As Age Of Fast Wireless Dawns, Some Question Market, Claims Junk At High Speeds?(A)

Byline: SARAH Z. SLEEPER

The much-hyped arrival of 3G may be more talk than walk.

This "third generation" of cellular is touted as blazing fast and able to deliver vast and nifty services like photo e-mails and games, plus grab and use files from work or home.

But some analysts say 3G won't be all it's cracked up to be. It may not be as fast as hoped, and there's doubt American consumers will want it. Wireless carriers may not know for eight years whether they'll see any return on their multibillion-dollar investments.

All that could add up to a big hit for ailing telecoms that hope 3G services could produce $320 billion in yearly revenue by 2010.

"Any time you read a speed number from an operator, don't believe it. It's probably one-fifteenth of what they say," said Ken Dulaney, a Gartner Inc. vice president.

Networks that are 3G should move data at 100 kilobits per second, he says. That's twice the speed of today's PC modems.