By: Chris Piedmonte
Don’t get too excited about 5G wireless networks just yet. The truth is that an initial examination of what 5G networks are promising sounds like a lot more of the same use cases already
available, or quickly becoming available, with 4G/LTE technologies. Add to that the fact that 5G technologies will not be widely available anytime soon and the thrill of 5G quickly
fades. Some say that 5G is going to be revolutionary, while others say that it will be the simple evolution of our existing infrastructure…
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By: Ken Kennedy
It’s hard to avoid seeing animated superheroes these days – it seems as if every channel guide and movie theater is telling stories of a seemingly ordinary person with extraordinary
abilities. Both the ordinary person and their extraordinary alter-ego exist within the same person, and usually, there is a struggle to maintain the balance. It strikes me that it’s not
that different in today’s telecom world. As service providers grapple with transforming their business to better serve the digital consumer, they find themselves managing traditional networks
and systems while rolling out new digital services and networks…
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By: Tim Young
As 2015 draws to a close, some corners of the communications market are getting less crowded as mergers and acquisitions see competitors become subsidiaries. It has been a big year for market
consolidation. According to a report by Mergermarket, a business development firm which focuses on mergers and acquisitions (M&A), merger activity in the technology, media and telecom sector
during Q1-Q3 2015 reached its highest value since 2006, and second highest value since the firm began tracking the industry in 2001…
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By: Leo Zancani
Virtualized network functions are now seeing real deployments, delivering real services and thus graduating into the world of network operators’ mission critical systems. Experience is showing
that – even for these initial use-cases – NFV must not only coexist with the current infrastructure, services and operational activity, but also collaborate with them in some ways, for the
fulfillment and assurance of services. Alongside the inherent questions and challenges posed about the role of OSS in future networks by NFV (and its close sibling technology SDN), this makes the
question of OSS readiness not just about OSS vendor roadmaps, but also about the condition of operational data and processes within CSP “legacy” networks…
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By: Wedge Greene
Parry The room is tight and dark. She has time to catch her breath and determine what to do - now that it has all fallen apart. Rachael never thought it would come to this: a home
invasion where her own appliances turned against her. Luckily Toby, her loyal German Shepard had woken her barking and growling at the cleaning bots moving around her bed. Nothing beats
the vigilant loyalty from 250 thousand years of co-evolution and a steady diet of Scooby snacks. On her release command, his carbon fiber reinforced teeth had done short work of attacking the
articulated vacuum, clearing them a path to the safe room…
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By: Michael Murphy
Introduction In 2014, I suggested that 2015 would be an inflection point due to the start of cloud based deployments and the start of serious 5G activity, which together had the potential to
fundamentally change the telecom industry. So what really happened and what’s up for 2016? Retrospection It’s true that commercial cloud deployments did start in 2015; however, this was typically
for single network functions like new EPC or IMS installations. What’s coming in 2016 and 2017 will be more of the same, but with the result being multi-function cloud networks; and that’s really
where the long sought after agility, OPEX and CAPEX gains will start to come…
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By: Venky Balasubramanian
As we close out 2015 and look ahead, it is becoming clear that telecom voice and SMS Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) are finally hitting their stride. Thanks to the age of
mobile communications and apps, the newest and most advanced cloud-based voice & SMS APIs are taking off and are rapidly reshaping the global communications landscape. When one looks at
the use cases, the “a” in API could just as easily stand for “agility” as for “application". It’s become all about delivering big capabilities fast and with greater flexibility…
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By: Elise Vadnais
During the hour I recently spent at the Apple Store in Minneapolis, waiting for technicians to replace my cracked iPhone screen, I found that I habitually reached for my (non-present) phone
about half dozen times— I laughed and thought “what a tech-dependent, millennial thing of me to do.” It’s true, we millennials are ALWAYS connected. As the “mobile generation,” we are
wirelessly connected to our friends, to our calendars, to our weekend plans, to our next adventure, to our cab ride, to our fantasy football team, etc…
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By: Tim Young
“Today is gone. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.Every day, from here to there, funny things are everywhere.”-Dr. Suess One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue FishI like to think that there
was a time when the first quote that would leap to mind as the end of another year approached was something scholarly and profound. But as a father whose older child just turned two, I spend far
more time reading about the adventures of Sam-I-Am and the four fluffy feathers atop a Fiffer Feffer Feff than I do strolling through the prose of Nabakov or Fitzgerald or Emerson…
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By: Jim Schakenbach
November was a busy month for telecommunications on a number of fronts, especially security, the Internet of Things, and next-generation mobile service, including 4G LTE and, yes, looking ahead
to 5G. Feeling more secure Security has remained in the forefront with several key developments, including the growing use of security as a service among mobile service providers. The proliferation
of smart mobile devices and the increasing variety of uses, especially data access and use by children has sparked the demand, which has now reached ten million subscribers worldwide…
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