Mobile & Wireless Roundup No. 118
Welcome to the 118th edition of this newsletter! This week, I want to share a thought-provoking conversation I recently had. Someone with a tangential connection to our industry made an intriguing remark: 4G/LTE was a successful technology, but 5G hasn’t been.
As I prepare to deliver two training courses for the CW Academy in the new year, this comment really struck a chord. Naturally, I asked them, “Why do you think that?”
Their perspective was fascinating: “4G enabled touch screens and form factors that allowed people to fully embrace mobile technology. Before that, small screens made it difficult to access the internet, click links, or navigate pages.”
I agreed—touchscreen innovation, spearheaded by Apple’s iPhone, transformed mobile experiences. However, it’s worth noting that the first iPhone operated on 2G, with 3G making its debut in the iPhone 3G, and 4G/LTE only arriving with the iPhone 5.
What made 4G truly revolutionary wasn’t just speed; it was how it enabled broader hardware advancements. LTE didn’t just make phones faster—it made them more power-efficient, which in turn extended battery life and made these devices more practical for everyday use. Coupled with advances in batteries, displays, and cameras, these innovations laid the foundation for the smartphones we know and love today.
In comparison, for consumer devices, 5G feels more like a refinement of 4G. Beyond speed tests, most users don’t see a transformative difference. When I asked what 5G should do that 4G couldn’t, the responses often highlighted hardware or application limitations, not connectivity itself.
As we start to look toward what 6G could bring, it’s clear that each generation of technology builds on the successes—and the lessons—of the last. The journey of innovation is as much about curiosity as it is about breakthroughs, and I’m excited to see where it takes us next!
For those of you who don’t know me, I am a technologist with over 25 years’ experience in mobile wireless technology, currently working as an independent advisor, analyst, consultant and a trainer. This newsletter is a summary of my posts and other news that caught my attention since the last newsletter.
⦿ 6G
⦿ 5G
⦿ 4G/LTE
⦿ 2G/3G
⦿ Open & Disaggregated Networks (including Open RAN, vRAN, etc.)
⦿ Spectrum
⦿ Private Networks
⦿ Telecoms Infrastructure, Small Cells, Antennas & others
⦿ IoT / M2M / Smart Homes
⦿ Security & Privacy
⦿ Connected And Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs)
⦿ AI, ML & Automation
⦿ Satellites, HAPS, Drones, UAVs & Space
⦿ Wi-Fi
⦿ Other News and Technology Stuff
⦿ Picture of the week: Tokyo Skytree photographed from Kuramae Bridge by CyberRex on X. It is a broadcasting and observation tower, located in Sumida, Tokyo, Japan. Tallest tower in Japan (634 m or 2,080 ft) since opening in 2012, and the third tallest structure in the world behind Merdeka 118 (678.9 m or 2,227 ft) and Burj Khalifa (829.8 m or 2,722 ft)). The long and slender uppermost section is the antenna tower for digital-terrestrial broadcasts, with many antennas for TV stations set around it. You can learn more about the construction project here and about the transmission equipment inside the Sky Tree here.
Happy to hear your thoughts. Feel free let me know what worked, what didn’t, how I can make this better, etc. Get in touch over LinkedIn!
PDF version of this and previous newsletters are available here.
Helping YOU Secure ICS/OT | Fellow, ICS/OT Cybersecurity Global Lead
2wThanks for including me in the newsletter, Zahid, and for sharing with everyone!
Principal Analyst at EJL Wireless Research
2wThe most important thing is to make 5G to meet its original target. if we cannot make a 5G to fulfill its promises at the beginning, it doesn’t make sense to work on 6G.
Principal Analyst & Consultant at 3G4G
2wThis newsletter has been compiled with contributions from Dean Bubley, Nick J., Mohamed Abbas, Steve Song, Paul Rhodes, Mike Holcomb, Jinsung Choi, Rudolf van der Berg and Peter Clarke. Thanks as always for sharing stuff on LinkedIn & X (f.k.a. Twitter) 😊!