Does your influencer marketing program work, or is it a total waste of time and money? The answer is simple: it depends. The vast majority of influencer marketing is probably not worth it. So much effort is a waste for a simple reason we...
With the race to 5G heating up around the world, it’s tempting to focus on the hype being generated about the applications and services the next-generation network will enable. Much attention has been given to what the blazing fast speeds and super low latency...
Throughout the wireless industry, Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) has ignited speculative optimism – like a gold rush – predicated upon business opportunities to enable indoor and outdoor deployments such as Private LTE, Densification, 5G and the Internet of Things (IoT), and to address...
While marketing departments for mobile operators around the world extol the seemingly endless benefits that 5G network rollouts enable, the fact is that operators face a glut of new complications to validate, activate and optimize 5G infrastructure.
Since 5G is not simply an incremental update...
Innovation, new competitors and a changing industry are both a threat and an opportunity. Something I call the “sticky-bundle” is helping existing companies hang onto and stabilize their customer base as their industry transforms around them. Let me explain how and why the sticky-bundle...
After a decade of swings and misses, Microsoft finally threw the smartphone towel and is exiting the business. I have discussed this many time over the last decade. Microsoft has wanted to win in the wireless space for so long. So, why did they...
As a telecom and wireless analyst and columnist for more than 30 years, countless companies have tried to get on my radar. Of that long list, only a small percentage actually become leaders in their space. Let me tell you about one of these...
Mobile phones have become so ubiquitous that it appears everyone has one. Today, there are all different levels of phones on the market—from prepaid phones that cost under $100 to the latest Apple devices that run well over $1000. We’ve become accustomed to the...
A critical challenge facing 4G LTE fixed wireless operators is how to cost-effectively increase site capacity. Although there are many options available, including Massive MIMO, sectorization is one of the most cost effective, expedient and practical means of doubling site capacity.
Most LTE base...
Mobile World Congress 2019 in Barcelona, Spain, is coming soon. This is the largest international wireless trade show and MWC19 is expected to be full of big announcements from the global leaders in wireless. Let’s take a sneak peak, regarding what we can expect...
5G is finally here. Carriers have launched networks, and the first mobile devices that can use them are hitting the market.
Fortunately, so are the high-speed mobile interfaces that devices need to keep up with 5G and the new applications that are set to...
AI will make expense reporting, sales, manufacturing and other work applications a lot more useful—and hopefully less annoying
It’s not just your home appliances that are getting smarter.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is making its way not only into homes via Internet-connected speakers, thermostats, and insert-your-favorite-kitchen-gizmo-here. It is also...
There seems to be quite a bit of confusion around 5G so let’s try and clear things up. AT&T Mobility say’s it’s here now since they are the first carrier to offer mobile 5G services. Verizon say’s it’s here since they offer 5G Home....
As mobile network operators (MNOs) prepare to integrate 5G wireless technology and services, they are taking the opportunity to evolve their network architecture with three goals in mind: reduce costs; improve deployment efficiency, service flexibility and velocity; and open the market to innovation to...
5G is coming and represents a transformational opportunity for network operators
The arrival of 5G capabilities will present tremendous opportunity for network operators to grow if capitalized on correctly. Conversely, the trend could damage the growth prospects of these same companies if they miss the...
Apple presented bad news last week about iPhone sales, and their stock came tumbling downhill. While this crisis does not have to be permanent, as a wireless analyst, I have been following this company and their key product the iPhone for more years than...
The term “logging off” may soon cease to exist thanks to the much-anticipated arrival of 5G. The newest mobile network is set to roll out next year, with promises of flexible, reliable and secure wireless network access from just about anywhere.
And we mean anywhere....
2018 was a year of progress, of consolidation, and of intense introspection as Technology, Media and Telecom (TMT) companies get themselves, their networks and their internal processes ready for the arrival of 5G. The industry has weathered large-scale mergers as media and telecoms converge,...
Service providers are sitting on more marketable data than even Google -- but they’ve been slow to harness it for profit. Here are some ways they can turn things around
Not even Google can rival the wealth of consumer data that communication service providers (CSPs)...
A lot can happen in a year, especially in a telecoms year. The industry has seen consolidation, disruption and innovation, all at a dizzying pace. 2018 saw the hype around technologies such as AI and blockchain reach fever pitch, and in 2019, we will...
5G: Are we there yet?
In 2019, hype meets reality for 5G devices and services. After several years of discussions on use cases and exotic technologies, “real” 5G products will start to scale on 3GPP Release 15 5G NR networks. On the use-case front, the...
The evolution of the enterprise
Enterprise network connectivity is no longer limited to Wi-Fi access points (APs) and LAN switches that support devices such as laptops, printers, tablets and smartphones. We are seeing ever-increasing types of IoT devices in enterprises: both low-end low-power devices but...
A bit of background
The deployment of the new 5G network presents a unique challenge to our regulatory system. Far from the 100-foot lattice towers and monopoles of 3G and 4G past, 5G capability will largely be the task of small cell deployments in the...
The wireless industry has undergone dramatic changes this year. We’re moving ever-closer to 5G availability. The FCC held a vote on eliminating the personal use restriction in Part 20.21 for cell signal boosters, and LEED-certified buildings, while rising in popularity, contain materials that block...
