Ben Evans is an internet analyst, & writes that mobile operators innovations are irrelevant.
..the key point is that something can look like it’s an adjacent area when actually all of your skills and leverage points are irrelevant. Mobile operators have almost none of the skills and leverage points needed to be relevant for anything other than connectivity.
He echoes others that have argued essentially the same. He publishes an excellent free weekly newsletter that covers the tech/ telco industry, if you are interested in this industry.