No. 1 U.S. wireless carrier Cingular Wireless said Tuesday it’s rolling out a social networking service and an upgraded video service, suggesting the operator is finally starting to push wireless data after being slow to respond to the trend.

Competitors Verizon Wireless and Sprint launched high-speed networks and data services like video and music months before Cingular. But Cingular says its third-generation network will be faster than its rivals.

Data services represent the future of wireless. They allow operators to sell content to combat slipping margins on voice, in part due to companies like Skype that offer free calls over the Internet.

But carriers in the United States have been hesitant to offer many data services. That’s mainly because U.S. customers have not been particularly enthusiastic about these services that are already available in markets like Japan, South Korea, and Western Europe.

Nevertheless, while U.S. carriers currently derive less than 10 percent of their revenue from data, that number is rising.

Cingular said its social networking service will be powered by Vancouver-based startup airG and will be called “CoolTalk.” Over the service, airG said Cingular customers can connect and chat over sites of micro-communities like sports, games, Latino, and music. The service can be accessed by any web-enabled cell phone over Cingular’s data site.

The companies did not specify a monthly fee, but a similar service is available from Sprint for $4 per month.

Cingular also announced an upgraded video service that will run over its 3G network, which includes content deals like the Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, CNN, ESPN, and Fox.

The carrier already offers a variety of video from various partners like HBO Mobile, a service that sells the Sopranos series and other HBO-created content clips.

Cingular said its video service has the most content deals of all its rivals, and will cost $20 per month.

Verizon and Sprint already offer similar video services, and Verizon is planning on selling broadcast TV service over Qualcomm’s MediaFlo network by the end of the year.

Mobile Networking

A variety of carriers around the world are also working with airG to provide mobile social networking. In the U.S., Sprint, Amp’d Mobile, and Alltel, among others, have signed on, and airG says it has partnered with carriers in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and India.

So far, airG says it has 7 million registered users across the globe.

While airG might be one of the first companies to offer mobile social networking, online sites like MySpace are also starting to go mobile. MySpace partnered exclusively with Helio, the company created by South Korea’s SK Telecom and EarthLink (see Helio, MySpace Link Youth)

Frederick Ghahramani, Director of airG , said the company’s biggest competition will come from sites like MySpace and Friendster moving online.

But Mr. Ghahramani said the mobile social network user is substantially different from the online social network user, and his company’s understanding of that difference will give airG an edge.