Thank you to CTIA for inviting me once again to be a judge at the 2016 CTIA E-Tech Awards at the upcoming CTIA Super Mobility 2016 show in Las Vegas in early September. I love this time of year. It is exciting to see so many new ideas and technologies that will be rolling into the marketplace over the next several months. The big question, as always, is which will be the successes of this year.
Wireless is expanding. Wireless of yesterday was phone calls, but wireless of tomorrow is so much more. New products and services like watching IPTV or cable TV on our wireless devices, expanding the reach of what we used to only see in our home on our TV sets. This is transforming not only wireless, but the television industry as well, creating new growth opportunities. That also means new winners and losers.
2016 CTIA E-Tech Awards
Do you realize the smartphone will someday replace our wallet? That’s right. We will store our driver’s license, insurance ID cards, credit cards, pictures and all sorts of important information we carry with us in digital form. It will replace the keys we carry and apps will open our doors and start our cars. In fact, we already carry much of this in our devices today are more is coming all the time.
This is exciting, however the more we use smartphones as the remote control for our lives, the more important it is they are indestructible. We all lose things now and then, so quick replacement and storage of everything on the cloud will help that. However, if we drop the device on the floor, or spill a drink on it, we may instantly lose the ability to do anything.
Indestructible smartphone
That’s why it’s important that smartphones become waterproof, shockproof and disaster-proof. After all, imagine if you had everything in your smartphone and it didn’t work. You couldn’t get into your house. You couldn’t drive your car. You couldn’t buy anything on credit. You couldn’t even call for help. Nothing. Your smartphone would be as dead as a stone.
Smartphones are the biggest blessing and risk we all have. That’s an opportunity and a challenge for every company in the industry today.
Mobile pay like PayPal, Apple Pay and Google Pay
Mobile pay is also rapidly changing the wireless industry. Now we can pay for things with our smartphones using apps like PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay and others. In fact there are many other mobile pay apps in the market and more are coming into the marketplace all the time. Add to this the number of retail outlets that take these mobile pay options and you can see just how big this sector will become.
Countless companies that make wireless work
We all know the obvious, big name leaders in the wireless world like AT&T Mobility, Verizon Wireless, Sprint, T-Mobile, Apple, Google, Samsung and countless others in the network and handset space. But there are also many other companies, large and small that are just as important and make wireless work. Companies that are not really known yet.
All these companies need to be better known in order to attract investors, customers, partners and workers. I believe helping these companies and technologies get noticed is part of what 2016 CTIA E-Tech Awards are all about. It helps to put them on the map.
Wireless analyst briefing
As a wireless analyst for more than 30 years, I too have helped put companies on the map. I have watched this industry grow and change over time. I get called on by many firms, large and small, with new ideas. Many companies bring me in for briefings and to introduce me to their innovations and what they are rolling out and hope I will talk about them.
With all that said, I have seen more new technology than I can remember over the last several decades. If it’s a good idea, innovation or an important solution, it’s vital to get noticed. However, many good ideas simply don’t make it. Why? Lack of marketing skills. They don’t know how to punch their way onto the map.
AT&T Mobility, Verizon Wireless, Sprint, T-Mobile, iPhone, Android and more
Those who do can see very rapid growth. So marketing and knowledge of how to punch your way onto the map is key whether you are an existing company with a new idea or a brand new company nobody ever heard of yet. Sometimes it’s as simple as the words you use in defining what you do. Do they capture the imagination? They must in order for you to raise your profile in the crowded marketplace where everyone is looking for attention.
It’s all about getting noticed. So during the next few weeks I will be evaluating many competing entries to the 2016 CTIA E-Tech Awards. I would guess every idea will be a potential winner. They always are. However, in this world it’s the fighters who are the only ones who actually punch their way into big time. It’s as simple as that. So good luck and keep punching!
