5G
Francesco adds that , once non-telecom players established themselves as the ones who stood to benefit from the increased capacity , coverage and speed that 4G delivered , “ In the end , the telecom industry was essentially forced to remain in a small corner of the value chain , just providing faster connectivity at pretty much the same price points .”
Now , as the global 5G rollout continues to gather momentum around the world , CSPs are once again shelling out billions of dollars in order to keep pace in an extremely competitive market . And once again , these companies are finding themselves faced with the challenge of defending their revenue streams against digital service providers using their infrastructure to offer disruptive , transformational services . “ Most , if not all , of the telecoms I talk to recognise the mistakes that were made with 4G ,” says Venturini . “ And I think that ' s motivating a lot of players in the industry to be a bit more territorial - to plant the flag on 5G in order not to once again be forced into a corner where they provide faster connectivity in exchange for very little in the way of ROI .”
The widely held belief that , as Venturini puts it , “ operators missed the boat ” with 4G isn ’ t ubiquitous . According to Mark Newman , Chief Analyst at TM Forum , an
“ WITH THE 4G ROLLOUT , TELECOMS WERE THE ENGINE THAT POWERED A NEW ECONOMY ”
FRANCESCO VENTURINI ACCENTURE
industry association representing service providers and suppliers throughout the telecom sector , “ CSPs didn ’ t make a mistake with the 4G rollout .”
Newman explains that , while he understands the people who argue that operators lost out by taking on the cost of the rollout while the OTT companies like Google and Netflix reaped the rewards of faster consumer connectivity , he also believes that , since “ the goal for the operators is to furnish their customers with a faster and better-connected consumer experience ,” by this metric , the 4G rollout “ has been incredible . Modern video and audio streaming wouldn ’ t have
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