Xelerated Xpress

The Healthy Signs of Telecoms Going Mainstream

Another day here at Mobile World Congress, and I have noticed a strong shift in telecommunications  - the hype really is gone in the industry! We are going the same route as power generation and power supply did at the end of the ’90s, and now nobody in the general public knows what is going on in that industry.  That very same thing is now happening to telecoms.  While there is still a lot of good business to be made, there is less hype…  meaning less high-risk business endeavors, but more thought-through and sound business projects will prosper.  It is a healthy sign.

This year, the energy and activity level at Mobile World Congress has been far better compared to the two previous years’ events. A lot of ideas about sharing networks were shown both by service providers and vendors.  Huawei showcased the largest and widest portfolio and made a big impact with their lifetime cost approach. And NEC’s focus on cloud computing was impressive, expanding its concept to all types of customers/users and putting the operators in the central role.

Another thing that struck me about this year’s show is that there are not many Asian people in attendance. In particular, I did not find many of my Chinese industry colleagues.  This week was the Chinese New Year with the spring festival, which is comparable to having an event during the United States’ Thanks giving holiday.  Even still, there were several Asian companies participating and showing their goods, however few visitors from the region.

While previous Mobile World Congress events have been clogged with small startups trying to attract larger companies for M&A activities, this time it was far more companies aiming at building and growing on their own. Another very healthy sign.

by Anders Ericsson on Feb. 18th, 2010

| Comment

Trends at MWC – Cloud and OPEX

Another day here in Barcelona, and it’s interesting to see which trends are at the forefront at Mobile World Congress. App stores, mobile OS, cloud computing and power consumption are the significant trends this year, and while video on mobile was big last year, it seems to be on a significantly lower “gear” this time around.

Of course, a more dominant subject here at the show is LTE, however it is being talked about in a very broad context. And few are discussing how to become the most efficient bit-pipe provider (which must be the basis for all MNOs).

Another trend is that OPEX seems to be coming back after years of short-term focus on CAPEX.  And lastly, it is interesting to note that the representatives from the Asian markets air a much more positive vision of the future compared with the “old” world.

Stay tuned for more thoughts from the show floor…

by Anders Ericsson on Feb. 17th, 2010

| Comment

Closed or Open? Hot From the Floor at MWC

Mobile World Congress is a big, yet strange place. You have to pay to get access to different providers. But the really important players, you can’t access at all. A sign tells you ‘entry by invitation only’. I wonder how long that business approach will prevail?

Apple and Google are still perceived as the villains in the mobile market and both system vendors and operators seem more interested to fight them than to change with the new conditions. The real infrastructure challenge for the long and medium term – mobile backhaul – doesn’t trigger much interest here. There is a lot of buzz around cloud computing and SLAs, but the necessary connection to mobile backhaul is lacking.

After a quick walk around all booths, I found that the Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) countries bring a fresh new perspective on telecommunications. They will soon have better infrastructure in populated areas compared to any country in the western world. Here is where the foundation for new ideas is being built, and here is where I expect a next wave of companies will emerge to take the lead in telecommunications.

And do I need to tell you that the doors to these companies are wide open for access?

by Anders Ericsson on Feb. 16th, 2010

| Comment

Google Moves Into FTTx

The US needed an additional push to increase the pace of fiber deployments to the residential users. Google’s decision to enter the broadband market shakes the competitive landscape and increases the interest to go fiber all the way down to the end user.

Today’s hotbed for fiber-to-the-home/basement (FTTx) deployments is clearly Japan and China. Already half of the broadband users in Japan are connected on FTTx, with China catching up fast. Europe and North America are lagging behind. But for how long?

Learning from copper-based broadband evolution, the amount of competition is fundamental to the pace of deployment. US end users are probably the ones that should welcome today’s news, regardless if they are based in an area that will be covered by the future Google FTTx service.

by Per Lembre on Feb. 11th, 2010

| Comment

Gloomy Old OAM and Synchronization Turns Hot

When I started in this industry more than a decade ago, I couldn’t care less about OAM and synchronization. Sure, probably important, but I just let the SDH/Sonet guys worry about those things. The future was all about packets, higher bandwidth and great user experience.

Now, we packet guys have started to realize why OAM and synchronization are important areas. Lionel Florit, MEF technical committee member and technical lead at Cisco, captured this in today’s  sessions at the MPLS and Ethernet World Congress in Paris, when comparing a 15 year old Sonet chart on OAM with the IEEE 802.1ag standard chart for Carrier Ethernet. Indeed, very similar.

First conference day was really good. This Upperside event attracts all top system vendors and most speakers are experienced enough to bring some good meat to the discussion.  Stands are congested and the conference sessions well attended. Served with French food and wine, we get most of what is needed for a great industry event.

Interested in more snippets from the show? Please follow  http://twitter.com/perlembre

by Per Lembre on Feb. 11th, 2010

| Comment