By Marc Lippe, Director, Worldwide Field and Corporate Marketing, Infovista
In this month's roundup of industry news, issues and updates, we feature trends such as Wi-Fi and small cell solutions, software-defined networking (SDN) deployments and satellite cellular backhaul. Enjoy, as we recap some hot discussions in the telco market and media from July.
Telecoms.com: LTE and Beyond: CTOs Expect 5G Launch and Content Partnerships in Near Future — July 1st
Four CTOs from top-tier mobile operators were asked whether they will terminate their 2G networks in favor of launching 5G networks within the next five years. By and large, the answer was, “No.” Similarly, the group of CTOs agreed that partnering with over-the-top (OTT) providers will be crucial to their organizations' futures, particularly in relation to the growth of machine-to-machine (M2M) activity. Finally, when asked about LTE-Advanced, the group was divided regarding whether this next-generation technology will provide a boost in user experience.
Light Reading: SDN Pioneers Limit Risk to Maximize Payoff — July 10th
Many communications service providers (CSPs) are incorporating SDN and network function virtualization (NFV) capabilities into their portfolios in order to more easily manage their networks. However, because CSPs are limiting those deployments to areas that will generate the most profit, it's unlikely that the optical network will see SDN until 2016, at the earliest. Rather, CSPs are deploying SDN in contained domains like data centers, content delivery networks and cloud services, where SDN is relatively easy to deploy, and CSPs can generate new services more quickly.
FierceWireless: Report: Small Cells Market Returning to Growth in 2013 — July 12th
After a lull in 2011 and 2012, the small cell market is predicted to reach 3.8 million shipments in 2013 and 5.7 million shipments in 2014. 3G small cells make up the majority of the predicted shipments, but Wi-Fi is also emerging as a carrier-grade small cell solution to support the decongestion of mobile markets.
ITWeb South Africa: LTE Backhaul Considerations — July 24th
For a seamless transition into LTE, mobile operators in Africa must match expertise with in-depth planning and reliable technology. Africa is preparing for a surge of LTE roll-outs next year, but before that happens, many factors must be considered. For one, African countries must have qualified personnel with strong IP skills to manage these network deployments. Additionally, operators need adequate preparation to speed up the time-to-market for LTE offerings. Lastly, products released by operators and backhaul providers must be tested and must perform as expected.
