LAS VEGAS -- All of the exciting new devices and discussion about high-bandwidth 4G (Fourth Generation) data services (up to 100Mbps) here at CTIA have the comm equipment guys salivating: It's likely to mean a boom in new business for building backhaul networks, the plumbing that carriers need to haul all of the data to and from the mobile towers. There are deals to be had, as Alcatel-Lucent announced a new deal with Verizon for backhaul networks paving the way for 4G. In addition, equipment vendors were announcing new gear that can accommodate service providers that need to overhaul their networks for mobile upgrades. For example, Huntsville, Alabama-based Adtran yesterday announced a flexible new Ethernet mobile backhaul product, the NetVanta(R) 8044M,  that can easily swap between copper and fiber.

Service provicers are spending the most time testing the Blackberry OS, but Android-based phones are gaining and the Microsoft Windows and Symbian OS continue to lose share with developers, according to data from mobile developer testing specialist DeviceAnywhere . The data, which measures testing of smartphones on the four major U.S mobile networks, is released monthly with the latest numbers coming from January of 2010. In DeviceAnywhere's measure of time spent on the OS, BlackBerry lead the way with 58.5% usage, up from 50.6% from January of 2009. Microsoft Windows Mobile fell from 22.5%  in January of 2009 to 16.2%% and Android jumped from 2% to 5%. Here are a few bullet points from the research:

Android Testing On the Rise.

• From a standing start in 2009, Android has become the fourth most tested smartphone Operating System in DeviceAnywhere Test Center in the United States.
• The Android-based T-Mobile G1 has risen to become the most-tested device on the T-Mobile Virtual Developer Lab.

Less Time Spent on Microsoft Windows Phones.

• The time spent on Windows Mobile dropped significantly from 26.5% in January ‘09 to 16.2% in January ‘10, as a proportion of total time spent on smartphones in DeviceAnywhere Test Center.

Handset Manufacturers without Established App Stores Holding Up Well.

• While industry discussion has focused on app stores, testing on mobile devices from application developers, web, content and media companies has taken a wider view.
• The second, third and fourth most popular devices for testing on DeviceAnywhere Test Center are Samsung, Motorola and LG respectively, all of which do not yet have US application storefronts.

In terms of popular devices driving usage, the BlackBerry 9000 and the Apple iPhone were the most popular on the AT&T network. On Sprint, it was the BlackBerry Curve (8330) and the Palm Pre. On T-Mobile it was the HTC G1 and the Motorola V2 and on Verizon BlackBerry led the way with the 9630 with the 8330 in the first and second spot.

LAS VEGAS -- Given that the rest of the Western world is wallowing in a lingering recession/depression, it's nice to hunker down in Vegas at the CTIA where it's sunny, people are still smiling, and the mobile world looks like it's going strong. I would describe the news flow as light, but there is plenty of excitement in the halls and aisles of the trade-show floor where serious innovation and is happening around the growth concept known as the mobile consumer: New location-based mobile apps, 4G, mobile commerce, unified communications, and even such staid telecom technologies such as fiber and mobile backhaul are all being lifted by the increasing mobile data traffic.  People will chuck their cars and forfeit their homes before they'll part with their smartphones, apparently. Well, if you don't have a home, you may as well have a device so that you can still network and send Twitter messages.

LAS VEGAS -- Service provider Sprint, which has suffered some much-publicized problems following its merger with Nextel, losing customers at an alarming rate, is making a major push towards its 4G/Wimax efforts here at the CTIA wireless show. WiMax is a "4G" or Fourth Generation wireless technology offering bandwidth up to 100Mbps. It's considered a rival to forthcoming LTE (Long Term Evolution) technology being pursued by Sprint rivals AT&T (T) and Verizon (VZ), but Sprint and Clearwire have been aggressive in marketing WiMax ahead of the pack, making it a huge and risky bet numbering in the billions of dollars. Today Sprint announced its bringing more WiMAX cities online 2010, adding Cincinnati, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Miami, Pittsburgh, Salt Lake City and St. Louis to their list of 4G locations. Today at 1:30 PT Sprint is also expected to announce new 4G device developments. We'll be attending the event and our live blog will follow below... check back in with us at 1:30 PT!

