The wireless industry has been one of the fastest growing spaces for several decades. That does not mean, however, that it is always on fire. Every growth wave has ebbs and flows. It all depends on the period of time in which you are focused. The good news is the wireless industry has entered the next growth wave with 5G, AI, IoT, AR, VR, cloud and more.

Major international airlines rushed on Tuesday to rejig or cancel flights to the United States on the eve of a 5G wireless rollout that triggered safety concerns, despite two wireless carriers saying they will delay parts of the deployment. The Federal Aviation Administration has warned that potential 5G interference could affect height readings that play a key role in bad-weather landings on some jets and airlines say the Boeing 777 is among models initially in the spotlight. Despite an announcement by AT&T and Verizon that they would delay turning on some 5G towers near airports, several airlines still canceled flights. Others said more cancellations were likely unless the FAA issued new formal guidance in the wake of the wireless announcements. The world's largest operator of the Boeing 777, Dubai's Emirates, said it would suspend flights to nine U.S. destinations from Jan. 19, the planned date for the deployment of 5G wireless services.

The next generation of wireless networks, dubbed 5G, will have more capacity, faster speeds, and lower latency than its predecessor 4G. As a result, it's expected to bring technologies like augmented reality, self-driving cars, data-crunching Internet of Things devices, and even smart cities closer to the mainstream than ever before. Deeply entwined with cloud computing, 5G is expected to be the backbone of so many future products and services that it has the potential to power economic growth for decades to come, analysts predict. At the moment, 5G networks are still being rolled out by wireless carriers, and the public has yet to fully realize its benefits. But there are plenty of opportunities for startups and major companies alike, including in partnering with wireless carriers, deploying private and enterprise 5G networks, and developing 5G-enabled applications.

Perhaps humans weren't meant to be the early adopters of 5G. At Bosch Rexroth in Bavaria, Germany, wheeled robots that zoom between manufacturing machines and robotic arms that help hoist and connect components come with an unusual new feature--5G modems. The division of Bosch that sells advanced manufacturing equipment sees 5G as a big future trend--and not just for gaming or superfast movie downloads. The company has developed a modular production line where every piece of equipment--plus high-precision power tools--is connected via 5G. The new wireless standard may seem underwhelming so far to smartphone users, but it's gaining followers at some factories, office compounds, and remote workspaces, with good reason.

Let's take a closer look at some of the most important, key take-aways from this year's MWC19 wireless conference in Barcelona. The theme was, "Intelligent Connectivity". The surprise was a sudden focus on folding-screen smartphones. However, the most important areas are the rapid move to 5G, AI and IoT. Plus, managing all the new technology that is coming at us at light-speed and more.

Apple's technically impressive HomePod has literally been hacked into pieces, we get a taste of Qualcomm's potent smartphone chip (coming soon) and strap an editor into an Iron Man toy mask in the interests of Journalism with a capital'J'. You may not like the thought of paying Apple a pretty penny to fix the HomePod, but you might have to -- it definitely isn't meant for DIY repairs. An iFixit teardown has revealed a clever design that makes good use of a tiny space, but also nigh-on inaccessible. It appears you can pull the fabric mesh off with a drawstring, but almost everything else requires tearing things apart. Many elements are glued on (including the top and bottom), and there's one seam so thoroughly sealed that iFixit needed a hacksaw and ultrasonic cutter to get in.

For years, artificial intelligence and process automation have evolved largely on independent paths. The coming year will bring steady innovation in both fields, but the real leap forward will be the synergy created when AI and intelligent process automation are harnessed together. To explain what I mean, I'll start by spending a few minutes on each area individually. In AI and machine learning, high-value targets like speech recognition and synthesis, image recognition and bots were identified years ago, but have seemed to remain just out of reach. Now these capabilities are becoming widely appreciated due to advances in three critical areas: massive compute power, robust deep-learning algorithms, and the availability of huge volumes of data to train models.

Comcast is introducing its new wireless service, Xfinity Mobile, later this year. Xfinity Mobile is trying to personalize wireless. How do you feel about Comcast as your wireless carrier? Comcast customers will soon have that option. The cable TV powerhouse spilled the beans on Xfinity Mobile, a new service launching mid-year that leverages Wi-Fi, as well as Verizon's 4G LTE cellular network.

Competition in the wireless telecommunications industry is rampant. To maintain profitability, wireless carriers must control chum, the loss of subscribers who switch from one carrier to another. We explore statistical techniques for chum prediction and, based on these predictions.

Competition in the wireless telecommunications industry is rampant. To maintain profitability, wireless carriers must control chum, the loss of subscribers who switch from one carrier to another. We explore statistical techniques for chum prediction and, based on these predictions.