Who are the movers and shakers in the U.S. wireless industry?

Sue Marek
The past year has been fraught with change in the wireless industry. Not only have we witnessed some surprising acquisitions (AT&T's (NYSE:T) proposed $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile and Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) $12.5 billion proposed acquisition of Motorola (NYSE:MMI)), but we have also seen a lot of movement in the C-level positions at some of the top wireless firms.

Bill Morrow, the former CEO of Clearwire (NASDAQ:CLWR), is no longer with the company. Eric Schmidt, formerly the CEO of Google, is now the chairman of that firm and a bit less visible in the industry. Lowell McAdam, formerly the CEO of Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ), was promoted to CEO of Verizon Communications where he now oversees the wireline and wireless businesses. Phillip Humm is still the CEO of T-Mobile USA but has certainly a much lower profile now that his company is an acquisition target for AT&T.

So with all this change, who are the movers and shakers now charting the course of the industry? That's the question that the FierceWireless editorial team is considering as we prepare one of our most popular and controversial features of the year, the 25 Most Powerful People in the U.S. Wireless Industry. That feature will debut in early November, so stay tuned for more details. If you aren't familiar with this feature, check out our 2010 list here. 

Who do you think is the most powerful person in wireless? Weigh in with your opinion by answering our poll question or commenting below.

But that's not all. The Fierce team compiled some compelling new features and news coverage that you might have missed this week. So here's a recap:   

--Check out our comprehensive coverage of the CTIA Enterprise and Applications conference in San Diego here.
--Ever wonder what factors companies should explore when deciding how to establish a mobile presence for their business? Some rely on a standard desktop website while others invest in websites optimized for mobile phones. Still other create a mobile app. These options are detailed in-depth in this Mobile Web vs. Mobile App. Feature.
--It has been a long time coming, but the momentum behind near-field communication services by European mobile operators is gathering pace thanks to a number of recent collaborations between operators and banks in different markets. Check out this feature on the latest developments in NFC.
--Operators are working hard to get consumers to migrate to LTE devices and LTE networks. There are a handful of LTE devices in the market and even more in the pipeline. Here is a rundown of some of the most high-profile LTE smartphones and tablets currently available from U.S. carriers.

I hope you enjoy all our coverage. Look for more creative and interesting content from all the Fierce editorial team. --Sue