Regional landline operator, Embarq Corp., will hold onto its wireless division for the time being but may sell it to another company next year, said the carrier’s Chief Financial Officer, Gene Betts, at a recent analyst conference in Washington, D.C.

Embarq actively marketed cell phone services for over 18 months through a partnership with its former parent company, Sprint Nextel Corp. At the end of December 2007, however, the company discontinued its wireless efforts after capturing only 112,000 customers, well below its initial expectations.

‘’It was becoming apparent that we couldn’t obtain enough wireless customers to make a big difference,`’ Betts explained, noting that Embarq will continue to develop and promote fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) services, such as unified voicemail, and text-to-voice messaging.

‘’We’re trying to make functionality that integrates with any wireless device and isn’t tied to a particular carrier,`’ he said.