5G will usher in a new age to the wireless industry. There are several different levels or sectors where 5G will play a transformative role over the next decade. Carriers are one of those levels. Today, we are at the point in the shift between 4G and 5G where wireless carriers must evolve in order to continue their historic growth wave.
It’s not like carriers have a choice. If they transform, they can continue to grow. If they don’t, and as their competitors do, they will find themselves at a competitive disadvantage. That means they must be a player if they intend to successfully stay in the wireless marketplace.
There will be two stages in this next transformation. One, early adopters will enter with new technology and explore new ways to connect with and interact with the customer. This will give them a competitive advantage for a while.
AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint are early network 5G adopters
Two, as the industry continues to mature, other competitors will jump in as well. Over the course of several years, what started out as a competitive advantage will turn into a simple cost of doing business. Every player will ultimately jump onboard.
At that point the early adopters will continue to do strong business. As well, the followers will also do strong business. The losers will be those companies who miss this new path. They don’t see this as the next, big growth opportunity.
They may think the choice is there’s. Should they update or keep things as is? This is a big mistake. The choice is not there’s. Companies who miss these shifts typically end up struggling for many years to come. Some even fail.
This happened with T-Mobile several years ago as the network was moving from 2G to 3G. T-Mobile didn’t see the need to update. So, they didn’t. That move almost killed them. They suffered with customer loss as the Apple iPhone and Google Android entered the marketplace and transformed everything, virtually overnight.
This same change wave also impacted handset makers and previous leaders like Blackberry, Nokia and Palm, crashed and burned. They are still trying to recover a decade later.
Under a new CEO T-Mobile managed to recover. They skipped over 3G and went directly to 4G. They tried to merge with AT&T but failed. That failure did give them some spectrum which they desperately needed.
Over the last few years they have seen growth in a 4G marketplace. The problem is they still have a shortage of spectrum which will impact them with the 5G rollout. That’s why they need to merge with Sprint, who has plenty of spectrum.
There may be new winners and losers in 5G wireless networks
The shift from 4G to 5G will be just as impactful for wireless carriers. The next few years will be full of growth opportunity and risk, and every player needs to update and upgrade everything about the way they do business.
So, what is the future of the carrier and what do they have to do in order to remain relevant and competitive going forward. The future is around the growing mountain of data, information and choices. It deals with AI, IoT the Cloud and so much more.
The only choice companies have is deciding whether they want to be a leader or a follower. Leaders pave the new path going forward. Leaders also take the arrows. Followers take this new path once it is paved. However, both can do strong business and lead going forward.
I see AT&T as a leader and Verizon as a follower. Both are strong players and leaders in the changing wireless industry. The weaker players are T-Mobile and Sprint. Yet, they are still moving in this same direction.
Synchronoss helps networks transform to 5G with AI, IoT and Cloud
So, where do network operators turn to get the knowledge and expertise they need going forward? This is where certain key suppliers step in.
Companies like Synchronoss Technologies is one of these players. This is a company which helps companies understand what is coming and helps them prepare for the massive level of change that is coming. They do this for both leaders and followers. Their customers include networks like AT&T, Verizon and Sprint.
In fact, Glenn Lurie is the new CEO at Synchronoss Technologies. He comes from AT&T and AT&T Mobility. He has spent decades helping one of the largest and most successful carriers transform and grow over the last several decades.
His knowledge and expertise put’s Synchronoss at the top of the list of companies which wireless networks need. They help todays leaders hold onto their leadership position.
Qualcomm and Huawei focused on 5G network growth
Qualcomm is one of the best-known brands in the industry. They are an American company and their expertise in 5G puts them in a leadership position. Huawei is also an important leader in the 5G space. While they are a global powerhouse, they struggle with acceptance in markets like the USA, and I don’t see that lessening.
5G is going to be the biggest growth opportunity and competitive risk the wireless industry has ever seen. This is something every carrier needs to participate in. They need to stay one step ahead of the change wave. They need to ride this change wave if they want to continue to be competitive. Otherwise, just like a wave at the beach, it will move ahead without them.
Between 5G, AI, IoT, cloud, Omni-Channel experiences so much more, the next decade will be one of the biggest growth opportunities we have ever seen, and we have seen plenty over time as the networks grew from 2G to 3G to 4G and now to 5G.
The only question you should have right now is this. Will your company be a leader like AT&T or a follower like Verizon? Both are strong competitors. There is nothing wrong with either strategy. However, every carrier needs to participate in this transformation.
The only wrong choice is if you decide not to engage. Not to change. Not to update and upgrade. If you do that, you are steering your company down that dark path where companies seldom recover or return from. The choice is yours.
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