The biggest news from MWC23 in Barcelona is surprisingly not 5G. This year Mobile World Congress focused on where wireless is heading and what changes we can expect going forward. Based on the countless conversations I have been having with industry executives, I beleive we can expect plenty of change this year and beyond.
The wireless industry has become a noisy and chaotic industry. Every company needs to make an impression with their announcements. They want to be seen and heard among investors, workers, users, the media and more.
The challenge today is the noise level is so high, making it difficult for companies to be seen and heard.
Top thought leaders, industry analysts and influencers at MWC23
First let me say thank you for recognizing Jeff Kagan as one of the top industry thought leaders at MWC23. Industry watchers including KCORE Analytics, Brand24, Metricool and AKA.tv ranked Kagan at the top of their lists of voices across the board. Details can be found at www.jeffKAGAN.com
MWC Barcelona 2023 said the five themes focused on this year will create a seismic shift to advance our industry. They are 5G Acceleration, Reality+, OpenNet, Digital Everything and FinTech. While I agree, these are an important part of the mix, they are not the only areas of growth that need to be focused on.
Let’s pull the camera back and take a good, hard look at wireless
Let’s pull the camera back to get a longer-term, historical perspective on key changes in the wireless industry. What are the growth opportunities and challenges that lie ahead?
Success for every company depends on getting seen, noticed and heard. With all the chaos, that is difficult for any company. This remains is one of the biggest challenges in this industry today.
In the years to come, I believe wireless will continue to grow, and be the center of the universe, however growth will also come from new areas of technology and other industries, which will use these networks and technologies to expand in their own segment.
ChatGPT, Bard and other Chatbot tech will start competitive battle
One of these brand-new areas of rapid growth is in the AI space. Chatbot technology like ChatGPT and Bard have only just launched. In fact, this whole area just started a few months ago in November.
So far it looks like it will be a real growth sector going forward. This will use wireless and wire line to link everything and everyone, everywhere.
Tomorrow, these new technologies like Chatbot and AI will become as important to growth in the wireless industry as the smartphone and tablet have always been.
Chatbot and AI are both threat and growth opportunity to wireless
In fact, AI Chatbot technology will impact and change the way industries and companies operate. This is both a real threat and a growth opportunity.
Microsoft is partnering with OpenAI with their new ChatGPT technology. They hope this will ignite growth with Bing search and transform all their service offerings. Will they ultimately acquire OpenAI?
I believe Microsoft will now challenge Google for search dominance.
That means Google must respond. That’s why they too are moving into the same area with their AI Chatbot called Bard. Now, we will see who has the best technology.
Yes, it looks like 2023 is setting up to begin a massive competitive battle going forward between Microsoft and Google in AI and search.
In fact, I also believe other companies like Apple and Amazon will also enter this same space.
Wireless still the center of the universe going forward
A key trend we need to be aware of is that as technology continues to grow and advance, it all needs to be connected, and that will happen both on wireless networks and hardwire networks like fiber.
Companies like Verizon and AT&T are leaders in both wireless and wire line from the public networking perspective.
However, there will also be many other competitors as well. Companies do not need to own a wireless network to be a competitor.
Companies like Comcast, Charter and Altice USA have a wireline network. They are also wireless resellers with Xfinity Mobile, Spectrum Mobile, Optimum. Plus, there are many others.
The explosion of new technology, new industries and new angles will continue to fuel growth in the wireless industry going forward.
So, the wireless growth wave will continue to expand. Some companies in some sectors will continue to show strong growth. However, others will slow. And some, which have been hot before will now watch the growth wave pass them by, leaving them behind.
Wireless growth will come from new areas and industries
Let’s take a closer look at how these changes are impacting the wireless industry today, and where the rapid growth will come from tomorrow.
Wireless has always been a growth industry. Decade after decade, the numbers kept increasing with regards to subscribers, speed of the network with 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G, number of competitors in the space and more.
While wireless continues to expand in those same areas, there are also important changes that are occurring within the industry in a variety of new ways.
So, going forward we need to take the blinders off and really see how wireless will impact industry after industry going forward.
Wireless leaders will re-boot traditional 5G marketing and growth
That means the number of companies considered to be in the wireless industry or who use the space to expand their business in their industry, continues to explode with growth.
As important as 5G is, it is not making the kind of impact the industry expected. Not yet anyway. That’s why some industry leaders are using marketing to re-start and re-focus our attention on this area. They are going to be turning the heat level up.
Huawei calls their effort 5.5G. Qualcomm calls theirs 5G Advanced. I would not be surprised to see other leaders in the space join in this new chorus. And there are plenty of others.
So, expect a re-launch of 5G marketing in new ways to get the investor and user base excited once again.
Private wireless continues to grow in importance to enterprise
Today, wireless focus is expanding to the B2B marketplace for business customers.
An important area of growth is private wireless. This is a segment which is starting to get on the radar of a growing number of wireless players because it is the focus of an increasing number of enterprise customers.
The reason is simple. Private wireless gives enterprises the ability to have more control over their communications. It also offers a higher level of security than public wireless and wi-fi.
Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Xfinity, Spectrum, Optimum, Huawei
Some of the company’s new to this space today are traditional, public wireless networks like Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile and AT&T Mobility. Also, MVNO resellers like Xfinity Mobile, Spectrum Mobile, Optimum and others.
There are also a growing number of companies in the space who offer these private wireless equipment and services for a customized private network.
Qualcomm partners with Betacom to offer private wireless to the marketplace. Ericsson, with their Cradlepoint services does something similar. Plus, there are a growing number of other companies in this burgeoning space.
Qualcomm, Betacom, Cradlepoint, NTT, Juniper Networks, Viiz, Nokia
In fact, I see this sector continuing its rapid growth path. There are a whole host of companies, large and small who have the same growth opportunity going forward, if they understand the new directions the industry is heading in.
These are companies like NTT, Docomo, Juniper Networks, Cisco, Viiz, Ericsson, Nokia, Orange, Amazon, AWS, Amdocs, Xiaomi and countless others, large and small, known and unknown are all players in this new world.
One surprise at MWC23 was the size and scope of the Huawei booth. Don’t count them out.
There are other areas of growth as well, but the message is clear. In the wireless industry, the growth wave is shifting.
Noise level in wireless is too loud for companies to get noticed
Yes, growth with wireless carriers, smartphone and tablet makers will continue. However, new areas of rapid growth will be the focus going forward.
News coverage, investment dollars, worker and customer interest will continue to grow, but be increasingly focused on these new areas.
What that means is the noise level will be turned up to high, making it even more difficult for companies to get their message out and be heard.
Success comes from getting noticed. That’s why good marketing, advertising, public relations and more will be the key factor for success going forward.
Remember, you may have a better mousetrap, but if you get lost in the noise, nobody will ever know about it.
There is much more from MWC23, and this is why I see 2023 being an exciting year in wireless on two fronts, new technology and marketing. Companies must find new ways to punch their way onto the map, get noticed and seen by users, investors and workers. That’s the biggest challenge going forward.
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