“5G networks are now nearing a critical mass of global commercial network deployments and subscribers,” according to 5G Americas. According to Omdia, the world added 385.5 million 5G subscribers between the fourth quarter of 2019 and fourth quarter of 2020 to reach 401 million 5G connections [...]

A new report issued by the by BCG for the European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association suggests new use cases enabled by 5G will generate nearly 66 percent of total “telco” revenues by 2025. source: ETNO It is not entirely clear what that claim means. In the context of an argument [...]

This is a good illustration of the Pareto theorem, which states that 80 percent of instances or outcomes in business or nature come from 20 percent of the cases or effort. The Pareto theorem is popularly known as the 80/20 rule .  Of the 83 challengers in 20 telecom markets analyzed by Bain [...]

When will U.S. 5G subscribers hit an inflection point? As early as this year or perhaps as late as 2023? The inflection point is important, as it has in the past been the point at which slow or low adoption of a product accelerates, growing at a faster clip.  In January 2021, 5G coverage [...]

Mobile network speeds have not historically matched fixed network speed increases, in large part because mobile spectrum has been sharply limited, while cabled networks can, in principle, use all the spectrum typically available to all over-the-air wireless networks, plus additional spectrum in [...]

Dynamic spectrum sharing can be thought of in a number of ways. It is a way of shifting spectrum to 5G uses in instances where many customers, but a declining number, use the 4G platform. It is a 4G-to-5G transition mechanism, supporting 5G operations until mid-band spectrum can be deployed for [...]

The advice to “go digital” or “digitally transform” is almost meaningless these days. Firms already use all manner of technologies, ranging from smartphones and PCs to the internet to mobile apps and cloud computing. All information technology, and virtually all communications technology these [...]

Ignoring for the moment access to the millimeter wave spectrum, the impact of the U.S. C-band auction of 280 MHz spectrum is considerable and likely foundational for U.S. 5G prospects. The reason is simply that the mid-band spectrum offers the best combination of 5G coverage and capacity gains. [...]

Speed still seems a more-important buying criteria than speed, for mobile customers, at least when the choices are data speeds or availability of 5G service.  That goes for business and consumer users, according to RootMetrics. Other studies suggest reliability might be more important than [...]

5G+ is as good a way as any to assess the value 5G might produce. Bell Labs Consulting uses “5G+” as an umbrella term for a broad ecosystem of technologies that will unlock the future economic potential of industry. And that makes sense for observers who argue that 5G is but part of a complex [...]

Most of the stories you will see about the U.S. C-band auction will emphasize the sheer amount of money spent to acquire some of the 280 MHz of spectrum. The auction will set a new record for spending in a single auction, to be sure. The reason is that the Federal Communications Commission has [...]

It already seems clear that mobile operator 5G strategies for edge computing, for the most part, avoid direct competition with the hyperscale cloud computing giants, operating instead as edge real estate partners (space, racks, security, cooling, power), 5G networking for system integrators or [...]