Partners, Now's Time to Ride the 'Wireless Wave'

Based on data collected by forecasters at Canalys, Channel Futures' sister research arm, the next wave of wireless connectivity will no longer be sold and serviced by ISPs and cellular carriers, but instead by channel partners.

So says Alastair Edwards, chief analyst at Canalys. He says there is a giant wireless opportunity for the channel, saying partners will benefit from a "wireless wave."

"We're at a pivotal point in history," Edwards told us. "Private wireless is an emerging technology that delivers high-performance connectivity for enterprises that's reliable and secure. More importantly, it's a disruptive technology that democratizes both access to and the cost of cellular spectrum to empower virtually any organization to deploy and benefit from one of these networks."

Private wireless has "huge" growth potential, expected to reach some $96 billion in revenue, according to Canalys.

Session moderator Edwards, along with Tony Eigen, vice president of marketing at Baicells Technologies; David McCarthy, chief technology officer at Trendset; Andy Germano, vice president of business development at BEC Technologies; and Mike Bradley, market development manager at CELLocity; will present "The Next Wave in Wireless Spells Opportunity for Channel Partners," at the Channel Partners Conference & Expo and MSP Summit, March 11-14.

Related:Register for CP Expo/MSP Summit 2024, March 11-14, Las Vegas

We caught up with Edwards to get his take on the wireless opportunity and what partners can learn when they attend the session.

Canalys' Alastair Edwards

Channel Futures: Who should attend this session? 

Alastair Edwards: Any channel partner interested in the ballooning opportunity around private wireless should be in this session. It’s a topic with a lot of hype, so we are going to be demystifying the subject and cutting through to the real business drivers. Any vendor or telco playing in this space should consider attending too – we’re going to look at why channel partners should invest and where.

CF: What will they learn? 

AE: Channel partners will leave this session with an idea of how big the opportunity ahead is, how they can start building a business practice around private wireless, and which applications, verticals and use cases will see the most adoption.

CF: Why is the topic important? 

AE: Business connectivity is changing as enterprises build distributed edge environments, IT and OT applications converge, and demand grows across a range of industries for robust, secure wireless networking that goes beyond the limitations of traditional Wi-Fi. 

But most importantly for the audience, the growing number and complexity of applications deployed on private wireless will create a lucrative opportunity for channel partners to advise customers, deliver integrated solutions and provide managed services. Telcos, operators and vendors can’t do this themselves – this requires a skilled, independent partner ecosystem.

Related:Use Special Ops, Intelligence to Stop Private Sector Threats

CF: What are you most looking forward to in the session?

AE: I’m excited to hear from our dynamic panelists, who bring a wealth of insight and best practice advice for the audience. This is going to be a fast-paced dynamic discussion, which should not be missed.

CF: Anything else our readers should know? 

AE: Some see private wireless as key to underpinning the next phase of enterprise digital transformation. We will discuss what it takes to make this prediction a reality and what role channel partners need to play.