An AT&T Dog Collar

LAS VEGAS--Realizing that cellphone sales will eventually slow in the U.S., AT&T and Verizon are racing to connect everything from netbooks to electronic readers to their networks.

Both companies insist they are receptive to any idea as long as it doesn't harm their networks. Judging from two possible future products--a wireless-enabled dog collar and an automatic cow milking system--the telcos truly are thinking outside the box. (See "AT&T And Verizon's Start-Up Mentality." )

Glenn Lurie, president of AT&T's ( T - news - people ) emerging-devices unit, would like to support dog collars on his company's network. Lurie imagines the collars would incorporate small wireless modules that beam data to a Web site so owners could track the dog's location if it got lost or loose.

"Think how many people have pets that they treat like children," Lurie says. "People laugh about the idea, but it really is a viable application." He estimates that consumers would pay up to $100 a year for such a service.

Verizon ( VZ - news - people ) is considering supporting an application that would manage a dairy farm's automatic milking system, says Tony Lewis, head of the company's open development unit. The application would use Verizon's cellular network to collect status updates on the milking machines.

The company has already approved a device that tracks the whereabouts of prison inmates and several top-secret products for the government.