Ten controversial (and brilliant) wireless business ideas

The mobile industry is ever-changing, but one constant remains: Wireless firms large and small are legendary for making bold and provocative decisions, whether in the guise of enlarging their market share, eliminating their competition or simply future-proofing their services or products. These unexpected moves often surprise even the most astute onlookers and spark debate among the entire industry. These decisions have ripple effects on other industries as well.

It's too soon to say whether AT&T's (NYSE:T) proposed $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA or Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) planned $12.5 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility (NYSE:MMI) will turn out to be brilliant or boneheaded. However, with those recent deals as a backdrop, FierceWireless editors looked at some of the more interesting moves in the wireless industry. Here are their picks for the top 10 most controversial (and brilliant!) wireless decisions of the past decade.