A harmonic convergence for wireless?

CHICAGO — As mobile phones move beyond conversation to photography, ring tones and gaming, the wireless industry itself is rushing toward an extreme makeover.

Within a year, carriers Verizon Wireless, Cingular Wireless and Sprint Corp. will compete against services from top brands like ESPN, AOL and Target Corp.

More significantly, mobile phones will be able to access a signal from wireless carriers as well as a network based on the Internet. A customer will pick up the appropriate signal — without doing a thing — as he moves from place to place.

This trend toward converging networks will lead to new services, allowing what people typically see on a television or computer to migrate to the mobile phone.

“We expect tremendous change,” said Andrew Cole, wireless vice president for consultant AT Kearney. “Soon, the wireless landscape will look very different.”

Motorola, Nokia and other phone makers already make dual-mode handsets that operate on traditional cell phone networks as well as on Wi-Fi, which is the wireless broadband network connection commonly available in airports, hotels and coffee shops.

Plus, a longer-range Wi-Fi cousin, WiMAX, will make its debut next year, adding to network choice.

Furthermore, Motorola has a deal to add voice connectivity to Skype, the free Internet voice service, to some phones. This will enable customers to bypass their wireless carrier for some calls. Vendors are also making handsets that use Vonage, a low-cost Internet calling service.

Even carriers that own networks are converging with Wi-Fi to extend their reach and lower costs.

“We see these technologies as complementary to our network,” said Kristin Rinne, Cingular’s chief technology officer.

Eventually, customers will glide from one network to another seamlessly without paying attention as they use advanced handsets, industry insiders say.

TowerStream, a firm that provides wireless broadband service to business customers in Chicago, New York and Boston, staged a test at its Rhode Island headquarters to handle wireless calls from three different services — T-Mobile, Skype and Vonage — over a single handset.

This summer, TowerStream will launch a test in Manhattan so that as customers use their phones while moving, radio signals will be passed from one Wi-Fi hot spot to another without breaking the connection.

“We have hundreds of people in New York who’ve signed up for the test,” said Jeff Thompson, TowerStream’s chief operating officer. “We expect to get a lot of helpful feedback.”

The firm intends to offer a converged service commercially in 12 to 18 months.

These new networks will also offer more specialized content.

ESPN has already cut a deal to use Sprint’s wireless network to launch a sports-oriented niche service later this year. AOL has plans to get into Internet telephony soon and follow with a wireless offering. Target, the retail powerhouse, is said to be negotiating a wireless deal.

“So long as each entrant has a clearly defined niche, you can have many, many wireless offerings succeed,” said Cole.