The current telecommunications slump will eventually trigger "explosive growth" for two industry subsets -- wireless information services and distribution software applications, according to new research from Kinetic Information.

The Waltham, Mass., consultant predicts carriers will turn to wireless because it's "the only profitable game left in town," and software vendors will follow with applications tailored for the "small screen."

The result will be a global market in 2005 worth approximately $12 billion for wireless data services, and $1.5 billion for wireless interoperability software, Kinetic Information said.

"Thanks to their recent financial and political struggles, carriers today are desperate to show their customers and the Street that they still have upside potential," said Steve Weissman, Kinetic Information''s president. "Wireless computing is their best short-term bet because it's new, value-added, and chock full of profit potential."

Falling bandwidth costs and the proliferation of public wireless local area networks will lay the groundwork for growth, Weissman added.

Kinetic Information believes that software makers will work to make software for personal digital assistants and other handhelds more like desktop applications.

"Unlocking the potential here requires that these devices interface not just with the Web, but with enterprise business processes, workflow, and data, and do so from anyplace, at any time," the company contends.

The telecommunications industry is slogging through a longterm slowdown. Carriers are delaying or canceling orders, causing gear makers to cut employees, facilities, financial forecasts. Some have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Some startups in the field have simply gone out of business because their venture capital financing had expired.

Kinetic Information's report, "Mapping the Market for Enterprise Interoperability: Friends, Foes & Paths to Profit," will be available next month. More information is available through the company's Web site.