Jonathan Nikols of Verizon Business How 5G Technology May Improve and Impact Our Lives

Focus on the customer: Understand your customer’s business problem and what outcomes they are trying to achieve. Once you do that the application, the telecommunications solution, will be simple.

5G infrastructure is being installed around the world. At the same time, most people have not yet seen what 5G can offer. What exactly is 5G? How will it improve our lives? What are the concerns that need to be addressed before it is widely adopted?

In our series, called, How 5G Technology May Improve and Impact Our Lives, we are talking to tech and telecom leaders who can share how 5G can impact and enhance our lives.

As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jonathan Nikols, Senior Vice President, Global Enterprise Americas at Verizon Business. Jonathan is responsible for enterprise sales and operations, leading a team focused on delivering meaningful outcomes for enterprise organizations leveraging innovative technologies such as 5G, mobile edge computing (MEC), cloud, security, and software-defined networking (SDN). With deep industry expertise, Jonathan has a true understanding of how outcome-based solution selling and the strategy that goes into deployment creates sustained growth and prosperity for customers.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?

I grew up in the Chicago area, where I still live with my family today. Prior to joining Verizon, I was the Senior Vice President, Global Head of Services and Solutions at Hewlett-Packard — where I had an impact on transforming the business model from hardware only to a data-driven “as a service” offering utilizing customer insights and market intelligence. I’ve also held leadership positions at Polycom, NCR, Avaya and AT&T, among others.

Over my 20-year sales career, I’ve managed everything from pre-sales and pursuit to customer success, professional services, and sales management. Through these experiences, I gained a strong understanding of the importance of having a customer-first mindset. You have to focus on solving your customers’ business problems — helping them deliver meaningful outcomes through transformational business models.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

There are so many people that have helped me along the way ever since I was a young boy through my career at this stage. I came from a family where my father was not present in my life. There were many male role models that invested in me, including my grandfather, uncle, church leaders, coaches, and fathers of friends. I am eternally grateful to these men for shaping me into the husband, father, and leader that I am today.

From a career perspective the first “real job” I had was at a local community bank where I learned so many work and life skills, which helped me with my post-collegiate career. There have also been many leaders who have invested, sponsored, and mentored me throughout my career. The role model who I attribute to helping me grow the most is Peter Leav who I first met while at NCR in my first Vice-President role. Peter became the CEO of Polycom, BCM Software and Adobe. Because of his influence, I always try to “pay it forward” to others.

You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

Servant Leadership: I firmly believe that when we are in leadership it is our responsibility to help our employees/teams become better. There was a period when I was anxious about some expanded responsibilities that I took on. I shared this openly with my mentor at the time, and that person invested their time to help me think through the actions, mindset and changes I needed to make to achieve success in my new role. You have to help the person first, and the results will come later.

Communication: I believe consistent and clear communication is paramount to leading a large organization. Leaders need to be able to communicate strategy, goals, instructions, etc. for the organization to be successful. A football analogy comes to mind: “We can debate the play, but once it’s called, we run the play.”

Simplification: When someone complicates something, it’s because they are not an expert. The true mark of an expert and leader is to take complex, nuanced and abstract concepts and explain them in a simple way. We need to simplify everything we do.

Are you working on any new or exciting projects? How do you think that will help people?

Yes. The latest advance in Verizon’s long-standing partnership with the NFL includes enabling innovations like coach-to-coach communications through deploying a managed 5G private wireless network solution in all stadiums. Verizon has also announced team sponsorships with several teams across the League, all of which include upgrades to stadium connectivity and the fan experience.

Also, for stadiums, Verizon 5G Ultra-Wideband delivers a first-class fan experience enabling autonomous or cashierless retail, accelerated access, crowd analytics, and more. These solutions are part of the broader Verizon Business Connected Venue approach, which is rooted in its 5G investment in more than 75 large public venues in the United States, including some of the most iconic major sports and music venues. Verizon brings a mix of public and private network capabilities, a robust technology ecosystem, and 5G partnerships that enable leagues, teams, and stadium operators to achieve desired venue operations outcomes.

