What a difference a few days make.
Last week, I wrote about the fact that the rate of hospitalization in New York City hospitals was declining. This was something that wasn’t being covered anywhere in the press.
And the weekend brought some very encouraging news.
New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo reported that the daily number of reported deaths has dropped in New York. Furthermore, the ICU (intensive care unit) admissions are also down.
Better yet, the hospital discharge rate was “way up.”
These data points are both meaningful and encouraging.
And a nice chart published by the Financial Times did a good job visually representing the trajectories of confirmed cases by country.
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Source: Financial Times |
As we can see in the chart above, the number of new confirmed cases in Italy is already on the decline. The U.S. curve is about 10–11 days behind Italy. And Spain has also rounded the curve, demonstrating a decline as well.
With all of the data that I have seen in the last few days, I believe that the U.S. will have hit its peak within the next week. And while we’ll still have physical distancing constraints over the next two to three weeks, I believe that we can begin the process of returning to normal in May.
The markets certainly liked the glimmer of hope. The S&P 500 is up about 3% since Monday morning.
Meanwhile, there’s some big news on a huge trend I’ve been following for months…
What This Megamerger Means for Consumers
We got big news last week. The merger between T-Mobile and Sprint has been completed. This is great news. And the timing couldn’t be better…
As we know, there was a large contingent opposed to this merger. It said that reducing the number of wireless carriers in the U.S. would leave fewer choices for consumers.
Of course, I have said all along that this group was wrong.
And that’s because neither one of these companies would have had the financial resources or the spectrum to build out a nationwide 5G network independently. So had they not combined, the U.S. market would have had only two 5G wireless networks to choose from – AT&T and Verizon. In other words, less competition.
Having a third choice in 5G is great for consumers. And the T-Mobile/Sprint combined entity is taking a unique approach…
T-Mobile has been targeting the lower high-frequency bands to roll out 5G nationwide. These bands don’t require cell towers to be as close together, so it’s faster to get the network built out this way. T-Mobile hopes to be the first to have a nationwide 5G network. That’s the marketing strategy behind T-Mobile’s infrastructure build-out.
But there’s a tradeoff. The lower frequency bands do not enable the super high speeds that 5G can deliver. Remember, these higher frequencies are what will deliver speeds 100 times faster (or more) than the average speeds we experience on the 4G networks that we use today.
With the lower frequency bands, T-Mobile/Sprint will deliver around 100–150 megabits per second (Mbps) over its lower-band 5G network. It will be substantially slower than the Verizon and AT&T 5G networks.
That said, it will still be around 10 times faster than the average 4G speeds that we see today. So consumers will still perceive it to be lightning fast. I rarely experience 15 Mbps speeds over the 4G wireless network in my neighborhood, so I would be absolutely thrilled with 150-megabit speeds.
It will be fun to see how consumers respond to different options. Will they go with T-Mobile/Sprint at the “lower” 5G speeds? Or will they prefer the higher, 1 Gbps (gigabits per second) speeds of Verizon and AT&T, even if it means waiting longer for 5G to come to their area?
Clearly, the consumers have more choices thanks to the T-Mobile/Sprint merger. I’m excited to watch this story play out.
And for investors, here’s the important implication…
With the merger complete, the largest hurdle for these network providers is in the rearview mirror. 5G network rollouts are steaming ahead.
With every month that passes, city after city is “lighting up” 5G networks. The entire world will soon realize the reality of 5G networks. That will send a handful of 5G stocks significantly higher.
I want all my readers to be positioned before that happens. That’s why I’m hosting a free 5G investing summit tonight at 8 p.m. ET. I’m calling it the State of 5G.
I’ll give details on the 5G stocks you’ll want to own today for potentially life-changing returns. And I’d love it if you could join me. Reserve your spot right here.
Regards,
Jeff Brown
Editor, Exponential Tech Investor
P.S. Because of the recent market volatility, several “best of breed” 5G companies are trading at bargain valuations. At these levels, 1,000% gains are absolutely in play with key investments in 5G companies.
For many investors, COVID-19 is a wealth-destroying event. But it doesn’t have to be. I want all my readers to turn it into their greatest opportunity for wealth creation. That’s what my 5G summit is all about. It goes live tonight at 8 p.m. Go right here to save your spot.
I hope to see you there.