Sprint has launched its own network of original programming, and is the only U.S. wireless carrier to product its own exclusive content.

We know the mantra "content is king" but need to remember that creating content is not an exclusionary practice. Here we have a situation where a wireless provider, the 3rd largest in the U.S., is now a content creator. It's merging distribution, with programming.

Welcome to Sprint Exclusive Entertainment (SEE). SEE features brief on-demand programs that average around 2-minutes in length and focus on three major areas – sports, music and entertainment news.

SEE is provided at no extra charge to customers with any Power Vision data plan. Now I need to mention that since it's targeted towards Power Vision subscribers, the content is video. But that doesn't detract from the point that the lines of "programming" and "distribution" are blurring.

Sprint's programs are shot at various on-site locations and at a brand-new studio managed by Sprint's production partner Intersport. The studio is equipped with state-of-art technology including satellites, fiber, lighting grids, multiple flat-screen LCDs, several editing suites, top-of-the-line studio cameras and high-powered graphics computers. Sprint said they'll continue to build their content offerings in the months ahead.

SEE is creating over 150 programs each week, each hosted by personalities ranging from the semi-famous to the well-known.

Sports
Providing analysis throughout the day before and after sporting events, hosts include:

• Marshall Faulk (former NFL MVP running back, current NFL Network analyst)
• Drew Rosenhaus (popular sports agent)
• Trev Alberts (former ESPN Game Day anchor, College Football All-American)
• Tom Waddle (former NFL wide receiver, ESPN Radio host, NFL Network talent)
• Joe Girardi (three-time World Series Champion, FOX and YES Network broadcaster)
• Jenn Sterger (former SI.com commentator)
• Hub Arkush (ProFootballWeekly.com managing editor)
• Dave Revsine (former ESPN Sports Center anchor, Big Ten Network broadcaster)
• Dorsey Levens (Super Bowl Champion)

In addition to general sports commentary, specific SEE sports programs focus on NASCAR, golf, fantasy sports and football, including the NFL Center program with highlights from every NFL game throughout the season. Sprint will also provide full coverage from an on-site studio at events such as Super Bowl XLII and the men's college basketball tournament.

Music
Hosted by former VH1 VJ Rachel Perry, Sprint is offering an expanding variety of music content from several genres, including:

• music news about artists, album releases and upcoming tours
• a weekly "Top 10 Videos" segment
• exclusive artist interviews
• exclusive concerts

As news breaks, SEE music programs are released throughout the day. SEE delivers exclusive content from big names in the music biz like Hurricane Chris, Juanes, Rihanna, Soulja Boy, Sum 41, T.I. and T-Pain.

Entertainment News
SEE is also the exclusive mobile provider of CelebTV.com, which delivers the latest celebrity and entertainment news from host Kelli Zink, who is also a frequent commentator on shows from FOX, CNN, MSNBC and others. CelebTV.com provides 10-12 updates everyday.

XM and Sirius are unique companies in that they blend both technology and programming. They provide both content as well as the enabler of the content - distribution - into a simple neat package in your dashboard. But when you have wireless companies with a massive subscriber base to market to (Sprint has around 55 million subscribers) who is now in the content-creation business, bells should start ringing in both satcasters' offices.

[Sprint SEE]

While much of the media focus revolves around super phones like the iPhone or the Voyager, the reality remains that most consumers just want cheap (or free) phones and cheap service. So Motorola has come out with a fresh crop of decidedly low-end phones to appease the critical masses.

Enter Motorola's new "W series" phones.
And the W160, W180, W213 and W377 (pictured above) all feature integrated FM radios.

Motorola said the phones, which would sell at an affordable price point, are meant for people who just want to talk and send text messages on easy-to-use phones or who are looking to upgrade their basic cell phones.

For many future W series owners, this will be the first - and only - handheld FM radio they own. Sure, some people might have a handheld FM radio to listen to the game - but most people don't see the value at carrying around a radio with them. Radios aren't something you buy, they just happen to be there. But with an integrated radio in a common everyday phone, now it's just automatically in their pocket.

Satellite Radio needs to get into cell phones just as much as they need to get into vehicles. I'm not talking about piggy-backing on the carrier's networks, but integrating the chipset into phones so people can experience the full service. Integration is the key. The problem with satellite radio - and it's a big one - is the lack of reception indoors. In order to be integrated into people's lives, and into their pockets, you need to be available to them everywhere.

[Motorola]

AT&T announced earlier this week that the company is buying the wireless licenses of privately held Aloha Partners for about $2.5 billion. The licenses for the largest U.S. mobile service will allow coverage for a potential 196 million customers in 281 markets, including 72 of the top 100 U.S. markets.

The question remains, what will AT&T to do with this 700-megahertz chunk of spectrum?

AT&T spokesman Michael Coe told Reuters that AT&T had yet to determine what services it would run over the airwaves.

"We'll look at which option makes sense for AT&T and our customers," he said. "We'll either use the spectrum for broadcast video or two-way communication like voice, data or on-demand content."

My guess is the latter seems like the most likely use. Silicon Alley Insider has a similar theory:

"Carriers, which need to sell more data and entertainment services to make up for declining phone-call revenue, often tout broadcast-quality mobile TV as one of the next big things."

But Scott Wills, senior executive at Aloha and president and chief executive of its HiWire broadcast mobile-TV subsidiary, said the company initially bought the licenses thinking that wireless broadband would be the best use for the spectrum, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Consumers don't just want to watch YouTube on their phones. While fun and a novelty, it's the convenience of having a mini-computer in your pocket that really serves value. Check your email, surf the web, and access some streaming content (be it video or audio).

I guarantee that it's not just "access" that the wireless companies are looking at. Eventually all the carriers will provide nationwide broadband wireless access, and we're reaching saturation in the wireless U.S. market. So they need differentiation. And the best differentiator would be providing exclusive on-demand content through these high-speed services. People already pay $40+ a month for high-speed internet at home, they will want more if they want to pay for that capability in their pocket.

As Sirius and XM can attest to, spectrum is only half of the equation.