South America spans 6.85 million square miles, and Central America extends another 202,000 square miles. Together they stretch over twice the breadth of the United States, and yet there is a big difference in opportunities for technology and telecom investors. Our southern neighbors are seeing their middle classes grow like crazy amid tremendous economic growth -- in early 2007, it was estimated that South America's population was at around 370 million people, while Central America had about 146 million people. Now that's a lot of potential cell phone subscribers. Unfortunately, the size of South America and Central America's landline and cellular phone infrastructures has just not kept up to meet the growing demand.

This is where NII Holdings (NIHD) comes in. Formerly known as Nextel International, the company focuses on integrated wireless communications, with its major operations in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Peru and Chile. It offers a really cheap, lively way to earn the benefit of the revolution in commerce underway in the cities, rural villages and mining communities.

Now I realize that credit problems are making life tough all over, but they are really not going to prevent Brazilian, Peruvian, Colombian and Mexican teenagers, soccer moms, mine engineers and innkeepers from buying new push-to-talk phones from NII Holdings, which is the name under which Nextel sells its unique cell phone technology in that part of the world. Many nations of Europe, such as Sweden and Italy, have wireless penetration rates greater than 100%, or more than one cell phone per person. But in Central and South America, where people like to talk just as much or even more, wireless penetration is not expected to reach even 60% until 2010. To me, that spells opportunity for any wireless communication company in the region.