Publications

April 2020 (Revised May 2020)
Case

NTT DOCOMO's Race to 5G

By: Juan Alcácer, Horst Melcher and Akiko Kanno

The case, based on extensive interviews with NTT DOCOMO’s technology leaders, focuses on the opportunities and challenges that NTT DOCOMO faces with the launch of infrastructure and services for 5G wireless telecommunication technology. With higher data rates and... View Details

Keywords: 5G; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Product Launch; Strategic Planning; Decision Making; Strategy; Telecommunications Industry; Technology Industry

January 2024
Case

National Football League and Private 5G

By: Andy Wu, Grant Son and Shuoyo Chen

On September 9, 2021, the National Football League (NFL) designated Verizon as its official 5G partner in a 10-year deal, committed to enhance the experience for NFL teams, players, and fans in stadiums. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said, “Verizon will help us... View Details

Keywords: Football; National Football League; 5G; Verizon; Communication Technology; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Technology Adoption; Risk and Uncertainty; Business Strategy; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Sports Industry; Telecommunications Industry

October 2019 (Revised January 2020)
Technical Note

5G Wireless Technology, 2019

By: David B. Yoffie, Roneal Desai and Lili Ouyang

This Note explores the technology and economics of emerging 5G networks. View Details

Keywords: Technology Change; Information Technology; Strategy; Technological Innovation; Communications Industry

22 Mar 2021
News

A Harvard Professor Brings 5G to M.B.A. Students

August 2023
Article

The 5G Spectrum Auction in Chile

By: Juan Escobar, Rafael Epstein, Jose Correa, Pamela Gidi, Jozsef Markovits, Natalie Epstein, Yerko Montenegro and Abner Turkieltaub

In 2021, the Chilean government implemented a first-price package auction to allocate electromagnetic spectrum for 5G mobile services. The auction was run sequentially for different spectrum bands, allowing firms to exploit band complementarities. It was a... View Details

Keywords: Bids and Bidding; Competition; Revenue; Telecommunications Industry; Chile

Read Now

01 Aug 2019
News

China Races Ahead of the U.S. in the Battle for 5G Supremacy

19 Jan 2022
News

Untethering the Remote Workforce with 5G

01 Dec 2020
News

Two Truths and a Lie About 5G

Here, alumni and faculty experts weigh in on some of the assumptions about a hyper-connected world. The upgrade to 5G will be revolutionary for consumers. The arrival of 3G, which delivered the iPhone to the world and made it mainstream,... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint

April 2021
Case

The Clean Network and the Future of Global Technology Competition

By: Meg Rithmire and Courtney Han

In May 2019, amidst of an ever-worsening trade war between the U.S. and China, President Donald Trump added Chinese telecom giant Huawei to the Department of Commerce’s “entity list,” essentially forbidding American firms from doing business with the company. Huawei,... View Details

Keywords: 5G; Telecommunications; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Trade; Competition; International Relations; Telecommunications Industry; China

June 2021
Teaching Note

The Clean Network and the Future of Global Technology Competition

By: Meg Rithmire

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 721-045. View Details

Keywords: 5G; Technology; China

January 2024
Case

Huawei: Resilience amid Autarky and Adversity

By: William C. Kirby and Daniel Fu

In September 2023, Huawei made a dramatic return to the global smartphone space with the launch of its Mate 60 Pro smartphone, equipped with an indigenously designed, 7nm chip. This came despite a myriad of export controls and restrictions imposed against the company... View Details

08 Nov 2017
News

How Qualcomm Became Vulnerable to a Takeover Bid

March 2018 (Revised April 2018)
Case

Verizon 2018

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Jonathan Cohen

In 2018, CEO Lowell McAdam led efforts to transform Verizon through digital innovation, media acquisitions and integration, and changes to the company culture. He sought to manage change at the company as growth in traditional areas slowed and position it as a leader... View Details

Keywords: Change; Change Leadership; Change Management; Innovation; Digital; Management; Leading Change; Innovation and Management; Acquisition; Integration; Telecommunications Industry; United States

27 Apr 2020
News

The pandemic is liberating firms to experiment with radical new ideas

05 Oct 2021
Cold Call Podcast

How the Clean Network Changed the Future of Global Technology Competition

Keywords: Re: Meg Rithmire

July 2018
Teaching Note

Verizon 2018

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Jonathan Cohen

Teaching Note for HBS No. 318-114. In 2018, CEO Lowell McAdam led efforts to transform Verizon through digital innovation, media acquisitions and integration, and changes to the company culture. He sought to manage change at the company as growth in traditional areas... View Details

Keywords: Change; Change Leadership; Change Management; Innovation; Digital; Management; Leading Change; Innovation and Management; Acquisition; Integration; Organizational Culture; Telecommunications Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; United States

August 2019
Case

Huawei and the U.S.-China Trade War

By: Elie Ofek and John Masko

In 2019, Chinese smartphone maker and telecommunications empire Huawei was preparing to launch its new flagship smartphone series, the Mate 30. After years of explosive growth, the previous 18 months had been a challenge for the company. In early 2018, Huawei’s planned... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Global Strategy; International Relations; National Security; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Information Infrastructure; Volatility; Adaptation; Telecommunications Industry; China; United States; European Union

January 2020 (Revised March 2020)
Case

Huawei: A Global Tech Giant in the Crossfire of a Digital Cold War

By: William C. Kirby, Billy Chan and John P. McHugh

By 2020, Ren Zhengfei, CEO of Huawei, had transformed the small telephone switch manufacturer he founded in 1987 into a $120 billion telecommunications company poised to lead the lucrative rollout of fifth-generation (5G) cellular networks. However, an emerging... View Details

Keywords: International Strategy; Government And Business; Digital Infrastructure; Political Risk; Information Technology; Infrastructure; Business and Government Relations; Government and Politics; Information Infrastructure; Technology Industry; China; United States