Amended from The Seattle Times:

For almost a decade, Seattle executive Dan Hesse has been doing everything without wires attached.

That changes with this week's announcement that he'll become the new chief executive of Sprint's local telecommunications division. In that position, he will lead the charge to spin off the division from Sprint, once the wireless division's merger with Nextel Communications is completed later this year. He will also spearhead the effort to make the company more attractive to consumers as wireless, cable and other industries compete to offer the same services. Most recently, Hesse was chief executive of Terabeam, a broadband wireless provider that attracted huge investments by shooting data through the air using lasers. Early last year, he sold the company to Falls Church, Va.-based YDI. Before that, he spent three years as chief executive at Redmond-based AT&T Wireless and 20 years at AT&T.

Q: What wireless technologies could you use?

A: Fixed wireless — not just mobile wireless — by using Wi-Fi or WiMax and other kinds of wireless technologies that we could use just as well as if not better than others. Local telephone companies have local rights of way through buildings and towers that we own.

Sprint chose someone like me, who isn't just wireline or wireless, because all boundaries are blurring. Everyone can get into everyone's business. We are going to be deploying lots of technologies to service the customers better.

Q: A lot of your former colleagues here in the Northwest are investing and developing technologies you've mentioned. Is it possible you'd tap some of those resources?

A: Anything is possible. ... Two of the states we serve are Washington and Oregon. I'll be coming back to the Northwest to see territories, and people in those markets. I'm not going to be a stranger.