With the adoption of wireless broadband technologies, wireless content has grown significantly over the past few years. Carriers nurtured this nascent ecosystem and added the necessary stability to bring new offers to market. They invested in their networks and provided bandwidth for content transport. New players then entered this ecosystem and higher-bandwidth content grew as applications got more complex.

Now carriers are beginning to invest in 4G networks, which will have substantially higher bandwidth and will bring bandwidth dimensions of the online experience to the wireless Internet. As a result, the richness of content on wireless screens will grow, and the mobile Internet will become tightly integrated with the existing Internet as we know it. Consistent customer experiences across the online world and the mobile Internet are now on the horizon.

With the adoption of higher-bandwidth services, players in the ecosystem will be impacted and reshaped. It is important for these players-which includes the content providers, wireless carriers, backhaul providers, Internet players and device manufacturers-to understand this reshaping and how they can get value from it.

Consider how this will affect video, for example. Higher-bandwidth availability will allow more video, so customers can watch high-quality images on their mobile phones, which could provide an opportunity for content providers to sell additional video. An increase in opportunity size might increase the stakes for market section, which would call for an increase in the amount of content available through this channel. Wireless carriers could gain from increased data subscription revenue as well as content subscription revenue. They could then make the faster 4G service available to subscribers in several markets.

This also could be an opportunity for backhaul players that transport video from one location to another. With increases in online video, these players could develop integrated solutions that serve both the existing online space as well as the mobile Internet. The players then could make some moves to augment the existing backhaul with new technologies and provide a one-stop-shop solution.

Internet players also could see a shift and influx of video from the wireless Internet. While the overall market size will change, it is unlikely these players will take a chance. This could be a driver for Internet players to move into the mobile space. The proliferation of online video and the alliances and deals that have occurred in this area have allowed several players to prepare to seize this opportunity, so aggressive moves from them into the wireless Internet space are expected.

For the device manufacturers, the natural thing to do would be to create higher-quality devices that facilitate these services. They would need to give customers devices with higher processing power, higher memory, better screen resolution, better features and functionality.

Overall, one thing is certain: 4G will change the game in a fundamental way and redefine the landscape. Substantial amounts of value will be on the table as these changes happen. New services and business models will emerge. The end customer will have more choice and a better user experience. While the carriers have made the initial investment in providing the high-speed transport, several other pieces must come together to increase the value of the market. Many of these pieces will start to come together in the months ahead.

Rahul Ratan is a mobile industry analyst and occasional contributor to Telephony and Wireless Review.