It's like the Oscars of the global mobile-phone industry. Every year, the movers and shakers of the wireless business converge for the Mobile World Congress, which was previously known as 3GSM. Held in Barcelona for the third year running, the event is expected to attract more than 50,000 attendees and 1,200 exhibitors.

Companies will unveil everything from flashy new handsets and mobile services to esoteric network equipment. In hidden meeting rooms or behind the podium on the main stage will be at least 200 chief executives, including China Mobile Chairman Wang Jianzhou, Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son, Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin, Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, and keynote speaker John Chambers, CEO of Cisco Systems.

This year, given the growing importance of mobile music and video, the guest list also includes a few flashier names. Film stars Robert Redford and Isabella Rossellini are set to show up, as is the curiously named will.i.am, front man for the music group Black Eyed Peas.

During five frantic days starting Feb. 10, hundreds of hopeful startups offering the latest breakthroughs in mobile software, services, and content will throng rooftop pool parties hosted by venture capitalists. Everyone will feast on tapas and guzzle Rioja wine amid the dizzying dealmaking.

After all, the mobile industry has a lot to celebrate. Buyers snapped up 1.14 billion mobile phones last year, a 12 percent increase over 2006. Industry leaders Nokia, Samsung Electronics, and LG Electronics all reported strong fourth-quarter results, thanks largely to exploding demand in emerging markets. And though mobile-services revenue growth in developed markets is slowing, customers are finally starting to use cellular networks for more than just talking and texting.

Gateways to Service

Indeed, one of the big stories of 2007 was the belated takeoff of so-called mobile broadband, shorthand for the use of speedy cellular networks, instead of a wire or short-range Wi-Fi connection, for online access from a handset or a laptop. Analysts now say it won't be long before mobile broadband surpasses fixed-line connections to become the predominant Internet access method.

That prospect is setting off a scramble to roll out new moneymaking services that take advantage of speedier wireless connections. What mobile operators dread most is being relegated to the role of "dumb pipes," or providing commodity connections while other companies take home the gravy from online services and content. So they're trying to offer everything from music and video clips to social-networking services and broadcast TV on handsets.

What spooks operators is the enormous success of Apple. The iPod and the iPhone have demonstrated how easy it is for consumers to eschew mobile networks for downloads and instead pump content directly from PCs into mobile devices. Sure, some people buy songs or video clips over the air, but many such services are still too clunky or expensive to use.

Expect to hear lots of noise at Mobile World Congress about fixing the problem. European carrier Orange, for instance, a unit of France Telecom, aims to dramatically improve handset user interfaces so that mobile phones are used more often as gateways to services, not just for text messages and voice calls. That's essential because the iPhone has raised the bar for the entire industry. Orange offers the iPhone in France, but "not everyone can afford an iPhone, and more and more they come into our stores and ask us what else we have that can offer a similar experience," says Yves Maitre, vice-president of devices at Orange.

Nokia "Comes With Music"

Apple isn't the only company chilling operators. Beginning later this year, higher-end Nokia phones will come with a built-in "Comes With Music" service that will offer unlimited song downloads for a year. Nokia has signed up Universal Music to provide the song catalog, including top contemporary musicians such as Amy Winehouse and Kanye West, and says it's in negotiations with other music majors.

This is a direct shot at operators, most of which now offer pay-as-you-go music downloads. None has so far made a dent in Apple's iTunes business -- and Nokia's new service throws another wrench in the works. To demonstrate how serious it is about music, Nokia announced on Feb. 7 that it's forming an in-house artists' advisory council led by musician and songwriter Dave Stewart of Eurythmics fame. The purpose of the council, Nokia says, is to ensure that "artists' point of view is represented in creating new content business paradigms." Mobile TV and Web 2.0

Another topic sure to be at the top of the Mobile World Congress agenda is mobile TV, or the broadcasting of digital video signals directly to handsets. So far, the heavily hyped technology has been a disappointment, thanks to standards wars, immature technology, and big regulatory holdups. But bit by bit, pieces are starting to fall into place. Just days before the Barcelona conference, Orange said it had won rights to broadcast top soccer matches via mobile, a first in France. "I expect the likes of HBO, Sky, and Turner to try and do deals with operators to get their content preinstalled on new devices," says Ben Wood from British mobile consultancy CCS Insight.

Mobile operators also are likely to announce more partnerships with Web 2.0 companies, such as Facebook or Google's YouTube unit. Although they'd prefer to own and operate as many of their own services as possible, many carriers are now realizing that consumers want to use handsets to peruse familiar Web sites they visit from their PCs. "If you are an operator and you are not holding hands with the Web giants, you are nowhere," says Wood.

Search and Advertise

Of course, with all this great content, one enduring challenge is how users will find it. That highlights another big topic on this year's agenda: mobile search. The new gorilla in the room is Google, whose ambitions in the mobile arena were made clear last year when it revealed plans to sponsor the creation of a new search-friendly operating system for mobile phones.

Google has attracted hundreds of developers to its open-source software scheme. If it flies, the company's Android system could siphon off search traffic and revenue from carriers -- putting it in Google's pockets. In response, carriers are hedging their bets. Some are involved in the Android project. But many others may join forces with Linux groups to form an industry consortium with the heft to battle Android.

At stake isn't just control over the software that runs inside phones, but also the growing market for advertising on handsets. There will be a lot of buzz but very little mobile advertising revenue in 2008. But the potential is enormous, which is why Google is so interested in getting into the business. Operators are reluctant to hand this market over, so expect an increase in tensions.