From a retail perspective, Verizon has partnered with the holographic communications company Proto to provide a Virtual Mirror that uses dynamic augmented virtual reality to enable shoppers to “virtually” try on apparel and accessories. This solution is designed to help retailers sell more inventory than they actually have in the store.

We also have solutions to improve warehouse and grocery store operations, help reduce worker injuries, transform the customer experience, and increase productivity. All of these are powered by Verizon 5G.

Ok wonderful. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. Like 4G, 5G has many different facets, and I’m sure many will approach this question differently. But for the benefit of our readers can you explain to us what 5G is? How is 5G different from its predecessor 4G?

5G is a gamechanger for CIOs, that’s how I would describe it. Technically, 5G is the latest technology standard for cellular networks. Verizon’s 5G, the fifth-generation wireless technology, differs from 4G in several key ways. Now available to more than 200 million people in the U.S., 5G Ultra-Wideband can deliver life-changing technologies for both consumers and businesses. For consumers, the high speed and low latency 5G offers significantly faster data speeds, with potential download speeds of up to 20 Gbps, compared to 4G’s maximum of about 1 Gbps. This speed is crucial for high-data-throughput applications like virtual reality and 4K/8K video streaming, enabling faster downloads, HD video chatting, and multiplayer gaming on the go with low lag.

5G also has the ability to handle a larger number of connected devices simultaneously, a significant advantage for the Internet of Things. 4G primarily uses sub-6 GHz frequencies, while 5G utilizes a broader range of frequencies, including high-band millimeter-wave frequencies. Moreover, 5G introduces network slicing as a powerful tool for creating virtualized, customized, and isolated network segments within a single physical network infrastructure. This technology allows network operators to provide tailored services to meet the specific needs of various applications, users, and industries while ensuring efficient resource utilization and improved quality of service. It also offers improved reliability and is more energy-efficient — extending device battery life and reducing the network’s carbon footprint.

That’s a mouthful. Now, consider for a moment what this increased capability means for the average CIO, who must deal with a continual increase in network traffic and a dizzying array of applications, while satisfying an army of demanding clients. And trying to keep costs down! 5G provides CIOs with the capabilities to address each of these priorities.

Verizon’s 5G network and solutions for business are designed for the busy CIO. They can connect enterprise businesses and help make them smarter across industries like manufacturing, healthcare, utilities, and retail. The technology we provide can help business leaders make decisions that drive Enterprise Intelligence.

In summary, 5G represents a significant advance over 4G in terms of speed, capacity, latency, and versatility. It is not just an upgrade in terms of download speeds but a fundamental transformation in how we use wireless technology, with the potential to enable new applications and services that were previously impractical with 4G networks.

Can you share three or four ways that 5G can improve our lives? If you can please share an example, for each.

Communications technologies are integral to every aspect of modern life — from work to play and across every industry. That’s why a major leap forward like 5G is so groundbreaking. It enhances our lives in many ways. For example:

1. Faster and More Reliable Connectivity: With 5G’s ultra-fast data speeds and low latency, activities like video streaming, online gaming, and video conferencing become smoother and more immersive. This means you can enjoy high-quality content and real-time interactions without interruptions or buffering, improving entertainment and communication experiences.

2. IoT and Smart Devices: 5G can connect a vast number of devices simultaneously, making it the backbone of the Internet of Things (IoT). This enables the widespread adoption of smart devices in homes, cities, and industries. Smart homes, autonomous vehicles, and industrial automation systems can benefit from the reliability and responsiveness of 5G connectivity, enhancing convenience, safety, and efficiency.

3. Healthcare and Remote Medicine: 5G’s low latency and reliability are particularly valuable in healthcare. It enables remote monitoring, telemedicine, and even remote surgeries with precision and minimal delay. Patients can receive medical care from the comfort of their homes, and doctors can collaborate on complex procedures across long distances.

