 speakers: Sprint’s Todd Rowley, Fox’s Gregg Colvin

With smartphone use exploding, carriers are scrambling to upgrade their networks.

Data-guzzling iPhones and other phones are putting enormous strain on carrier networks. If carriers get it right, however, we’re about to enter a brand new world: Last December, Scandinavian carrier Teliasonera rolled out the first 4G network, with a blazing fast 50 megabites download speed — now basically making your phone as fast, or even faster than your desktop. Users are going to hammer away happily at their smartphone touchscreens. They’ll be more productive than ever. Mobile enterprise will thrive. And if all goes well, users will also be more likely to consume rich content, such as video — including Hollywood movies. Movie producers and other content owners will be able to cash in on advertising and other subscriptions to such content.

It’s this new world of 4G networks, and who will profit form it, that will be debated at our MobileBeat 2010 conference on July 12-13 in San Francisco.

We’re delighted to announce two new speakers who are in the middle of this 4G revolution:
Todd Rowley, vice president at Sprint responsible for the carrier’s 4G network, will discuss how upgraded networks will make devices even more powerful and allow new services. Sprint is launching the (Android) HTC 4G Evo this summer — before the iPhone 4G  launches. Carriers are all launching new form factors like tablets, home entertainment or in-car entertainment devices. How much will the upgrades give carriers an advantage, and how do they make money from it? How do they price their services? Rowley, who has been there from the beginning, will answer these questions: He helped to conceive Sprint’s mobile WiMAX play, and led the link up with Clearwire to rollout the WiMax network. Those efforts promise to push Sprint back to prominence with one of the most modern networks in the U.S. Rowley has been with Sprint for the last decade, and previously was vice president of corporate development. He has also led the company’s strategy, roaming, spectrum management and fixed wireless broadband operations.

Gregg S. Colvin is vice president of business development for Fox Digital Media, one of the nation’s major media companies. He’ll speak about syndication strategies for networks such as his, and about how monetize video and other rich mobile content. He’s the guy who structures all the deals for Fox on the different devices like phones, tablets and netbooks. He says that micropayments and subscriptions around mobile content will be growing for the network. With rumors that Google is readying something called Google Android TV — possibly to launch in the first quarter of next year — it’s a sector poised for major shakeup. Players like Fox are doubling their efforts to assert their leadership positions. Fox has is about to launch a Hulu-like service called Bitbop for mobile devices that will offer a range of content from Fox, NBC Universal, and Discovery. The free application reportedly will give you sneak previews, and $10 a month subscription fee will give you full content. It is expected to launch “in several weeks.”

A ton of other questions are swirling around the business of mobile, now that new devices, better networks and more efficient browsers are driving change. Will advertisers adapt ad unit sizes to each different screen size? How much will publishers customize their content to adjust to various devices, browsers and networks? How much control will folks like Verizon and Comcast have over those business models, and how are the big ad networks such as Google, Microsoft and now apparently Apple, going to respond? Will Hollywood retain or lose power?

All this and more at at MobileBeat. Early bird tickets available until only May 15, so get them now!

*So far, we’re thrilled to have the support of gold level sponsor GetJar, silver level sponsor OpenMarket, and event sponsor Offerpal Media. There are many sponsorship opportunities still available. Please contact sponsors@venturebeat.com for more information.