TBW ADVISORS LLC

Tag: mobility

  • Whisper Report: What mobile tech trend will blindside CIOs next?

    Whisper Report: What mobile tech trend will blindside CIOs next?

    Published to clients: March 24, 2026                                              ID: TBW2111

    Published to Whisper Club: March 24, 2026

    Analyst(s): Dr. Doreen Galli

    Photojournalist(s): Dr. Doreen Galli

    Abstract:

    “This Whisper Report investigates what mobile tech trend will blindside CIOs next? Researched on‑site at MWC in Las Vegas, it brings together firsthand perspectives from mobility leaders shaping the next wave of disruption. Insights include GetWireless’ Anthony Besett, Comfone’s Randall Peterson, Canoga Perkins’ Siddharth Khattar, and Schneider Electric’s Katie Boeh, each offering a distinct view into the forces set to catch CIOs off‑guard.”

    Target Audience Titles:

    • Chief Technology Officer, Chief Information Officer, Chief Digital Officer, Chief Innovation Officer
    • Director of Mobility Strategy, Director of Network & Edge Systems, Director of Wireless Architecture, Product Manager Connected Platforms
    • Mobile Systems Engineer, Edge/IoT Integration Engineer, Wireless Network Engineer, Firmware & Device Engineer

    Key Takeaways

    • Many CIOs will be blindsided by delaying 5G modernization as networks and modules evolve rapidly.
    • Travel eSIMs will radically simplify international roaming and cut global mobility costs.
    • Exploding densities of mobile and robotic assets will outpace current enterprise readiness.
    • IT–OT misalignment on power and infrastructure planning will create critical edge‑computing bottlenecks.

    What mobile tech trend will blindside CIOs next?

    We took the most frequently asked and most urgent technology questions straight to the mobility and wireless experts gathering at the MWC Las Vegas held at the Fontainebleau. This Whisper Report addresses the question regarding what mobile tech trend will blindside CIOs next as depicted in Figure 1.

    Figure 1. Mobile trends that will blindside CIOs next

    Moving to 5g

    With more than five years since 5g started rolling out it is easy to ignore the trend of moving to 5G yet many organizations are not paying attention to its growing maturity. As GetWireless’ Anthony Besett denoted, “Potentially not moving to 5G soon enough is going to blindside a lot of CIOS, right? Just because, the industry is evolving really fast. The module manufacturers are pumping out new modules all the time, telling SEC are leading that charge. But more than that is the also the carriers. Their networks are changing and they’re rapidly evolving and they’re moving fast. And so not moving our solutions and not moving new designs to that soon enough it’s definitely going to blindside them.” If you have not yet updated our strategies and architectures to accommodate and leverage all 5g has to offer, be sure to schedule your inquiry with your TBW Advisors LLC analyst.

    eSIMS

    Does your organization have team members regularly traveling international? If so, managing roaming costs is a common fiscal nightmare. Hopefully this positive blindside revealed by Comfone’s Randall Peterson will make your day. “Travel eSIMs in the roaming business. It’s going to change how people roam internationally. Is going to change how people get their service.” Imagine the same rates as if you bought a disposable phone with local access SIM in every location you travelled? Now image that flexibility without the complexity of sending your teams to a store every time they land in a new country due to software and programmable SIMS?

    Density of connected assets

    One blind spot heading like a freight train towards many Chief Information and Chief Technology Officers is highlighted by Canoga Perkins’ Siddharth Khattar. “The fact that so many of the assets and so many of our sensors and everything that we want to work with are actually going to be mobile. We talk about robotics so much and I see that you know in other countries in Asia for instance there are you know people are talking about a density of robots of 500 plus for every 10,000 manufacturing workers in China today when we look at those numbers in the US and in Europe we’re so far behind we’re at about 300 plus 350 robots as compared to 500 plus in other areas.”

    But the incoming massive density of connected assets is not the only concern. These assets coming in from the information technology (IT) side but also the operations technology (OT) side as we saw during our research on the Commercial UAV Expo. There is one huge problem. As Schneider Electric’s Katie Boeh highlighted, “The IT side doesn’t necessarily talk to the facility side that may manage their data center infrastructure if they have a legacy on premise data center. And what happens is, hey, we’re making this new technological advancement or we’re making this big investment. can you get me x amount of kilowatts of power and it’s going to be in this form factor in this rack. Those conversations need to start happening earlier because most data centers like legacy brown what we call brownfield data centers don’t have the capacity or maybe even the architecture and power distribution and cooling architecture to support a very high density powered load that’s associated with an AI solution especially like a training solution.”

