<p>Mobile operators everywhere are at a crossroad. With their advantages of mobility slipping away, it's time for mobile operators to identify the next generation of business opportunities that they are uniquely qualified to pursue. It's time for operators to look to the cloud.</p><p>But first, let's take a closer look at how operators are losing the mobility advantage. Operators traditionally set themselves apart with their quality of service and security of service across high-speed bandwidth networks. Simply put, mobility was an operator's differentiator. Today, however, the proliferation of high-speed 4G networks and Wi-Fi hotspots is making mobility a ubiquitous commodity that subscribers take for granted for new services and applications.</p><p>The spread of Wi-Fi hotspots is further eroding operators' mobile advantage. Just look at CableWiFi, the nationwide Wi-Fi roaming network backed by Bright House Networks, Cablevision, Comcast, Cox and Time Warner Cable. CableWiFi will give any of the companies' subscribers free access to any of the companies' hotspots, enabling a Comcast customer to access a Cox hotspot while roaming in Cox territory to access her Comcast services, for instance.</p><p>Soon, subscribers won't really know or care what network they're using cellular or Wi-Fi when they're accessing voice, messaging, search and other apps on their mobile devices. And the commoditization of broadband-enabled mobility is going to eat away at mobile operators' revenues and force operators into price wars on bandwidth as the only differentiating value to consumers and enterprises.</p><p><a href="http://www.wirelessweek.com/articles/2013/11/wi-fi-friend-or-foe-operators-%E2%80%93-can-cloud-save-them">Keep reading...</a></p>