Impact of 4G Technology on Commercial Interactions, Economic Growth, and US Competitiveness

Consumers need to communicate. But converting that need to the desire for certain types of communication requires skill. It also requires listening to what consumers want. Consumers demand for more cell phone and wireless services seems nearly unlimited, especially with the surge in social networking sites. This provides tremendous opportunities for Verizon Wireless. New products appear continually to feed that demand, such as increasingly popular broadband wireless services now offered by Verizon. Though many consumers who use internet-friendly phones and other devices tend to be business travelers, the wireless broadband industry is intent on improving its appeal to the

One of the most heavily advertised areas of technology in the United States currently is 4G technology. Every commercial and advertisement promises fast speeds, great coverage, and exceptional service altogether. However, the competition proves to be extreme and unbalanced. Since its introduction on Sprint’s network, 4G, or fourth generation cellular technology, has revolutionized both the telecommunication arena while spilling into other technological fields. There is no end in sight for the relentless competition of expanding 4G technologies as coverage and network speeds continue to increase. Currently, 4G technology is offered by all major telecommunication carriers in the United States: Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint. However, the term “4G” has been loosely used. The best example of this can be associated with Sprint.

In terms of architecture, it has been very challenging to provide platform, and ability to render service with high availability from the providers of the first generation (1G) networks to 4G

Less than a decade ago, the telecom operators in the U.S., Western Europe, and Japan were upgrading their existing networks to high-speed 3G technologies. Now the world telecommunications industry is about the switching to the next-generation super-fast 4G technologies.

The telecommunications industry has steadily rebound since 2009; this is because of the growth of not only the mobile and broadband structures, but also the increase of the video market. In Figure 1, the projected outcome is indicates a steady increase in the new 4G mobile broadband networks which will fuel continued wireless growth. “Business customers in particular will continue to use this technology to expand their capabilities beyond the desktop computer. Emerging markets such as China, India and Latin America are expected to see strong growth,” (Verizon, 2011).

In developing a new cellular network, Verizon was able to raise the benchmark for cellular service across the country. According to a press release by Verizon, chief operating officer Lowell McAdam stated that, “we are driven by the vision to provide ubiquitous wireless broadband connectivity to rural and urban Americans alike … we will reach more than one third of all Americans where they live, right from the start” (Verizon 2012). In the ever-growing technological society, consumers want information faster than ever. Verizon was able to give this to the consumer with a faster

New York headquartered company, Verizon Wireless is one of the world’s largest telecommunication companies today. They use their worldwide network to bring interactive entertainment, the Internet, and digital media to the fingertips of its customers. Verizon makes it possible for people all over the world to stay in touch and businesses to connect better with consumers by bringing hands-on technology directly to those in need (Verizon, 2016). With that being said, this paper will be an informative piece that covers three noteworthy trends within the telecommunications industry that Verizon Wireless partake. The information gathered here will be used as background material for an upcoming discussion of Verizon’s strategic priorities.

The telecommunication industry that AT&T essentially created has undergone radical advancements, particularly within the last decade. According to the IBM Institute for Business Value, approximately 15% of the world’s population had access to a telephone in 1999 but by 2009, 70% of the world’s population had mobile phone subscriptions (Nelson & van den Dam, 2010). Given the extraordinary explosion of mobile computing and wireless communications, continued advancements within the global telecommunication industry are certain. A number of trends drive this evolution including the advancement of devices and network access technology, changes

The last best practice evaluated is a new optimization and management services process that monitors, updates and implements third-generation (3G) data services. The article mentions two very important influences in the wireless cellular network industry are "the increasing complexity of wireless network services and the increasing customer demands and competitive pressures upon cellular service providers." (Buvaneswari, Ravishankar, Graybeal, Haner & Rittenhouse, 2004) This new process will not only increase cellular network quality, speed and flexibility but it will also allow these companies to "monitor, diagnose, and optimize their increasingly complex networks." (Buvaneswari, et al., 2004) All five best practices have strengths and weaknesses covered further on in the paper.

The wireless industry is an interesting potential investment opportunity worth further consideration because Canada is well positioned to meet strong demands for wireless technologies. Canada’s competitive advantage includes network readiness, wireless innovation, favourable corporate income tax and superior quality of life. In order for transformations and new competitions to be made possible, the investments on wireless technology will enable mobile service providers such as Wind Mobile to deliver sustained growth in the industry.

In this paper I will go over the pros and cons of having a purely fixed line network vs. a purely cellular network. When making this decision there are several things to consider, the most important is what this network is going to be used for. I am going to first go over the fixed line network then follow up with the cellular network. At the end of this paper I will do a recommendation to a new company that wants to open up a Skype- style service as to whether they should use a fixed line or a cellular network.

Employees are no longer tied to their desks and can use their mobile devices to access numerous applications and tools to increase productivity. Ultimately a company can turn over their IT needs to a provider and focus on other needs within their structure.

5G networks will deliver more richer content in real time ensuring the safety and security that will make the wireless services more extensive in our everyday life. Some example of emerging services may include high resolution video streaming (4K), media rich social network services, augmented reality, and road safety [6]. According to Cisco mobile data traffic forecast,

Long Term Evolution (LTE) is 4G wireless communications standard radio platform technologies that allow operators to achieve higher peak throughputs than HSPA+ in higher spectrum bandwidth. LTE was developed by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), and this began in 2004, with an official LTE work item started in 2006 and a completed 3GPP Release 8 specification in March 2009. Initial deployments of LTE began in late 2009, and it is part of the GSM evolutionary path for mobile broadband, following EDGE, UMTS, HSPA (HSDPA and HSUPA combined) and HSPA Evolution (HSPA+). Although HSPA and its evolution are strongly positioned to be the dominant mobile data technology for the next decade, the 3GPP family of standards must evolve toward the future. HSPA+ will provide the stepping-stone to LTE for many operators.

All these systems were designed independently, targeting different service types, data rates, and users. As these systems all have their own merits and shortcomings, there is no single system that is good to replace all the other technologies. Instead of putting into developing new radio interface and technologies for 4G systems, it is believed in establishing 4G systems is a more feasible option.