    IT not knowing about OT’s incoming data storage requirements and OT not knowing about IT’s power requirements. OT and IT not communicating is unfortunately a very common trend across all interfaces and integration points between the two parts of an organization. But this problem is magnified in the world of mobility. Katie explained further. “There are analysts in our industry that talk about how by 2030, 50% of the power consumption could be at the edge. What we call the edge as in not in the mega data centers. So think about that, right? How huge we know that these data centers are and how much power they consume and it’s in the news. You hear about it all of a sudden. People who have nothing to do with the data center industry know about these giant data centers. But what they might not realize is that even with all of that that is known, there’s going to be just as much power being consumed at the edge across lots of different devices. So I think that’s something that CIOS need to be prepared for when they’re thinking about their strategy. Is it hybrid? Is it all in the cloud? Is it some combination? Regardless, you need to understand what the power requirements are going to be and you need to start bringing in your facilities people that are responsible for answering those questions of do we have the capacity? What’s possible? Bring them in soon.”

    That’s correct. If you are a tech leader, the power problem is also yours to ensure it is solved. Power engineers, engineers in OT, and the engineers in IT all want the same thing. To delight the company’s customers with a successfully working product and/or service. That takes everyone keeping all in the loop from the beginning.

    Related playlists and Publication

    1. Whisper Report: What’s the biggest 5G myth tech leaders still believe?
    2. Whisper Report: How will edge AI reshape enterprise architecture?
    3. Whisper Report: What mobile tech trend will blindside CIOs next?
    4. Whisper Report: What’s the best part about attending MWC live in Vegas?
    5. Conference Whispers: MWC Las Vegas

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    ©2019-2026 TBW Advisors LLC. All rights reserved. TBW, Technical Business Whispers, Fact-based research and Advisory, Conference Whispers, Industry Whispers, Email Whispers, The Answer is always in the Whispers, Whisper Reports, Whisper Studies, Whisper Ranking, Whisper Club, The Answer is always in the Whispers, and One Change a Month, Vegas Convention Library; Leading Professionals, Real Questions, Real Time, are trademarks or registered trademarks of TBW Advisors LLC. This publication may not be reproduced or distributed in any form without TBW’s prior written permission. It consists of the opinions of TBW’s research organization which should not be construed as statements of fact. While the information contained in this publication has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, TBW disclaims all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of such information. TBW does not provide legal or investment advice and its research should not be construed or used as such. Your access and use of this publication are governed by the TBW Usage Policy. TBW research is produced independently by its research organization without influence or input from a third party. For further information, see Fact-based research publications on our website for more details.

    1. Conference Whispers: MWC Las Vegas

      Conference Whispers: MWC Las Vegas

      Las Vegas, NV October 14- October 15

      Published to clients: October 17, 2025                         ID: TBW2109

      Published to readers: October 18, 2025 am                      

      Published to Email Whispers: October 18, 2025

      Public with video edition: October 19, 2025

      Analyst(s): Dr. Doreen Galli

      Photojournalist(s): Dr. Doreen Galli

      Abstract:

      MWC Las Vegas brought 85 sponsors and exhibitors to the Fontainebleau, Las Vegas. An amazing 61% of the attendees were C-Suite or senior level from the wireless and mobility specialty space within telecommunications industry.  TBW Advisors LLC Captured over 40 minutes of video across 36 segments including 4 keynote highlights, a livestream and expo hall walkabout. Expo hall featured 4g and 5g equipment, IoT platforms, mobile networks and data centers in a box were all found along with mission critical, latency bound, deterministic networking equipment. This edition includes four unlisted Whisper Report playlists and concludes with a video montage answering: “What’s the best part about attending MWC live in Las Vegas?”

      Coverage on Computer Talk Radio

      The Conference

      • A community 85 sponsors, exhibitors, and sponsors across three stages and five summits gathered at Mobile World Congress Las Vegas 2025. Held at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas, 45% of attendees came from enterprise with 61% being C-Suite or senior level.

      Cautions

      • Friendly reminder: this research provides examples of what was shared with us at the event, not an evaluation, validation, or recommendation of the given technology.

      Conference Vibe

      After 6,000 steps, 36 videos and over 40 minutes of video including a livestream from onsite and over 10 fact checks, our coverage of MWC Las Vegas also known as MWC25 closes. Coming from the mobility world with specialized expertise in Privacy, at TBW Advisors LLC we understand mobile applications are data goldmines. As such, we do not use event mobile applications. However, at MWC the mobile app was required to enter the 6th floor of the Fontainebleau. After getting through that checkpoint, registration was quite efficient with no significant registration lines. The 85 sponsors lit up expo hall where they also served some scrumptious food. As MWC was hosted in one of the most elite hotels in Las Vegas, we were admittedly excited to hear what the guests thought of the food. Breakfast got rave reviews even though it was an English muffing egg sandwich. Lunch offered both a cold sandwich option, extensive dessert options, and a hot lunch offering that admittedly smelled like you were at Grandma’s house! It just had the home cooked smell, look, and feel but you can see for yourself!

