Letter from the Editor
Remember plain old telephone services (POTS)? Good ol’ fashioned copper lines. There wasn’t much to it. Copper in, copper out, and a switch (or switchboard) in the middle and simple charging. All you really needed was a few good lads to put up poles and hang it. Those were the days. Today, not so much. Communication services today are comprised of a mind-numbing array of fixed and wireless technologies.
Sure, copper is still in the mix, but due to the shift to voice-over-IP (VoIP), and other demands such as data services and mobile backhaul, so is fiber. And when you (pardon the pun) dig into fiber, it’s comprised of a whole host of optical network considerations like passive optical, light fiber, dark fiber, and various iterations and applications of each. And wireless? Don’t get me started. What is or isn’t 4G, 5G, and now we’re talking about 6G? I also neglected to mention Wi-Fi 6, or 7 – and satellite. And the explosion of connected devices, all the stuff that runs on top of it, or how the heck we’re supposed to secure it all, do it all sustainably and responsibly.
It should be no real wonder why artificial intelligence (AI) is making such a significant splash. What human mind can keep up with all of this, in real-time, to make the critical decisions to – say – protect critical communications and infrastructure? But cracking the lid on AI’s Pandora’s Box is a whole other animal. The differences between AI (decisioning) and Generative AI (content generation) and applications and use cases for each is a discussion probably best saved for another day.
But these trends are shaping our globally connected society and the world we live in. One simply can’t turn a blind eye to them, without turning a blind eye onto the world itself. Technical advancements are making all this possible, and now it’s making it automated. But we must start with an understanding of how all of these things can work together and be combined to unlock possibilities we haven’t even thought of yet. Which makes this edition of Pipeline so important.
In this issue of Pipeline, we explore the top trends shaping the industry. We start with a showcase of innovation from the culmination of the 2023 Pipeline Innovation Awards. Red Hat shares its perspective on the Top 5 technology trends that have and are changing the world. Dr. Marty Trevino demonstrates how the Human-AI interface can be leveraged, and how it’s being used by the US military for the fusion of AI, humans, and technology. Satcoms Innovation Group explores the evolving role of satellite connectivity in a new communications landscape. CerebrumX concludes its three-part series by uncovering connected-car opportunities in the connected-car ecosystem. Oracle shows us how 5G, AI, and IoT are being used by first responders for critical communications. The Mobile Ecosystem Forum exposes streaming and advertising opportunities for telcos. Dell’Oro Group looks at trends in enterprise wireless LANs such as Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 7, and AIOps. Metro Edge Development Partners discusses vertical urban data center design to support AI, sustainability, and social impact trends. Netformx talks about CTEM for continuous cybersecurity and threat management. All this, plus the latest enterprise and telecom technology news, and more.
We hope you enjoy this and every issue of Pipeline,
Scott St. John
Managing Editor
Pipeline
