The Merger
On October 16th, the FCC announced it will allow the $26.5 billion merger of T-Mobile and Sprint. This merger has been in the works for the past five years, as the FCC opposed the deal in 2014. The decision was made upon the trust that T-Mobile will deliver on their promise to deliver 5G connectivity to 99% of Americans within the next six years. Many believe that the merger will result in a lack of competition between the now three large players (Verizon and AT&T being the other two). Others hope it will result in more innovation along the path to nationwide 5G.
What is 5G and Why is it so Important?
5G is what it sounds like: the fifth generation of cellular connectivity. Some have compared the step from 4G to 5G to the transition from typewriter to computer. 5G is going to be both faster and more efficient than 4g; in fact, 5G could be up to 100 times faster. Of course, this kind of speed will be needed as the Internet of Things continues to grow and expand into new industries. In 2017, it was reported that 8.4 billion devices were connected to the internet. Verizon executives predicts that number will rise to 20.4 billion by 2020. 5G could usher in the fourth great industrial revolution by enabling billions of devices to work together at lightning speed.
What Does 5G Mean for Marketing and Advertising?
Quality and Speed
Because of the great increase in speed and decrease in latency, advertisers will be able to deliver higher quality ads without worrying about load times. Video ads will all be in 4k resolution. The increase in speed may also diminish the use of ad blockers as many use them because display advertising can slow down a page’s load time.
More, More, More
As stated above, 20.4 billion devices are expected to be connected to the internet by 2020. An increase in internet connected devices will create more places that publishers and advertisers will be able reach their users. The amount of points of contact will increase greatly. More complete marketing plans will need to be developed and the speed of programmatic auctions will also need to improve.
More Seeing, Less Reading
With increased load times, more and more content will be converted into video format. A study by Cisco says that 80% of all content will be video by 2021. Increasing the amount of video content and the quality will be important in order to stay connected to users with the advancement of 5G.