      We once again live streamed from onsite Tuesday. During this quicker live stream, I requested those attending to find me to answer Questions 1-3, to let you know about upcoming events we have scheduled and requesting assistance. Specifically, I requested assistance on your favorite videos for my segment on the October 17th broadcast edition of Computer Talk Radio.

      While at MWC 2025, we conducted research for three additional forthcoming Whisper Reports for our clients. The playlists are unlisted but available and will eventually fill in with the video version of the report so you may wish to bookmark these playlists.

      1. Whisper Report: What’s the biggest 5G myth tech leaders still believe?
      2. Whisper Report: How will edge AI reshape enterprise architecture?
      3. Whisper Report: What mobile tech trend will blindside CIOs next?
      4. Whisper Report: What’s the best part about attending MWC live in Vegas?

      Readers and viewers wishing to relive or experience the entire event are encouraged to view the Conference Whispers: MWC 2025 Playlist in its entirety. The playlist will be sited in the end screen, description, and as a pinned comment of the video edition.

      The video edition will conclude with gratitude towards those that contributed and a montage of their responses to Question 4, “What’s the best part about attending MWC live in Vegas?”.

      Opening Keynotes

      At MWC Las Vegas we were informed that they had a special platform I could use to record, but only at keynotes. After recording we were informed that we could post and include a highlight of the various keynotes. Thus, this event’s opening keynote session videos are all processed highlight videos of what we captured. CTIA stands for Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association and is the sponsoring organization along with GSMA the GSM Association. GSM stands for Global System for Mobile Communications. Therefore, within telecommunications, this is a specialty event for mobile and wireless telecommunications. CTIA’s President and CEO, Ajit Pai’s keynote emphasized the importance of governments unlocking spectrum so their industry can unlock success for our country. His speech was followed by a fireside chat he had with Verizon Business CEO Kyle Malady. Building on the same theme, their chat emphasized that capacity drives growth for businesses. After their chat, Google Cloud’s Anil Jain joined the stage for a roadmap to an autonomous organization. Anil remained on stage and was joined by a star-studded stage for their panel on first-hand knowledge from the frontier. It is no surprise that the tried-and-true advice for transformation has remained the same for the next wave. Get buy in from the top. If your organization is approaching or in the midst or even thinking about a transformation – be sure to schedule your inquiry with your TBW Advisors’ Analyst to review your strategy and plans.

      Exhibits

      During our Earth Day Panel, TBW Advisors LLC emphasized that data centers and many IoT solution always involve seeking power solutions. At MWC we ran into none other than Schneider Electric ready to solve your power management problems. For organizations prioritizing hardware agnostic IoT solutions, Live4IoT would like to share hardware and carrier agnostic IoT platform with you. Comfone is redefining what it means and more importantly costs to Roam with their eSIM. Simply need 4g and 5g equipment; Baicells may align with your interests. However, if locating a master distributor for anything cellular is part of your current focus, GetWireless is among the few.

      Whether your government use case demands it or you just need a small remote server for compliance as discussed in our coverage of G2E, they were found at MWC complete with telecommunications access. Kontron was on the floor with their 5g modules integrated into servers. Seeking a rugged portable network in a box for any type of network connection? Eucast showcased their network in a box offering enabling many critical use cases. If your uses case is so mission critical that it requires bounded latency with a deterministic network? Good news! Canoga Perkins showcased their bounded latency deterministic network equipment here in Vegas.

      Next Year’s Conference  

      MWC Las Vegas 2026 dates are yet to be announced.

      *When vendors’ names are shared as examples in this document, it is to provide a concrete example of what was on display at the conference, not an evaluation or recommendation. Evaluation and recommendation of these vendors are beyond the scope of this specific research document. Other examples products in the same category may have also been on display.

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      Corporate Headquarters

      2884 Grand Helios Way

      Henderson, NV 89052

      ©2019-2025 TBW Advisors LLC. All rights reserved. TBW, Technical Business Whispers, Fact-based research and Advisory, Conference Whispers, Industry Whispers, Email Whispers, The Answer is always in the Whispers, Whisper Reports, Whisper Studies, Whisper Ranking, The Answer is always in the Whispers, and One Change a Month, are trademarks or registered trademarks of TBW Advisors LLC. This publication may not be reproduced or distributed in any form without TBW’s prior written permission. It consists of the opinions of TBW’s research organization which should not be construed as statements of fact. While the information contained in this publication has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, TBW disclaims all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of such information. TBW does not provide legal or investment advice and its research should not be construed or used as such. Your access and use of this publication are governed by the TBW Usage Policy. TBW research is produced independently by its research organization without influence or input from a third party. For further information, see Fact-based research publications on our website for more details.