What I Discovered in America’s Heartland…

It was a perfect fall day in Des Moines, Iowa…

I was standing in the Pappajohn Sculpture Park. I was looking for something.

I couldn’t see it, but I knew it was nearby…

To an onlooker, it may have appeared that I was aimlessly walking around the park. But in fact, I was investigating the No. 1 technology investment of the decade.

Finally, I found my target. I looked down at the smartphone in my hand. That’s when I knew.

I had made a major miscalculation…

My American Heartland Tour

First off, let me wish every reader of The Bleeding Edge a happy Thanksgiving on behalf of myself and the entire team here at Brownstone Research.

If you’re like me, the holidays might have snuck up on you. This year has been one for the books: a global pandemic, a presidential election, and a market crash in the spring followed by a record-breaking market recovery.

There’s been so much going on that I literally forgot to order my turkey. Ever since I returned to the U.S. from Japan, I make it a point to order a fresh, heritage-breed turkey like a Spanish Black or a Bourbon Red. It’s remarkable how much better they taste than the average store-bought frozen turkeys. 

But I was the turkey this year. By the time I remembered to get my order in, they were all sold out. Maybe I’ll find one in time for Christmas…

I hope you all fared better than I did.

I’m thankful to have such a dedicated and engaged group of subscribers. Every day, our inbox is flooded with thoughtful questions and feedback on the world of high technology. I love to see that.

I’m also thankful for the incredible performance we’re seeing in our model portfolios. We’re seeing triple-digit and strong double-digit winners virtually across the board in The Near Future Report and Exponential Tech Investor. And in Early Stage Trader, we’ve closed positions for 432% and 87% gains.

And how much is the S&P 500 up this year? Just about 10%.

During one of the most volatile markets in recent history, the performance of my model portfolios has been an incredible feat. It was powered by an incredible amount of hard work, and I’m thankful my paid subscribers and Brownstone Unlimited members have been able to take part.

In lieu of our usual edition of The Bleeding Edge, I thought I’d do something a bit different today. I want to share some of the insights I gleaned during a recent cross-country trip. I called it my “American Heartland Tour.”

I was investigating the No. 1 technology investment of this decade. And as I mentioned above, what I discovered shocked me…

My “Boots on the Ground” Research

Over the last few months, I’ve traveled to almost 20 cities around the U.S. There is nothing enjoyable about traveling during this fear- and panic-driven pandemic.

But some research can’t be done sitting behind a desk. So, to get the real story on the top tech investment of this decade, I hit the road.

In Pappajohn Sculpture Park, I wasn’t there to enjoy the artwork. I was investigating the rollout of America’s fifth-generation (5G) wireless networks.

As I looked down at my phone, I was receiving nearly instantaneous 5G wireless internet speeds of 1.5 gigabits per second (Gbps).

That’s fast enough to download a full-length high-definition (HD) movie in about two seconds. It’s also 150 times faster than the average speeds of my own hometown’s 4G wireless network.

Longtime readers will need no reminding. But new readers need to understand precisely what 5G is and why it will be one of the most profitable investing trends of the next decade.

Today, the average download speeds of 4G are about 33 megabits per second (Mbps). But most users are lucky if they can get 10 or 15 Mbps. Now compare that to the 5G speeds I experienced.

The 1.5 Gbps 5G speeds I saw in Des Moines are 100 times faster than what most users experience. Not 100% faster, but 100 times faster.

With 5G, online voice and video calls will be crystal clear – and without lag, jitter, or delay. Slow-loading web pages and dropped calls will be a thing of the past.

And with the increased network speeds, some previously “sci-fi” technology becomes very real.

Fleets of self-driving semitrucks will roll down the highway, connected in real time to an experienced driver who can take over at a moment’s notice.

Doctors will have the ability to operate on patients thousands of miles away who might be in remote locations without any fixed internet infrastructure.

Robotic surgery equipment can be connected to a lightning-fast 5G network. And one day, we might “holo-commute” to work. Thanks to the speeds of 5G, a holographic projection could stand in for you at your next meeting.

5G isn’t just evolutionary. It’s revolutionary.

But I’m sure I can guess what some may be thinking: “Sure, 5G sounds great. It’s probably live in New York; Washington, D.C.; and San Francisco, but when will it reach my hometown?”

The answer might surprise you. 5G networks are up and running in American cities from coast to coast. Don’t just take my word for it. Take a look at the video below.

Make no mistake. 5G isn’t years away. It’s live right now in cities we might not expect. And the rollout will only pick up speed from here.

But I also learned something else important during my trip. As I mentioned above, I had made a major miscalculation in my original 5G research.

I Underestimated This Opportunity

The economic impact of the 4G network build-out was nothing to sneeze at…

• $50 billion invested by U.S. wireless carriers from 2012 to 2016

• 600,000–700,000 jobs created

• $100–150 billion in GDP growth

And that’s just in the U.S. – the significance of 4G networks around the world has been even greater.

5G is different, however. It’s more expensive to build out, more complicated, and far more powerful – capable of delivering download speeds 100 times faster than 4G.

That’s because 5G uses what’s called “small cell architecture,” which requires far more cell phone tower locations. During my initial research on 5G in early 2017, I stated that the United States would likely need close to one million 5G towers to build a functional network.

But here’s what I discovered during my 5G heartland tour: I dramatically underestimated that number.

I now estimate that the infrastructure for fifth-generation networks – and the subsequent investment opportunity – will be five times larger than I originally projected.

For 4G, wireless operators invested around $50 billion. For 5G? That figure will be several hundred billion dollars. GDP growth thanks to 5G will also be several hundred billion dollars.

The right technology investments associated with 5G will be some of the best performing stocks over the next 10 years.

It’s not often that I do this. But I feel I have to. Any serious technology investor looking to exponentially grow their wealth over the next decade needs to get exposure to this trend. And I mean now. Right now.

For those of us who have been waiting to invest in the 5G trend, time is running out.

A few years from now, 5G networks will be an everyday part of our lives. We’ll wonder how we ever got along without this technology. We’ll get to the point where using a 4G network will feel like using an old dial-up modem for internet access. And some of the best 5G stocks will have soared hundreds – perhaps thousands – of percent.

If any subscribers would like to learn the name of my No. 1 5G small-cap stock – which I project could easily rise 10x from here – then I encourage you to go right here to find out all the details.

Regards,

Jeff Brown
Editor, The Bleeding Edge

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