For the last 20 years, telco growth ambitions have largely
failed or faded over time. To make matters worse, digital natives
piggybacked off operators' hefty investments to reap the
rewards. "The telecom industry has a truly compelling history
of initial value creation in communications services and
systems," said former President of Bell Labs Marcus
Weldon, "but equally has almost as impressive a record of
subsequent value migration and loss."
New telco revenue opportunities are coming into play, such as
5G. In the U.S. alone, operators spent nearly $100B in 2021
purchasing 5G spectrum at auction (FCC Public Reporting System,
Completed Auctions). Telcos are spending even more in the network
rollout process.
