- Neutral host is making its way up the hype curve and in a growth cycle
- AI keeps its buzzword status
- UScellular and Boost boasted of their standalone 5G prowess
CONNECTX, CHICAGO — The annual Wireless Industry Association (WIA) conference brought together leaders from across the communications infrastructure ecosystem to explore the future of connectivity. While this ecosystem is facing some pretty serious headwinds thanks to economic pressures, business uncertainties, tariffs, trade wars, increasing costs and pressures on thin margins, Patrick Halley, president and CEO of WIA, focused on the "glass half full" side of the wireless picture during his opening keynote.
AI is still buzzy
Most notably, industry progress in private 5G, fixed wireless access, 5G standalone, network slicing and AI — especially AI — stood out as his "tailwinds."
"This year, the buzz has been all about AI. I came home from an event a couple months ago, and I was talking to the team, and I said, 'Maybe we should just rename this thing WAI?" But we decided, no, we'll stay with WIA for now," said Halley, adding, "AI coupled with other tech is going to be a big deal for our industry because without data there is no AI and without connectivity there is no data."
Neutral host networks heading up hype curve
Connectivity is obviously the name of the game for attendees at McCormick Place with neutral host networks being the subject of several panels on Tuesday, alone. Neutral host networks are shared infrastructure that multiple carriers can use, improving coverage and reducing costs. Celona, a vendor in the space, announced a deal with AT&T in April. Currently Celona is seeing the most promise for neutral host networks in manufacturing, oil and gas industries but the company sees promise in healthcare and education, according to Mehmet Yavuz, founder and CTO of Celona.
Needed: More spectrum!
Boost's Jeff McSchoolar, EVP of wireless engineering and operations, said the cloud-native MNO is using AI technology to utilize every bit of its spectrum more efficiently. "We use every single dollar to get every single bit," he told the crowd during a panel in the general session. Read that story here.
Convergence is hot
Also high on the hype curve: convergence, the bundling of wired and wireless services. But it’s not just about offering more affordable services to customers. Jonathan Chaplin, managing partner at New Street Research, said while discounted services help operators acquire subscribers, “convergence is what they find when they become your customers.” Read that story here.
5G is here now let's expand
Operators are well on their way in deploying 5G networks – now it’s time to figure out how to expand the technology’s capabilities, said Lynn Cox, SVP and chief network officer at Verizon. Not only does it involve tapping into tech like AI, RedCap and Multiple Input, Multiple Output (MIMO), but also launching new services that present new revenue opportunities for 5G, said Cox at Tuesday's ConnectX keynote.
“Things like network slicing, edge compute, private network, we’re at the infancy with these…but they’re already transforming businesses,” Cox said. Read that story here.
The Buffalo Bills
File this under an interesting use case. Verizon won a deal with the Buffalo Bills and their new Highmark Stadium set to open in 2026. Verizon will own the neutral host Distributed Antenna System (DAS) in the new stadium and provide state-of-the-art technology and wireless solutions to keep fans connected. Go Bills!
Read more from ConnectX here.