Michael Soper, Senior Analyst

About Michael Soper, Senior Analyst

Michael Soper is a senior analyst in TBR’s Telecom Practice specializing in telecom vendor research. Michael leads TBR’s coverage of telecom vendors Cisco, Ericsson, Huawei and Nokia, among others, as well as private cellular networks, telecom edge compute and telecom infrastructure services markets. He leverages 15 years of analytical experience to contribute to the practice’s research agenda as well as to provide critical insight and analysis to subscription research and project work. An analyst with TBR since 2010, Michael holds a B.S. in corporate finance and accounting with a minor in law from Bentley University.

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Entries by Michael Soper, Senior Analyst

Deployment Services in Telecom Face Post-5G Slowdown, Shifting Market Dynamics and Growth in Fiber Expansion

03.21.25/by Michael Soper, Senior Analyst

The deployment services market faces growing headwinds, including communication service provider (CSP) consolidation, open vRAN’s lower installation costs, and reduced demand for site location and construction (SL&C), offset somewhat by hyperscaler spend and 5G rollouts in select developing markets. Hyperscaler investments provide incremental volume to the market, and TBR notes these companies are increasing their investments in access technologies (e.g., Google Fiber).

MWC25: Disruptive Technologies and Business Models Create New Opportunities for the Mobile Ecosystem

02.25.25/by Michael Soper, Senior Analyst

Learn how the telecom industry intends to derive business outcomes from AI, how enterprises are progressing in their digital transformations and incorporating private networks, and where in the mobile ecosystem new value is being created and what telcos need to do to generate ROI from new opportunities.

Private Cellular Networks: Growth Drivers, Challenges and Opportunities Expected Through 2028

11.21.24/by Michael Soper, Senior Analyst

Learn which verticals are leading and lagging in PCN adoption, which ecosystem players are positioned to capitalized on market trends, and key growth drivers and detractors expected through 2028

Telecom Infrastructure Services Operating Margin Climbs as Shift to Maintenance Services Offsets U.S. Market Decline

10.16.24/by Michael Soper, Senior Analyst

Automation, analytics, AI and machine learning will prove critical to helping vendors improve margins. Examples include portions of Nokia’s AVA (Analytics, Virtualization and Automation) portfolio and Ericsson’s Operations Engine. However, with a significant portion of revenue coming from deployment services, RAN-centric vendors will be unable to expand overall telecom infrastructure services margins significantly.

Nokia’s Fixed Networks Unit Poised for Long-term Growth Despite Market Challenges

09.24.24/by Michael Soper, Senior Analyst

Nokia’s outsized and unique position in the broadband infrastructure ecosystem enables the company to play a key role in orchestrating partners and customers to achieve their objectives in the most optimal way possible. Fiber will remain the coveted access medium for high-speed broadband, but the world will also employ other broadband access mediums to a large extent.

Navigating the Post-peak 5G Era and Future Growth Opportunities in the Telecom Infrastructure Services Market

05.30.24/by Michael Soper, Senior Analyst

TBR Insights Live On Demand: Find out how 5G deployments and digital transformation initiatives are driving investment and higher spend in the telecom infrastructure services market.

MWC24: AI, Private Networks, Cloud, Network APIs and More

02.20.24/by Michael Soper, Senior Analyst

Learn how the telecom industry is embracing AI and other innovative technologies to achieve business objectives and outcomes. Join our exclusive deep dive into MWC24’s top takeaways.

Cisco Plunks Down $28B for Splunk to Accelerate Its Business Model Transition

10.04.23/by Michael Soper, Senior Analyst

Cisco’s plan to acquire Splunk reflects the need for deep-pocketed traditional IT vendors to shift their own business models to incorporate more subscription revenue streams.

Telecom Infrastructure Services Market Expectations Through 2027

05.17.23/by Michael Soper, Senior Analyst

Free webinar: Learn key growth drivers and detractors expected in the telecom infrastructure services (TIS) market through 2027 as well as how government spend and geopolitics will influence the TIS market and which vendors are positioned to capitalize on market trends

Verizon Business showcases use cases highlighting ROI potential of 5G

10.14.22/by Michael Soper, Senior Analyst

Use cases demonstrated by Verizon Business highlighted how 5G solutions can help businesses address operational challenges while providing opportunity to significantly reduce expenses, especially regarding headcount.