5 Stocks Pointing to the Right Place and the Right Time

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Being at the right place and at the right time has a very straightforward message to it. As much as I appreciate the meaning, I tend to dislike the inherent overly-simplistic implication of "luck," something that I don't believe exists.

But I will concede that in the world of investing, being at the right place at the right time is often the difference between a market beating portfolio and one that simply lags behind.

For years the right place has been in technology and that is not likely to change. It has been International Business Machines (IBM) and Microsoft (MSFT) at the start of the PC boom and Yahoo (YHOO) and AOL (AOL) when the Internet emerged.

Today, the dominant powers are Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOG) and Amazon (AMZN). While they are certainly excellent investment plays in their own right, it is what has brought them their popularity that can inspire growth in another sector -- telecoms.

The growing popularity of smartphones and mobile devices has shown no signs of slowing down. In fact, a recent study by networking giant Cisco (CSCO) suggests that now is precisely the right time to buy companies including AT&T (T) and Verizon (VZ) as their data networks will soon be in higher demand.

The fact that global mobile data grew by 133% during 2011 -- the fourth year that traffic more than doubled -- means that the use of smartphones and mobile devices has not yet approached its peak.

What's more, the study reveals these devices will exceed 50% of mobile data traffic in 2014 as well as the likelihood that the average mobile connection speed will surpass 1 Mbps during that span. It seems the evidence is pretty concrete. It says that now is the time to consider not only wireless carriers such as AT&T and Verizon, but also networking companies such as Cisco.

There will be a demand for data, and those with the backbones and existing infrastructure will control the roads. As great and as ubiquitous as smartphones are today, significant challenges are likely right around the corner, not only for the device makers such as Apple, Google and Microsoft but for the carriers that provide the networks to support communication.

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