The simple reality is that 5G technology is a much-needed advancement for mobile operators and consumers alike. As the fifth generation of wireless network technology, 5G provides up to 20 times the speeds of 4G networks and is designed to enable lower latency and greater capacity for multiple devices to connect to the same network.

Advancements in virtualization have drastically improved the way mobile network infrastructure can and should be built. Making the move from managing a physical hardware infrastructure environment to a virtualized software infrastructure environment greatly reduces CAPEX, but also can result in increased OPEX savings as the responsibility for the maintaining service shifts to the cloud provider. 

New mobile technologies are evolving at an accelerating pace, putting pressure on MNOs and MVNOs to find innovative ways to cost-effectively offer new services to their customers. In some ways, it is a paradigm shift for mobile operators. At one time, MNOs could base their business plans on offering a limited set of services that included voice and eventually text messaging. In that era, the principal competitive imperative was to build the largest network, with the largest geographical coverage, and with the best Quality of Service (QoS).

Written by Steve Barefoot, senior product analyst at Interop Technologies.

MNOs are in the challenging – almost schizophrenic – position of needing to maintain a high Quality of Service (QoS ) network while concurrently finding ways to deliver agile products popularized not by QoS, but by overall Customer Experience (CX).

As the 4th annual MVNO Industry Summit gets underway in Dallas today, brand differentiation and QoS are sure to be topics of concern.