Covid-19 or the coronavirus is impacting our economy, however not every company is being hurt. In fact, several industries are showing strength and even growth during this crisis. Let’s take a look at a few companies in the telehealth, cleaning supplies, wireless, telecom, pay TV, Internet and other sectors.
Long-term, I think this sudden work-from-home trend we are witnessing will continue even after this crisis is past. In fact, we may do things differently going forward. Companies will want to prepare for the next similar crisis, and we will settle into a new way of thinking about work.
That’s why some companies in these spaces will do well going forward.
Longer-term, I think we will find communications companies seem to be among the winners. Any service or product that keeps us connected to the outside world should continue to be strong and grow.
The reason is simple… people are stuck at home and need distraction, interaction and a way to work from home. Going forward, these tools will be in higher demand than ever before. That means wireless, telecom, pay TV, Internet, TeleMedicine and more.
Wireless carriers like Verizon Wireless, AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile are strong players
Wireless carriers like AT&T Mobility, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile and Sprint are one core way of keeping in touch with the outside world from our homes, cars or wherever we are. Over the years, many users have already cancelled traditional landline phones and moved to wireless anyway.
Wire line telephone, either traditional telephone service or Voice Over IP or VoIP. This is a line that connects to the house. There are many companies in this area. Traditional phone companies offer telephone lines and VoIP lines. While traditional phone lines are no longer a growth engine, VoIP lines are and new services like video calling will grow as well.
AT&T, Verizon, Xfinity, Spectrum, Altice offer wire line telephone or VoIP service
That means companies like AT&T and Verizon. There are also many smaller companies around the United States offering similar services.
Cable television companies also offer VoIP service. That means companies like Xfinity, Spectrum, Altice and many smaller providers as well. The quality of these services can range from very good to very bad depending on the provider and the address.
There are a large variety of smaller cable television providers around the country as well. Some of them offer good service and others do not. Since there is a wide variety of dependability and quality, make sure you choose well.
Going forward these new services are all driven over the Internet or IPTV and not cable TV. This means more competitors will continue to enter this space over time like HBO Max, Disney+, Peacock and Apple TV+.
Plus, two competitors are rapidly expanding. AT&T with WarnerMedia, AT&T TV, HBO Max, CNN and more, and Comcast with NBC Universal are in the center of the news storm covering the coronavirus with their national reach. This gives them growth potential other companies do not have.
Netflix is another company along with all streaming services should see usage increase during this crisis.
Internet Service Providers or ISP’s are all seeing strong usage
Internet Service Providers or ISP’s are companies that provide Internet connections to the user at their home, office or mobile device.
Typically, the ISP that most home users connect to the Internet with are their local telephone company or their local cable television company. There are a variety of speeds at a variety of prices, depending on your service provider.
There are also a large number of smaller or regional competitors who offer Internet connectivity. Some of them offer good, reliable and fast service. Others struggle with speed and quality.
Cable TV, internet service can slow down when under heavy use
Traditionally, the Internet service being offered by the cable television industry is fast and satisfactory. However, there are also weak spots. When all your neighbors are using Internet at the same time, access speeds slow down or worse.
If you are a cable TV Internet customer you may have noticed how traditionally, speeds and service are fine during the day when fewer people are using it. However, at night, weekends or holidays you may notice how your speed decreases. This is because too many people are on at the same time.
Today, with the coronavirus with many of us working from home, we may notice the speeds are not as fast as at the office. In fact, with cable TV Internet, speeds may not be as fast as they usually are. This is quite probably caused by the volume of users.
These choke points are a weak link with cable TV Internet. Cable TV Internet providers have been trying to fix this for years. Some have seen more progress than others.
However, with the unprecedented demand we will see in coming weeks and months, we should expect some aggravation from these services.
Qualcomm, Ericsson, Intel and other builders of 5G wireless
During this coronavirus crisis, the wireless world is still moving toward our 5G future. This may see a temporary slowdown due to the virus, but this sector will continue to move ahead at a very fast rate.
Companies like Qualcomm, Ericsson, Intel, Huawei and others who are the builders of the 5G world for networks and users will continue to see growth moving forward.
Remember, this coronavirus may be front and center today, but going forward we will get back to normal and 5G will drive the next wave of growth with telemedicine, telehealth, automotive, self-driving cars and so much more.
These are the companies who are building that next generation and that will only continue. Not only for a faster wireless connection, but to enable and empower all sorts of new industries like TeleMedicine, autonomous driving and more.
Telehealth or telemedicine is showing very healthy growth with COVID-19
There are several larger and smaller and rapidly growing companies in this space. Companies like TeleDoc, MyTelemedicine, Doctor on Demand, CareClix, iCliniq and many others should see rapid growth at this time.
Amazon.com looks like it will continue to see long-term growth during and after this crisis. After all, many will prefer to shop online than go to a germ filled retail store.
Social networks like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram will thrive
Social networks will be busier than ever with so many people working from home for the next few weeks or even months.
We are all sharing our own personal stories, asking so many questions and just looking for answers. While it’s obvious that we should always be very careful about any official sounding posts, it’s more important today than ever.
However, social networks like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and more will be busier than ever.
So, as you can see, the coronavirus may be having a detrimental effect on our economy in general. But, if you know where to look, you can find lots of diamonds in the rough.
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