LAS VEGAS -- Who knew? I got something right. About a month ago, I advocated a complex trade involving AT&T. The main premise: The stock was cheap, the dividend was large, and there is a tendency for it to move up into the dividend payment date. So far, so good. AT&T is up about 10% since we looked at the trade. It's still set to pay a dividend that will pay about 6%.  The front-month options tripled into the expiration last Friday. I sold the stock and the options with a collective 20% gain in one month, but I probably pulled the trigger too early. AT&T has exhibited more stength today and likely will rise further on the wireless  hype associated with CTIA. Verizon, coincidentally or not, is also benifitting from the pattern of rising into the next quarter's dividend payment. Verizon is priced a little higher than AT&T, with a P/E of 23 versus AT&T's more modest P/E of 12. Verizon also pays a 6% dividend. The largest North American  service providers such as AT&T and Verizon both pay juicy dividends and will likely get a lot of attention here at CTIA, where every device manufacturer and their cousin will be making announcements about new smart devices on their network. These devices, many of them Android-powered, will be more open and Web-enabled than ever before. And they will be data-hungry. In its last earnings release, AT&T announced that growth in wireless data services and applications grew 26%, indicating that this is where the growth lies. I think more complex and data-hungry devices will only help this trend. AT&T announced today that it's adding new Palm and Dell smartphones to its  lineup. Everybody is also closely watching the 4G service annoucements here at CTIA, which will unleash even more bandwidth for data-hungry services. I think the bottom line is that these trends will be good for the leading service providers, including AT&T and Verizon. AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint are likely to do a lot of sparring here about their next-generation wireless data services. In fact, it's already started. The bottom line? AT&T and Verizon appear to be consolidating their lead, and a wide range of data-hungry smartphones should be good for business.

We are doing some last-minute prep and packing our bags for the CTIA wireless technology show in Las Vegas next week, so we'll have limited posting today. But what we do have is a preview of the activity to watch.Here you go:

• Look for Sprint and HTC to be announcing the Supersonic: An Android powered mobile device with a 4.3-inch display that runs on Sprint’s 4G network (i.e., WiMax). It would be the first "WiMax Phone." I’ve heard a reference to this as the “Trophy Wife Phone.” Ha! Good one.
• More Android stuff. Most major networks including AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile have announced support for Android devices such as Motorola’s Droid and Google's phone, made by HTC. Expect the same from Verizon next week.
• Verizon will be having an all-important event in which it is expected to talk about its LTE strategy. LTE is the next-generation of phone networks.
• In case you can’t wait for all the dumbed-down mobile tech news for the masses, CNBC will be broadcasting from CTIA.
• Keynotes: Tuesday, March 23: CTIA Chairman Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO of AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets; Randall Stephenson, chairman, CEO and president of AT&T Inc; Iñaki Urdangar n, chairman of Telefónica Internacional, USA Inc.; and J.K. Shin, president, Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Wednesday, March 24: CTIA president and CEO Steve Largent will host two fireside chats with industry leaders Dan Hesse, CEO of Sprint Nextel and Bill Morrow, CEO of Clearwire. In addition, John Stanton, chairman of Trilogy International Partners; René Obermann, CEO of Deutsche Telekom AG; and Padmasree Warrior, CTO of Cisco, will discuss the evolution of the mobile market and the innovations that will drive new growth. Thursday, March 25: CNBC anchor Michelle Caruso-Cabrera will moderate a keynote roundtable featuring Academy Award-Winning Director James Cameron, U.S. Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra and Twitter Co-Founder Biz Stone. The panel will discuss the transformative power of wireless and its continued impact on business, media and the economy. Full schedule is here.
• Tablets, tablet, tablets: Expect lots of previews of tablet-like devices that run on new wireless networks.
• Next-gen smartphones: The usual cast of characters such as RIM, Toshiba, Garmin, Samsung, Sony, and Nokia will be talking about next-gen smartphones that do all this and that. Here's a nice preview (TheStreet.com).
• As usual, government and Net Neutrality policy will be a big topic. The FCC is at it again, trying to mix up telecom. Light Reading has a nice video discussion on the matter. Or, see what Gary Bolton from Adtran has to say about the FCC plan.