So another Mobile World Congress has come and gone, another set of record attendances have been broken and we've been wow'd by another swathe of goggles and wearables.... but what was there for mobile operators?

I have been reflecting over the last days on what really mattered at this event. I come back over and over again to two of the central themes of the event, 5G and Virtual Reality and on conversations this lead to with customers and prospects at the show....

Every major vendor touted their 5G chops and basked in the glory that this great technology will bring to solving the world's bandwidth problems. Every OTT/content provider endorsed the imperative to build 5G networks super-fast. Well, they would say that wouldn't they? That way, the OTTs get to deliver massive amounts of immersive video and virtual reality content to their users.

It all sounds fascinating. I, like many in this MWC "virtual reality bubble", want to sign up for that to happen – but there is a catch: I can't help but ask the question - is this really Virtual Reality or are we headed into a mistaken actuality?

Reality check anyone?

How do the people who build the networks, mobile carriers, pay for these latest shiny new objects when in "reality" they are falling further and further behind when it comes to acceptable ROI with their current 4G assets? And operators have invested so much.

So, I don't think anyone is in a position to write it off and simply move on to 5G as the answer.

Back in the stark reality of post-MWC, we had better sit down and address the elephant in the room or the "Virtual Reality" wagon will come off its wheels. Many of today's operators do not have the resources or the business models to support and deliver the next set of shiny new objects.

Chetan Sharma, who is one of the industry's most enlightened analysts, captured this quandary. In The Economist, Chetan expanded on his excellent work in the area he refers to as the 4th wave in mobile. He has for some time predicted that operator revenue as a % of the eco-system, essentially what I think of as the economic dollar yield per mobile packet, is declining and would soon fall below 50%. Well, that soon is now.

In 2015, he noted that this mobile operator share of the ecosystem was 40%. He predicts that this is heading to 33% by year end. This is an economic trend that will, with varying speeds, traverse around the world and negatively impact the economics of all mobile carriers. It is only a matter of time. This will have major ramifications on who builds, and how much 5G is built. If the traditional builders only receive 25% or less of the economic pie – how will they afford to build on behalf of the remaining 75%?

A much needed remedy

This is not like a "global health crisis" where the world can mobilise to stop it from happening in its tracks. This affliction can't be quarantined. The only antidote is to fix the business model and fix it fast. Let's start with the 4G assets (and in some countries you need to read that as "3G") and build a business that can innovate with new revenue models, at low cost, with fast lead times and high speed service velocity. It is micro-services to micro-segments profitably.

The increasingly successful development of "sponsored data" revenue packages built around video content is clear evidence of what can and needs to be done now - if you want to be around to witness 5G. We have been developing and delivering new capabilities in our core platform to introduce new value-added sponsored data services that speed the "Virtuous Cycle". The timeframe from market introduction to ROI – in every case - is less than 14 months.

Hard talk

Now, back to those candid customer conversations and how it gives me hope that it can be done. Many of them opened up the conversation with the show theme - "so what are you doing for 5G?". My response back was "do you expect to be here for 5G?". You can imagine this can create a bit of a stir. Some - at least the polite ones - openly frowned when asked. Most however recovered and leaned in with a question back to me: "why do you ask?".

This gave me the opening to get into the business fundamentals of 5G. Who pays if you can't hit the ROI for 4G and in the end have less money at your disposal? Speeds and feeds doesn't solve for the problem of dwindling percentage of Dollars and Euros.

I was energised by the ensuing unfiltered and enthusiastic engagement we had with customers once we were level set. Everyone was eager to listen, learn, collaborate and innovate. We took them through some recent successes and the exciting innovation in the realm of monetising the network. One example is how to create a viable and winning program a la the Binge On success at T-Mobile.

Fortune favours the brave

I raise my glass to Binge On. We should all raise our hats to the fact that this single event is causing operators worldwide to question "sacred cow" beliefs that have been held for many years. Kudos to John Legere and his team. Our industry is changing fundamentally. As VR provokes yet another spike in video usage – as it will – we need to not only change our business models – but change our very idea of what a business model might look like.

Suffice to say the ensuing conversations with our customers were intriguing – and I trust illuminating! I see hope and opportunity for us to course correct and indeed generate the revenue to fund a 5G buildout. The time to act is now or the VR network will be built and run by someone else. It is time to get real.

* By John Giere, CEO and President, Openwave Mobility.