4. Innovation and Industry Transformation: 5G has the potential to drive innovation in various industries. It can revolutionize manufacturing through robotics and automation, enhance augmented and virtual reality experiences, and enable the development of smart cities with improved infrastructure and services. This technology can spur economic growth and create new job opportunities in sectors that benefit from its capabilities.

This is why 5G is so important for CIOs. Their priorities include everything from securing the enterprise and ensuring reliability to serving an increasingly mobile workforce and driving innovation. 5G is essential to all of these missions.

And Verizon is there for them. For example, a huge part of our network transformation is network virtualization. Key 5G use cases like massive scale IoT solutions, more robust consumer devices, AR/VR, remote healthcare, and autonomous robotics in manufacturing environments will all heavily rely on the programmability of virtualized networks. Virtualization is critical for advanced operations and services, which require a programmable network with the ability to move functions and operations across the distributed network.

Here are some examples of how Verizon Business is leveraging 5G:

• Associated British Ports is taking steps to become the “port of the future” by utilizing a Verizon Private 5G Network to enable a smart supply chain to efficiently track nearly 600,000 vehicles and over 1.2 million cruise ship passengers every year through the Port of Southampton.
• Network as a Service capabilities are giving businesses more scalable, secure, and cost-effective options that align with their growth.
• Our Labs as a Service model is connecting Verizon Innovation Labs with enterprises to troubleshoot new and emerging connected technologies and conduct proof-of-concept testing.
• And Verizon 5G Edge brings processing power closer to the end user, for even faster response times that can enable new, transformative applications, create efficiencies, and improve customer experiences across the enterprise.

Going forward, we believe 5G could help modernize the supply chain, transform agriculture with smarter farming and help other Internet of Things applications live up to their potential. From emergency response to global payments, next-level gaming and augmented reality, a more accessible metaverse, virtual travel and brick-and-mortar retail, the possibilities are virtually limitless.

Keeping “Black Mirror” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this 5G technology that people should think more deeply about?

5G technology offers various advantages but also comes with a few potential drawbacks and challenges. One key challenge is coverage and infrastructure, as 5G’s higher-frequency signals have shorter range and difficulty penetrating obstacles, requiring a significant increase in infrastructure.

Security, spectrum allocation, and privacy are also critical issues, with cybersecurity threats, spectrum competition, and data privacy needing careful management.

Environmental impact, including energy consumption and electronic waste, must be considered, as well as addressing potential interference with existing wireless systems. These challenges highlight the importance of the balanced approach that Verizon takes with its deployment and regulation of 5G technology.

Some have raised the question that 5G might widen the digital divide and leave poor people or marginalized people behind. From your perspective, what can be done to address and correct this concern?

5G will do the opposite. We are seeing the ability to bring services to rural, underserved and marginalized people in an accelerated and value-oriented manner. We have seen this take place with Telemedicine, Remote Learning and Work from Anywhere as examples that allow people to access services where at 4G the technology would not allow the experience to be optimized as it is with 5G.

Excellent. We are nearly done. Let’s zoom out a bit and ask a more general question. Based on your experience and success, what are the 5 things you need to create a highly successful career in the telecommunication industry?

1. Focus on the customer: Understand your customer’s business problem and what outcomes they are trying to achieve. Once you do that the application, the telecommunications solution, will be simple.
2. Drive value for your stakeholders: We are in the value economy and those who drive value across the continuum will accelerate their career growth.
3. Communicate with excellence: Think in 3’s. Anything more, people will not retain. Repeat it over and over again.
4. Keep an external perspective: Strive to think outside of your company. Stretch yourself to be in communities that are not Telecom & Technology. We can see themes from other industries and disciplines that will allow us to be creative and achieve more.
5. Be a continuous learner: Read. Get off your phones. Look for experts in their field. Ask questions and listen.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

My worldview is rooted in something bigger than me. I truly believe we all want to be safe, loved, happy and productive members of this world. The human race by nature is self-centered. But if we think about how we serve others first, then all of the hate, discord, and lack of acceptance could fade away. It’s a dream.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

Readers can follow my posts on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-nikols/

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.