There are a lot of changes taking place. I do my best to chronicle them as they are unfolding.
The entertainment industry is changing. Underneath we have the telecommunications. This is being seen in both television and Internet. Cable, satellite, and mobile companies are all vying for the business.
T-Mobile is trying to put itself in position to pull it a lot of business. The company is testing an upgrade of service in Phoenix.
The Internet Game Keeps Expanding
As stated in the past, it could be that broadcast television is surviving simply due to the Baby Boomers.
The younger generations are not traditional television watchers. We are more than 15 years into the first cord cutting phase. This was when people opted out of cable, preferring to go Internet only. Due to the expanded offerings via this medium, many people found it sufficient.
Of course, the savings was significant.
Since the same companies were being dealt with, over time, the cost of Internet went up. It is to the point where people are nOW paying what cable television use to charge. Factor in the streaming applications that many people subscribe to and we see how this became an expensive proposition.
Enter cord cutting 2.0.
This is the shift away from the traditional internet operators, mostly the cable companies, opting for an alternate service. Some are switching to satellite, although that is not an inexpensive option.
One area that might be gaining some traction is mobile carrier. While they offer 5G through their phones, a lot are getting into the home internet game.
T-Mobile appears to be looking to make a dent in this sector of the market.
T-Mobile is pushing the boundaries of home internet with a new pilot program in Phoenix, Arizona, offering customers the chance to experience blazing-fast speeds with mmWave 5G technology. This invite-only trial, which began on October 21st, provides a glimpse into the future of home internet, with speeds potentially surpassing those of traditional wired connections, according to a report from The Mobile Report.
This could be good news depending upon how things evolve. Many markets are starting to see competition, with many forms of Internet service being provided.
We can expect a pricing war to kick off. These corporations can get very aggressive when they want to add new customers. The stakes are high and these companies can be relentless.
Gone might be the days were a town or city had two choices, both of whom priced their services with a couple of dollars of each other.
The New Internet
We are only a couple years away from an entire new Internet. This is something that people are going to realize very soon.
Ultimately, the Internet is not going to be something for people. The overwhelming majority of the traffic will be machines. AI agents are going to take over to a large degree.
That said, the service is still crucial. Part of the "global brain" is people being able to access information whenever it is needed. There is also the fact that the digital world is expanding. We are not only going to see robots but also virtual reality (ultimately the Metaverse) becoming commonplace.
All of this means we require more advanced services.
From the mobile perspective, 6G is likely to emerge towards the end of this decade. We tend to have 10 year cycles with that. The 5G service is still being rolled out. China, earlier this year, launched the first 6G satellite.
And on it goes.
Consider the fact that, by around 2040, we will be looking at 7G (whatever that might look like).
This is how telecommunication is progressing.
All layers of the stack have to evolve. Telecommunications is one of those areas.
Fortunately, there are a lot of players getting involved. We will see how the rest of the decade unfolds. My guess is we see services expanding with a price war in many areas kicking off.