Connected Magazine

5G: telcoms’ denial of its flaws and failures is costing them dearly

Is the next generation the ‘biggest white elephant in the history of the telecoms sector’ or one that will soon come good? Luke Kehoe investigates

‘Looking back, it is clear that the sprawling 5G hype cycle exemplified a classic case of magical thinking on its most grand scale.’

The age-old wisdom of a Native American proverb, “You can’t wake a person who is pretending to be asleep”, resonates strongly with the current malaise pervading the telecoms industry. It is a fitting metaphor for the industry’s collective denial of its own flawed 5G gambits, which is costing it dearly in capital and, more deeply, compromising its long-term viability.

The story arc of 5G is today framed not by what the technology has delivered, but ...