Wireless Stocks: The Next Generation

At the CTIA Wireless Show in Las Vegas, telecom, cable and Web media companies are hyping their plans to master 3G ("third-generation") info technology like WiMax -- and some are already jumping ahead to 4G.

Todd Rosenbluth, Standard & Poor's telecom analyst, told investors who he believes will win the wireless wars.

Outlook

Rosenbluth addressed a report by CNBC's Jim Goldman, who said there is "massive speculation" that Google , Comcast and Time Warner will collectively "pump $2.5 billion into Sprint to build out" a high-speed wireless WiMax network.

• Video: Watch the entire Rosenbluth interview (4 mins, 23 secs)

But Rosenbluth thinks that funding won't guarantee a victory for Sprint Nextel .

"Sprint is really looking toward WiMax as an alternative technology. But Sprint is really going to be struggling versus the companies we like at S&P," he said.

And which firms are those?

Recommendations

"We like AT&T and Verizon Communications . They've committed to a fourth-generation technology, [called] LTE."

The analyst believes LTE is going to prove more efficient than WiMax -- and render the latter obsolete.

Disclosures

As of publication, information was not immediately available as to whether Rosenbluth or his firm have holdings in any of the stocks mentioned above.

Disclaimer

© 2008 CNBC.com