It's a sad day when technology giants act like bad-mannered schoolkids, but that's exactly what's happening with next-generation cellular phones. Big companies like Ericsson, Motorola, Nokia and Qualcomm ought to be plowing a path to the third-generation systems that could bring us voice and Internet data in a form factor that fits in a shirt pocket. Instead they are clogging up the machinery of standards groups with fractious debates.

The crux of the matter comes down to choosing an air interface. European interests, which have had a stable digital cellular infrastructure in place for several years now, want a 3G standard that leaps ahead of their existing GSM systems.

Qualcomm, which owns the CDMA interface technology that all agree will be the heart of 3G, finds itself at a disadvantage. The United States is just starting to deploy its narrowband version of CDMA, and Qualcomm wants to make sure any 3G standard is backward-compatible with these systems, a bit of baggage the Europeans do not feel compelled to carry. Japan-and perhaps China-will play a spoiler role, backing the European work in hopes of deploying 3G systems fast and, possibly, giving their domestic OEMs a leg up in a new market. It's an elaborate game of technology geopolitics.

Give the International Telecommunications Union credit for cracking a whip. The ITU has warned the major players about a looming March deadline for a standards decision and shown waning patience with intellectual-property disputes. But the saber rattling from commercial companies suggests few are paying heed.

At one time, Motorola had an opportunity to drive consensus around a global standard, but the communications giant fell behind in the digital era. Media darling Nokia may have a shot at brokering a compromise if it is willing to look beyond its European roots.

Somebody needs to show some leadership, and quickly. It's a disgrace watching so-called technology leaders spend useless cycles trying to capture a royalty stream for something that ought to be as open and free as air and water. The real work lies ahead. The giants of the cellular world ought to stop their squabbling and get cracking on it.