Analyst Angle

A break in the clouds from the COVID stay-at-home: For our neighbors: homemade cheesecake. For us: homemade boerewors (traditional South African farmer’s sausage) and the Editor’s chakalaka. Silver Linings. After covering this week’s market news, briefly evaluating T-Mobile’s Work from Anywhere (WFX) announcement …

Despite the economic and logistical turmoil wrought by COVID-19, the rollout of 5G has proven to be extraordinarily resilient, with new data showing U.S. coverage is up to 75%.  However, that doesn’t mean the growth of 5G has been totally …

As an industry analyst over the last 30 years, I have heard it all. Some executives at some companies understand the segment and how to benefit from it. Most may want good results but are simply lost. So, let me …

My grandfather gave me a Swiss Army Knife when I was 10 years old. (Of course, the first thing that I did was to test the sharpness of the blade, and I found out that it was a lot sharper …

End of February greetings from Charlotte/ Davidson/ Lake Norman, where spring is in the air.  Featured is our dog Abby, sporting her brand new T-Mobile pet bandana (free through their T-Mobile Tuesdays app).  Our household is an easy target for …

In the scheme of things, you would think delivery and shipping giants like UPS, Fed Ex, DHL and others have a lock on the industry. However, Amazon.com is surprisingly becoming much more efficient, quicker, more accurate and leaves the customer more satisfied. …

Mid-winter greetings from Atlanta (Truist Field pictured) and Lake Norman, NC.  We extend heartfelt prayers and well wishes for all our Texas readership who are learning to cope with the impacts of last week’s storm.  This has been a crazy …

While Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSSs) are dominating the scene for outdoor Location-Based Services (LBS), including automotive navigation and smartphone applications, new technologies, commonly called Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS), are making inroads to support new high-accuracy location use cases, such …

To the uneducated, licensed spectrum is a valuable commodity. For carriers such as AT&T, Dish, T-Mobile, and Verizon to deploy next generation 5G access and services broadly, these service providers need a wide range of spectrum assets. The spectrum gap …

Happy Valentine’s Day from Charlotte/ Davidson/ Lake Norman, NC.  We have prepared a very special issue this week for both President’s Day and Valentine’s Day holidays.  Because it’s a long weekend, we took the liberty to slightly increase the length …

Big Game greetings from Lake Norman/ Charlotte/ Davidson, NC.  Pictured (r-l) are Darius Warton,  Bob Guth (audophile and telecom legend), Gary Eason and yours truly.  Gary and Darius have started a business selling vinyl records and turntables – check out …

The concern many industry watchers have seen coming for years was finally addressed by Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, and Tim Cook, Apple CEO. They say that we have created a dangerous environment. Cook says rampant disinformation and conspiracy theories created …

Greetings from Statesville and Davidson, NC, where vaccinations are in full swing.  Pictured is the appointment-only drive thru line at our regional hospital where the elder Pattersons received their first jab Saturday (getting the appointment for Jim’s folks was a …

The RDOF auction started with the great promise of bringing broadband to vast swatches of the U.S. that is lacking this essential utility.  It ended with questions of whether that promise can be fulfilled. The RDOF auction was established to …

iPhone Kick-Starts 5G’s Mass Market Appeal 5G was officially launched in South Korea in mid-2019 with a few smartphones, followed by many countries with additional commercial launches and new devices. Prior to this, and in a very similar pattern to …

When cable TV companies didn’t have competition, they didn’t care about the customer. They only focused on the investor. This worked for them because there was only one cable TV provider for every region, so they had nothing to lose. …

Signals Research Group (SRG) has been actively involved in tracking the advancement of 5G NR since its inception in September 2015 at a 3GPP workshop, held in Phoenix, Arizona.  At the time, no one knew for certain what 5G NR …

NFL playoff greetings from Lake Norman, NC (we only wish we were at Kansas City’s Union Station, pictured right).  As we await two excellent NFL football games, we thought we would dive in to the opportunities facing one of the Telco Top …

You may be wondering with all the talk about 5G, which wireless network is the fastest between AT&T Mobility, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile and Sprint. Well, mobile Internet speed testing firm Ookla Speedtest, once again gave the top honor to AT&T …

Defying all the naysayers, when ultimately mmWave bands were proven to be well suited for 5G networks, the biggest question on everybody’s mind was, whether they are cost-effective for building large scale networks. GSMA Intelligence (GSMA-I), the market analysis wing …

As a keen industry observer, I have seen with awe, the attention patents (aka IPR- Intellectual Property Rights) have recently gotten. And that has everything to do with the importance 5G has gotten.  Most of the stakeholders now realize that …

More snowy and chilly greetings from Jefferson City and Willard, Missouri, as well as the Tar Heel state, where we anxiously await next week’s warmup.  The opening picture is from a Zoom presentation last week to the Colorado Wireless Association …

Everyone is always searching for the best companies. Investors are looking for the best companies to make money. Users are looking for the best quality and reliability. Workers are looking for the best companies to work for. There are always …

Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf will be retiring June 30 after a successful 26-year run with the company. He will be replaced by Qualcomm President Cristiano Amon. Amon has been with the company since 1995. While there are always concerns when …

Snow and ice-filled greetings from Davidson, NC, and Springfield, MO.  Pictured is yours truly (with assistance from a nephew) providing an afternoon snack to a few of the many bovines at the in-laws’ Missouri farm.  A relaxing family holiday in …