By Elena DeJaco
Verizon is making the case for 5G through Taylor Swift in the hopes of a telecommunications gold rush. The mobile industry has been through a bit of a cruel summer struggling to find a way to demonstrate the value of 5G to consumers. The first few years of the rollout have shown that consumers are unwilling to pay more for a service they view as nothing new. Well, perhaps they have finally found a way to shake it off and sell this service by connecting 5G with both Apple and Spotify Music’s Artist of the Year, Taylor Swift.
Taylor Swift needs no introduction, and the impressive market power of her fanbase should never be underestimated. Therefore, it is no wonder the mobile network operators would be enchanted by the Swiftie marketing magic. Joe Russo, President of Global Networks and Technology for Verizon, said, “[i]f you’ve been to a Taylor Swift concert, all of those people, our customers, are there and they want to stream that experience with their friends and family, and you couldn’t do that in a 4G world.” Long story short, by proposing Taylor Swift as a use-case, Mr. Russo is touching on the larger trend of 5G enabling increased data capacity.
In a time where there is a blank space for a killer app, 5G’s capabilities may be best exemplified by the ability to maintain signal in crowded venues. Data from AT&T shows that Taylor Swift fans used almost 29 terabytes of data in a single night of the Eras tour. Instead of glitch[ing], which may have happened in previous generations, AT&T’s 5G+ network (utilizing C-band and mmWave) enabled the high data rate used throughout the sold-out stadium. Verizon and T-Mobile have also stressed their improvements in handling data traffic in stadium settings. Perhaps Mr. Russo has landed on a way to make customers appreciate the network improvements, but it will take time to see if the Swifties are listening and if this will foster a 5G love story.
About the Author – Elena DeJaco is an Attorney, Engineer, & Swiftie working on spectrum policy at Freedom Technologies. Freedom Technologies Inc., a women-owned small business, has led in technology and telecom policy since 1992. https://freedomtechnologiesinc.com
The views and opinions expressed in this blog post are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent.