Despite some criticism of 5G value at the moment, 5G subscriptions are on a growth trajectory that seems at least the equal of 4G and arguably is happening faster. And most forecasts fast 5G adoption compared to 3G, for example, on the model of 4G, which also was adopted faster than 3G.   [...]

As new data from PwC shows, mobile networks are the way most human beings globally get access to the internet. Fixed connections continue to increase, but at a low rate. Mobile connections not only represent most of the connections, but also are growing faster than fixed connections. As a [...]

Most observers now seem to agree that 5G incremental revenue is likely to come in a few ways: new enterprise use cases; fixed wireless access and some incremental shift of consumer service plans. But only fixed wireless allows immediate opportunities to vertically integrate and [...]

What 5G means is different for mobile operators, consumers and enterprises. For mobile operators, 5G means lower costs per bit, a new way to create virtual private networks that can be differentiated, ways to create roles in internet of things and edge computing. Latency performance, which [...]

Proponents of open approaches to radio access networks tout its cost savings. Opponents often argue the savings will be not as great as claimed. Much hinges on assumptions about radio access network cost. Some argue the radio access network represents 70 percent of capital investment. Others [...]

Low earth orbit satellite constellations such as Spacelink will allow satellite broadband provides to serve 3.5 million subscribers in 2021, growing at an eight-percent compound annual growth rate to reach 5.2 million users in 2026, according to ABI Research. To keep that in perspective, in [...]

One occasionally hears comments about whether 5G “is real” or “will succeed.” The implication is that 5G so far is over-hyped, and that is a reasonable view, for the moment. The longer-term issue is whether 5G could actually fail. That seems an infinitesimally-small danger. No mobile [...]

Right now, there is a possible gap between users of 5G phones and users of 5G. Nearly 40 percent of 5G phone users leave 5G turned off all the time, a survey by Android Authority finds. What is not so clear from the results is whether all the surveyed users actually have 5G subscriptions. That [...]

Asking whether mobile operators can earn more from 5G than 4G, though a logical question, turns out to be the wrong question. The real question is whether mobile operators can grow revenues faster than they have been in recent years, raise the perceived value of their services, sell at higher [...]

Fixed wireless always has been a niche platform for access services. But fixed wireless might be significant for suppliers of 5G services as among the few new revenue sources in the consumer market. Assume there are 75 million 5G fixed wireless connections in service by about 2026. Since most [...]

Sometimes a bug  can be a feature. Perhaps, more commonly, a bug is an implicit end user request for a feature not originally envisioned. In the radio communications world, high signal attenuation is typically considered a problem, hence a “bug.” Consider atmospheric signal attenuation around [...]

How big an opportunity is private 5G or private 4G networking, and for whom? To the extent that all premises private networks have been most important and valuable for networking infrastructure companies, local area networks such as Wi-Fi or Ethernet LANs have not been a particularly big drive [...]