By: Jesse Cryderman
Virtualization—replacing single instance, purpose-built hardware systems with distributed software solutions that can run on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) servers—has impacted nearly every
element of the IT landscape. It began with basic storage and backup services, then moved to software, then computing power, and then complete platforms and infrastructure. In telecom, even
operational support systems (OSS) and business support systems (BSS) can be deployed in the cloud, offering unprecedented scalability and agility…
» read this article
By: Scott St. John - Pipeline
Mobile network operators (MNOs) are feeling the crunch. Consumption continues to climb as revenue growth and market penetration are plateauing. But MNOs around the world are finding new
vitality by embracing the concept of mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) and are taking the ability to become mobile virtual network enablers (MVNEs) to new heights. One source from a
major North American Tier-1 wireless provider spoke to Pipeline under the condition of anonymity and stated, “Increasing commoditization of cellular service necessitates increased market
segmentation and penetration to preserve margins…
» read this article
By: Jesse Cryderman
Do you remember what life was like before smartphones? It shouldn’t be too difficult-- the culture-changing cellular smartphone is a mere eight years old. The history of wireless
telecommunications, on the other hand, is much older. How old? Turn the page back to 1880. That’s when Alexander Graham Bell tested and patented the photophone, a wireless communications device
that transmitted and received voice and sound on beams of light. Bell believed this invention was his crowning achievement, “greater than the telephone…
» read this article
By: Andrew Silberstein
It is no surprise that 4G LTE technology has quickly become the gold standard of cellular connectivity for both operators and consumers, including those who do not yet have access to the
technology required. First, LTE networks are, on average, 10 times faster than their 3G counterparts and data-hungry mobile device users have quickly embraced LTE’s speed. According to a
recent GSMA Intelligence report, LTE connections are growing exponentially and likely will exceed the 1 billion mark by 2017…
» read this article
By: Rajeev Tankha
By now, most are very familiar with the expanding mobile landscape. Technology innovation – from tablets and smartphones to gaming apps and 4G networks – have changed how mobile
subscribers consume information, work, and communicate. This shift in technology and consumer behavior has led to a sharp increase in mobile data traffic and pushed mobile and broadband
network capacity to the limit. Communications service providers (CSPs) must now not only deliver voice and SMS services, but orchestrate the delivery of an intricate and dynamic blend of
videos, photos, blogs, social media, email, IM, online games, and video/audio conferencing…
» read this article
By: Scott St. John - Pipeline
B/OSS is dead. There, I said it.What we once knew, and what some of us slightly-disturbed industry professionals who were married to the concept loved, is no more. It is deceased. Kaput. Fini.
There was a time when OSS and BSS systems worked well too. A time when these systems helped communications service providers (CSPs) rise above complex, disparate network management systems and
swivel-chair provisioning. They saved them from never-ending inventory spreadsheets, relentless trouble shooting, and costly truck-rolls…
» read this article
By: Nancee Ruzicka
In a matter of only two decades, mobile network operators have evolved from delivering low bandwidth voice access services to broadband IP data services that are available over-the-air to
anyone with the right device. Ads are everywhere for 4G/LTE and broadband mobile data, but GSMA reports that nearly 75 percent of global wireless connections in 2012 were made using 2G
networks. While that number remains steady over the next five years, growth continues in the number of 3G connections, estimated to top out at roughly 4…
» read this article
By: Chris Checco, Charlie Thomas
This year Razorsight is taking innovation to a new level with the launch of the world’s first real time predictive analytics solution for Communications, Media and Entertainment
companies. Just bring your smartphone and launch your browser and you’re ready to use Razorsight’s unique, cloud based predictive insights platform. Razorsight recently launched real time
analytics. Can we start by defining that term? What’s unique about Razorsight’s real time analytics? Relative to “real time analytics,” operators presently utilize one component of the solution –
real-time business rules…
» read this article
By: Jesse Cryderman
Mobile communications has changed the world nearly as much as the Internet itself. There is no underestimating its impact. In “Mobile 4th Wave: Evolution of the Next Trillion Dollars,”
researcher and analyst Chetan Sharma writes, “Mobile is the most critical tool to enhance productivity and drive human ingenuity and technological growth.” Few would dispute this claim.Every
industry has been impacted by mobile. Facebook, for example, made a whopping zero dollars from mobile ad revenue in at the start of 2012…
» read this article
By: Becky Bracken
Don't take this the wrong way, but mobile service providers have absolutely zero game when it comes to the art of customer seduction. Sure, we all go through the motions, but where's the
spark between customer and brand like they have over there at Apple? Apple's customers appreciate it and can't wait to show it off to all their friends. Consider how people were willing to
learn an entirely new language in order to buy a cup of Starbucks coffee. How can a grande size anything be smaller than a venti? Whatever, that's not really the point…
» read this article
By: Nery Strasman
It’s the first day of 2014, a work day here in Israel. I used Waze to navigate my way around traffic and get to the office. Waiting for the elevator, I watched the highlights of Maccabi Tel
Aviv’s recent two-point basketball victory. While walking through the office, I called my wife to check on our dinner plans for this evening. She reminded me that I had to submit some funds for our
son’s school trip, which I took care of on the spot with a banking app. As you’ve probably surmised, I did all of these things on my smartphone…
» read this article
By: Becky Bracken
The pain that the rise in video traffic has caused network operators and service providers over the past handful of years has now turned the corner to offer, instead, a hearty opportunity to
generate revenues and build customer loyalty. Video is driving an exponential increase in traffic on both fixed and mobile networks. In fact, according to Sandvine, Netflix and YouTube account for
a full 50 percent of downstream traffic on fixed networks in North America and is on the march to catch up around the rest of the world…
» read this article
By: Patrick Ostiguy
As low-power, short-range small cells emerge as the technology of choice for improving mobile network coverage and capacity, operators are being driven to ensure subscribers have an enhanced
quality of experience utilizing small cells or access points (APs) to fill the gaps and Not-spots with traditional macro network. Backhaul network performance is a significant contributing factor
to the end-user experience. But with the potential introduction of thousands of new small cells in the network, conventional methods of assuring mobile backhaul performance will not be economically
feasible…
» read this article
By: Becky Bracken
Commerce has gone undeniably mobile. You use your smartphone to check prices, reviews and even make purchases online. Mobile network operators are armpit deep in a number of initiatives
designed to do away with money, PIN numbers and credit card security codes altogether and turn the smartphone itself into a wallet. The idea is fantastic. The technology to make it happen? So far,
not so much. The idea of mobile money certainly isn't anything new or novel. In developing, unbanked economies, mobile money is a way to buy everyday necessities…
» read this article
By: Tim Young
…
» read this article
By: Jesse Cryderman
AT&T bets big on connected car AT&T surged ahead in the connected car market with two major initiatives announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in early January: AT&T Drive, the
company's connected car platform, and AT&T Drive Studio, a dedicated facility for connected car research and development. Support system partners include Amdocs (billing), Ericsson (app
delivery), and Jasper Wireless (cloud-based M2M platform). Automakers Tesla, Chevrolet, and Audi were announced as manufacturing partners…
» read this article
…
» read this article
…
» read this article