Well, here we are at the dawn of the new year. Besides offering a new calendar and a fresh start, 2021 ushers in the beginning of a new era. The wireless industry has been here before. We started off by cutting the wire to bring voice communication to just about everywhere imaginable; since then, rapid innovations have dramatically changed the worlds of business, entertainment, health, education and personal communication.
By design and necessity, we saw more innovation in 2020 than ever before. So what’s next? At SAC, we are continually evaluating and expanding our role — as a company and within the industry — to imagine the best possible future and take the steps to lead us there.
Innovation
We live in a connected world — and while that network gets more sophisticated by the millisecond, with that comes a full spectrum of opportunities. Opportunities to ensure nobody gets left behind by the digital divide or issues including network failures, cybersecurity and aging or obsolete infrastructure.
To stay level when the industry landscape is constantly shifting, we strive to be as nimble as possible. Agility provides the ability to roll with the breakthroughs that are happening in all industry sectors, all around the world, while giving our people the resources, freedom and support they need to think big and work smart.
So how do we manage “big picture” ideals at the ground level and in our daily calendars? We start by keeping all the momentum we’ve built in recent years, including 2020, on track. That means continued development of edge of network technology; expanding our workflow digitization, automation and efficiency program (DnA), continuing our role in the nationwide 5G buildout; and acting as a consultant and solutions provider to enterprise customers.
We focus on our strengths, including leadership in ORAN and vRAN, maintaining scale with CSP customers, growing enterprise-dedicated Private Wireless Networks business, and providing essential solutions for critical infrastructure, including IP, Optical and Fixed networks. Investment in R&D is critical, so we are working with business partners to not only innovate with today’s technology but prepare for 6G and beyond.
Safety
SAC has led the charge to ensure our employees — and everyone in contact with one of our work sites — get home every night safely. This commitment to safety includes innovations in procedures and training methods, and state of the art training facilities, including indoor and outdoor towers for training and simulations for work in every type of weather event. We listen to our employees on the frontlines and our colleagues throughout the industry, and we share our insights openly. Safety is not something that belongs in a silo.
People
We’re committed to exploring every possible path to making the wireless industry a welcoming place for people to dedicate their careers. At SAC, we instituted better avenues to provide clear, candid, two-way communication between the field, leadership and teams in the office. This includes platforms to confidentially submit questions, concerns, or ideas that need to be evaluated and addressed — plus specialized Employee Resource Groups that foster connections and support across the organization.
In Conclusion
The wireless industry isn’t a bystander on the sidelines of revolution and innovation — we are the leaders. I look forward to working with you all in the months and years to come.
By: Cari Shyiak, President and CEO, SAC Wireless, a Nokia Company
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