SAN DIEGO—Sprint CEO Dan Hesse, chairman of the CTIA, used his keynote address at Tuesday's opening session of the CTIA Enterprise & Applications 2011 show to argue wireless telecommunication is the most important industry in the world, not only in size but in its impact on civilization.
He pointed to the use of mobile devices as part of the Arab Spring revolutions in the Middle East and northern Africa, as well as wireless networks' key roles in answering natural disasters. He pointed to a CTIA collaboration with the Federal Emergency Management Agency this year to provide services like geographically targeted messages during emergency situations
The wireless industry also can help the nation's economy get back on track, Hesse said, citing benefits from using mobile technologies in healthcare and fleet vehicles. He said remote monitoring of patients can save the healthcare industry $21 billion annually. Studies forecast that 500 million smartphone users will be using healthcare apps on their phones within four years.
Hesse also highlighted several Sprint initiatives, including a collaboration with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and its Climate Savers program. He said Sprint is the first Climate Savers partner in the U.S. to address all scopes of greenhouse gas emissions through an agreement with WWF.
"Our admission into World Wildlife Fund's Climate Savers program illustrates Sprint's commitment to making a difference by reducing greenhouse gas emissions," he said. "Joining the Climate Savers program is an important part of our ongoing climate protection efforts. My hope is that our commitment encourages other companies to follow."
Among Sprint's goals in the program, Hesse said, is to reduce its own greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent, to partner with device manufacturers and suppliers to reduce emissions and to identify other opportunities with consumers to reduce emissions.
Hesse said Sprint now gets 93 percent of its electrical energy at its Overland Park, Kan., headquarters from wind power. That's the equivalent of taking more than 15,000 passenger cars off the road for one year, he said.
The environment and distracted driving are two of his special interests at Sprint, Hesse said. He said Sprint, Verizon Wireless and AT&T all are on the Dow Sustainability Index for their environmental efforts.