Mobile broadband is sweeping the world, but is the cellular industry overshooting the target with technology and solutions ill-suited for the vast Internet of Everything? Much of the Quantified World finds GPRS and low-band spectrum entirely adequate, but with mobile operators winding down 2G (AT&T in 2017) where do companies place their investments for long lifetime products typical of M2M? Verizon Wireless is spending US$17 billion on infrastructure, yet Sigfox claims it can cover the entire United States for US$64 million. Is LTE Machine-Type Communication the answer? This investigative research will examine alternative network technologies that are potentially disruptive to the existing cellular network ecosystem, compare the SWOTs, disruptive potential, and future outlook. The research will assess the impact to the value chain and economic prospects in a variety of scenarios and strategic plans and actions that operators and vendors should consider.
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