By JASON GERTZEN The Kansas City Star

Wireless phone customers checking out videos have helped Sprint Corp. sales, but a big boost will come when more businesses use the technology, Sprint`s top executive said Friday.

“The business applications will kick in over time,” Gary Forsee, Sprint`s chairman and chief executive officer, said during a presentation at Morgan Stanley`s media and communications conference in Washington, D.C.

Corporate customers increasingly are talking with Sprint about how they can take advantage of wireless data technology, Forsee said.

Sprint is investing heavily in building a network, developing services and working with device manufacturers to support the use of wireless data, Forsee said.

The investment already is paying off, though much of the usage so far has leaned toward the consumer market.

Approximately 8 million customers using Sprint phones to watch video clips, access the Internet and send text messages already contribute $6 to the average revenue the company receives from each of its subscribers.

Earlier in the week Sprint said it was working with computer chip giant Intel Corp. to develop uses for a high-capacity, high-speed wireless technology commonly called WiMax. The two companies will collaborate on development, perform equipment trials and conduct other work on devices and services relying on the technology.

Possibilities cover a variety of multimedia applications — advanced gaming, videoconferencing and other combinations of voice, video and data.

In this year`s third quarter, Sprint will begin the commercial launch of another high-speed data network.

Verizon Wireless, the No. 2 wireless carrier in the United States, started rolling out its own version of the high-speed data service in late 2003.

By the end of last year the company`s service was available in 32 major metropolitan markets, and Verizon Wireless expects to double its coverage area by the end of this year, said Cheryl Bini, a Verizon Wireless spokeswoman.

Verizon Wireless consumers are using the technology for high-speed Internet connections with their laptop computers. Many of them also are using the technology with their phones when they access directories over the Internet or use services that update phone numbers from one telephone to another.

By the end of the year, the Sprint service is expected to be available to 130 million people.

“We will have caught up very quickly with where the competition is,” Forsee said.

Overall, Sprint has been aggressive in exploiting the potential of wireless data services, though the company has been slow to capitalize on certain opportunities, Forsee said.

“We were a bit late in introducing BlackBerry off the Sprint service platform,” Forsee said.

Sprint announced late last year that it was launching a BlackBerry service through its business sales channels.

Sprint`s expertise in developing and marketing wireless data services is a key strength of the company and one of the factors that appealed to Nextel Communications Inc., Sprint`s partner in an upcoming $35 billon merger, Forsee said.

“Data is a key part of our strategic direction with Sprint Nextel,” Forsee said.

Sprint stock closed Friday at $21.79, down 24 cents.