@ CTIA E&A: Mobile broadband set to fuel enterprise efficiency

SAN FRANCISCO – The closing keynote at this year’s CTIA Entertainment & Applications event was a compelling case of the impact the mobile industry can have for a broad range of enterprises, though that impact could be bad news for the nation’s unemployment rate.
John Stankey, president and CEO of AT&T Inc.’s Business Solutions business noted during his closing address that one of the main benefits of mobility for enterprises is the enhanced productivity wireless networks and devices can provide. Stankey explained that this was becoming increasingly important as in contrast to past recessions in which job creation pulled the country out of the economic slump, this time it does not appear like enterprises are looking to hire. Instead, these companies are looking for ways to make their current workforces more efficient and productive.
Bottom line: Unless you are in the mobile space, advancements in the wireless world are likely to dampen job opportunities for the broader workforce, require current employees to become more efficient or work more and fatten the bottom line for enterprises. Power to the people!
To support that increased need for mobility solutions, Stankey noted that the U.S. telecom space was leading the world in network spending to enhance current capabilities. Stankey said that approximately 80% of mobile capital expenditures were going toward mobile broadband offerings.
“No other country spends more of its capital on mobile broadband,” Stankey said.
With this level of support, and the increasing capabilities of the expanding networks, Stankey added that the enterprise space was on the verge of recreating the growth seen with the adoption of wired broadband service, but with mobility.
“I think we will see history repeating itself,” Stankey said. “All that went to wired broadband will now move to wireless.”