Over the past 25 years, cellular networks have gone through several evolutions, from 1G to 2G, 3G and then LTE. Now we are on the forefront of LTE-A, LTE-A Pro and soon 5G. Arguably, the largest disruption is to come from IoT, the Internet of Things. Many new technologies are being developed to provide low-cost connectivity for IoT devices. There are Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) technologies like NB-IoT, LTE Cat-M1/M2, and new 3GPP standards like Power Saving Mode (PSM), extended DRX cycles (eDRX) and Extended Access Barring (EAB), to name just a few.
The key to new revenue growth for Operators is to provide innovative new services to Enterprise customers, which they are eager to utilize and pay for. Operators’ willingness to invest is largely based on having a clear path to these new revenues, so it is imperative that any investment by the Operators be clearly linked to new revenue that they can garner from their customers.