What to expect in 2024: Wireless keeps expanding, and conversational AI comes into focus

Everyone is always looking for the next big thing. While 5G growth is hot in wireless, investors are looking for more.

Let’s take a closer look at some of those new areas.

Over the years, wireless has grown into one of the most important industries. And that will only continue. That, however, does not mean every wireless sector will always be in demand. There are segments that are a real growth opportunity, and others where growth will be slower.

Understanding the changing growth wave is key.

Wireless growth wave continues, but at different rates

Wireless will ultimately connect every person, every company, every technology and every government all over the world. It will continue to get faster and smarter, will use more new technology like AI and will impact industry upon industry.

Wireless has been with us in one stage or another for more than 50 years. It keeps getting better, faster, stronger with every year that passes. 

It started with voice, then data. Speeds and latency got faster and more immediate. Today, wireless is impacting many other industries, which are being transformed because of it.

5G wireless is also transforming other industries including automated driving, medical and surgery, retail and so much more. 

There is a constant level of change. That’s why investors need to understand the ever-changing growth wave to make sure they are focused on the hot new areas of tomorrows technology. 

Private wireless, 5G-A, FWA, 5G home internet and more

Today, we are seeing several new sectors being created in the wireless industry. Sectors like private wireless, 5G-advanced (or 5G-A), FWA and 5G home internet. 

Beyond wireless, artificial intelligence is capturing the imagination and investment of investors and institutions. In fact, AI has been with us for many decades in different degrees. 

As advanced as AI is today, just imagine what level it will be at in the next few years.

A year ago, the chatbot segment of AI introduced us to ChatGPT from OpenAI. Microsoft MSFT uses this technology. Next, Google GOOG introduced its version, Bard. The company has now just introduced another version of AI called Gemini.

As vibrant as the AI chatbot sector is, the technology continues to move forward. 

Generative AI and conversational AI are the next steps

In 2024 and beyond, the next generation of AI technology we will be following and talking about will be generative AI, or gen AI.

The major focus at CES 2024 will be on generative AI. This recognition should be very exciting for investors and industry players. That being said, there is still a key challenge companies in these sectors face, which we will discuss shortly. 

Then, after generative AI, we may see conversational AI being next in line. This may be the next, new exciting sector in the world of artificial intelligence.

The challenge: being seen and heard over the noise

The challenge is that these various industries are full of competitors, and they are all trying to get on our radar. That means the industry noise level is rising. And that makes it increasingly difficult for individual companies to be seen and heard.

So, companies that do business in all these areas have a significant growth opportunity — and a big challenge — to be noticed. You see, the marketplace is so noisy, just being discovered is one important key to success. And this is one hurdle which every winning companies needs to deal with. 

This happened in the wireless industry over the past several decades. I have learned some secrets successful companies use to rise above the noise level.

I have been advising executives on doing just that for longer than I can remember. And I have to say, as the marketplace changes and gets noisier, the strategies to be seen and heard must also change.

That means the core strategy for every company must continually change just to stay above the high level of noise and chaos. Some companies accomplish this, but most struggle and simply never break through.

Good news and bad news for companies

So, for 2024 and beyond, the good news for investors and executives is there are more new growth opportunities than ever before. The bad news is the noise level in the marketplace continues to get louder and more chaotic, making that goal more difficult to achieve. 

In that kind of environment, how do small, medium and large companies punch their way through all the noise to be discovered? That is the key question every CEO and CMO must ask themselves.

It is a challenge for companies, investors, workers and executives to stay with the changing and moving growth wave. 

Like riding the waves at the ocean, we must stay with the growth wave or else it will pass us by, leaving us behind in the shallows.