cial 5G services launched during 2018, it will still be the main area of focus for the majority of communication providers. Tests and trials will be completed and compared, new service possibilities discussed and everyone will make sure they are as ready as they can be for the imminent move towards a live 5G service environment.
22. The great Edge vs. Core battle.
I
t is often said that all good things come in threes and according to Chinese astrology, 2018 is not only the year of the dog but also happens to be a year when the number three is thought to be lucky. We decided therefore, that we’d share a selection of our ‘top-three’ predictions and trends for the months ahead. What are the major things that will shape the industry? Which traffic and technology trends will dominate, how can carriers improve customer focus? And who will be the unsung heroes of the industry?
TOP 3 OVERALL GLOBAL CARRIER INDUSTRY TRENDS
1. 1 Unrelenting traffic growth. It is no revelation that traffic has continued to grow but this has been mirrored by a concomitant fall in market prices. In 2018, traffic volumes will continue to grow significantly and in order to stay relevant, Carriers will need to continually optimize their production platform to handle this growth in the most cost-effective way (without compromising service quality). With a large network, this brings with it some major technical challenges
2. Small is Beautiful. The need for 2 smaller and cheaper gear for local
connections within data centers or into datacenters in close proximity has now caught on within the Wide Area Network domain. This gives backbone networks a real opportunity to absorb greater traffic volumes at a lower cost per Mb/s. The trick moving forward though, will be to seamlessly integrate new equipment and technology with legacy hardware which is already deployed and running in the network today.
3. The ‘softwareization’ of every3
thing. Whilst not really a new trend, 2017 was definitely the year it really started to take off and we saw the beginnings of some real-world solutions and use cases that actually brought tangible operational benefits for backbone providers. In 2018, we can expect to see a further uptake of SDN adoption in backbone networks as we move towards an environment where it becomes a common component of core network infrastructure.
TOP 3 TECHNOLOGY AND TRAFFIC TRENDS 2018
1. 1 5G will undoubtedly be one of the main themes of 2018. Whilst we won’t see that many commer-
An increasing amount of traffic will certainly be managed at the edge of the network and much of it will of course stay there. At the same time, the network core will assume even greater importance if the full potential of edge computing is to be realized. It is really only when vast amounts of data at the edge are combined with the formidable data crunching resources in a well-placed core data center that the full potential is realized. There will be an ongoing need for new datacenters both in centralized core locations and more remotely at the edge. Combined with an ever-increasing need for readily available green energy and natural cooling, the network will be the key to a sustainable and efficient future.
3. Rapid IoT adoption. During the 3
year, we will really see a lot more devices connected and even more data collected and analyzed. There will still be a debate around what technology should be used to collect the data (SIM card based or not) but the widely held belief is that both will have a natural place within the IoT ecosystem.
TOP 3 PRIORITIES FOR INCREASED CARRIER CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
1. 1 Self-service. While self-service for customers is not a new thing it has not yet really been fully implemented and adopted in the Carri-
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