"Rich was even-toned but totally lacking in ambiguity about what he expected, " says Patricia Russo, who runs the carrier-equipment business.

FORBES: Wired and restless

During a recent visit to the FORBES bureau in San Francisco, JDSU Chief Executive Thomas Waechter noted that in order to meet demand, companies making telecommunications equipment and their carrier customers are buying truckloads of the esoterica sold by JDSU and rivals.

FORBES: Magazine Article

And Ericsson bought BelAir Networks for an undisclosed sum in February for its carrier-grade Wi-Fi equipment.

FORBES: Ruckus CEO Lo on Boosting Wi-Fi, Chasing Cisco and Going Public

For instance, the Marine Corps is exploring how the vessel might be used as a troop carrier for small expeditionary units and their equipment, since in addition to all that space the littoral warship can launch and recover both boats and helicopters.

FORBES: Low-Cost Warship Rescues Navy From Shrinking Fleet

Perhaps understanding that the wireless customer base at large can be both fickle and impatient, the nation's fourth-largest carrier is wasting no time getting its 3G equipment set up -- the rollout begins, like, now (they claim half of NYC's hardware is already in place) and will continue through the next several years, with compatible handsets and peripherals hitting retail sometime in mid 2007.

ENGADGET: T-Mobile details 3G plans Mobile

The Iraqis had no advance notice of night-time strikes by carrier-based pilots and were unable to disperse valuable pieces of equipment.

FORBES: Where are the Carriers?

The tower companies benefit as their carrier customers add new sites to deal with data traffic growth and add equipment to existing sites to upgrade networks with 4G capabilities.

FORBES: Phone Towers: Pac Crest Sets Outperform On CCI, AMT, SBAC

Morgan Stanley analyst Ehud Gelblum this morning cut his rating on telecom equipment provider Adtran to Equal Weight from Overweight, citing concerns about weak carrier spending.

FORBES: Adtran: Morgan Stanley Cuts Rating On Weak Carrier Spend

With upgrades in the equipment, he will soon be able to connect a corporate customer to a long-distance carrier in minutes rather than the 24 hours it now takes.

FORBES: Switch Hitter

The German airline, Lufthansa, received its award for being the first carrier to test biofuel in normal flight operations and greening everything from its engine-cleaning routine to cabin equipment, resulting in a full 23 percent emissions reduction.

FORBES: Award Winning Travel Organizations Share their Global Vision