The 5G Tower Party Is Just Getting Started

One of the ironies of the smartphone revolution has been how little the companies that built the 4G networks underpinning it benefited. While having to invest heavily in stronger signals, mobile operators have struggled to charge customers for downloading more data. Despite a recent bounce, stocks such as Verizon Communications in the U.S. and Vodafone VOD -1.39% in Europe have massively underperformed their host stock markets over five years.