Here's what Australia's cellular network scene could look like by 2020

TPG Telecom Ltd has announced it intends to become Australia's fourth mobile network operator, along with Telstra, Optus and Vodafone. TPG Telecom Ltd has purchased spectrum licenses for A$1.26 billion and will spend another A$600 million building the network infrastructure. However, it has emphasised it will not be competing across the whole Australian market, just 80% of the population. So what will the mobile network environment look like in a few years time? It is reasonable to make some informed forecasts. If the market can indeed support a fourth network, the network scene is likely to be dominated by four carriers whose main offering is 4G mobile communications standard. However, significant inroads by Wi-Fi based services can be expected. Also, “Internet of Things” devices may constitute a revenue stream to the four main operators, but that may well be undermined by emerging linked technologies.