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Another potential area of growth is the sub-prime market. Dougherty estimates that 40 percent of the U.S. population either has no credit or bad credit. Prepaid services have not proven popular, but Sprint has developed a new national program called "Clear Pay" that allows prepayment of charges and notifies customers when they need to go to a store and pay. Dougherty says Sprint is ahead of its competitors in the sub-prime area, but there is still an enormous market to tap.

American rates of wireless acceptance dramatically trail other parts of the developed world. U.S. wireless penetration is 47 percent, compared with about 75 percent in Europe and 65 percent in Japan. Penetration should increase sharply as 3G technology hits.

"Now is when the fun really starts," Dougherty says, "because we will start differentiating one product from another and we will see that people will be able to make a choice: 'Do I want to have voice only? Do I want a data application for my laptop? Do I want to have them all in one?' You will be able to tier the service."

Despite the looming technology breakthrough, the stock of AirGate and other wireless companies hit a rough patch this year. AirGate shares fell sharply off a high of $60, but Dougherty did not let it ruffle him.

"The analysts have gotten into panic mode and are having some difficulty in coming to terms with what happens to a wireless industry that has been growing by leaps and bounds ­ 15, 20, 25 percent a year ­ when there is a recession. Everybody suddenly says, 'Oh, my God! If it doesn't grow, then what?'

"We've been measuring it on the wrong basis. We've been measuring it only on growth. Well, the only thing that pays off is cash. The next metric is going to be either EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) or free cash flow and, ultimately, profitability."

"We have lots of value to bring to our shareholders and lots of very interesting communication developments over the next few years to implement," he remarks. "And we're obviously going to participate aggressively in this growth of voice, data and location. But we're also going to look at actively participating in the wireless replacement of wired phones. It's just too big a market not to go there."

Consumers will soon be able to create a home wireless network with a device that plugs into the phone jack and provides a dial tone at every jack in the house. Going totally wireless is already a fad among young people.

"People in their late teens and early 20s don't have landline phones," Dougherty says. " They just don't have one, period. The only reason that young people have landline phones today is because of Internet access. And with the Internet speeds we'll be able to get out of 3G, it will not be necessary for them to have a landline anymore."

Landlines will gradually go the way of the Oldsmobile, says Dougherty. "The people who bought Oldsmobiles got older and older, and there were just no young people to fill in the bottom end. Well, that's what is going to happen with landline telephones."

Through all his travels, Dougherty hasn't forgotten his alma mater. "Georgia State University gave me a great education and some great experience at a time when it was important for me to have that," he notes.

He is glad to be back in Atlanta. He keeps his company headquarters with 80 employees at Peachtree Center downtown. Both his children, Patrick and Sarah, are working on master's degrees at Georgia State.

For Dougherty, the wireless generation is just beginning, and he's thrilled to be a part of it.

Doug Monroe