Giving telecom networks a computing edge

Operators have long sought to provide their users with a consistent quality of service. For cellular it is why ubiquitous cellular coverage is important, for example.

But a subtler approach is taking hold as networks evolve whereby what a user does will change depending on their location. And what will enable this is edge computing.

 Source: Senza-Fili Consulting

“This is an entirely new concept,” says Monica Paolini, president and founder at Senza-Fili Consulting. “It is a way to think about service which is going to have a profound impact.”

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ETSI embraces AI to address rising network complexity

The growing complexity of networks is forcing telecom operators and systems vendors to turn to machine intelligence for help. It has led the European Telecommunications Standards Institute, ETSI, to set up an industry specification group to define how artificial intelligence (AI) can be applied to networking.

 “With the advent of network functions virtualisation and software-defined networking, we can see the eventuality that network management is going to get very much more complicated,” says Ray Forbes, convenor of the ETSI Industry Specification Group, Experimental Network Intelligence (ISG-ENI).

Source: ETSI

The AI will not just help with network management, he says, but also with the introduction of services and the more efficient use of network resources.

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60-second interview with Michael Howard

Infonetics Research has interviewed global service providers regarding their plans for software-defined networking (SDN) and network functions virtualisation (NFV). Gazettabyte asked Michael Howard, co-founder and principal analyst, carrier networks, about Infonetics' findings.

"Data centres are simple when compared to carrier networks"

Michael Howard, Infonetics Research

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Telcos eye servers & software to meet networking needs

• The Network Functions Virtualisation (NFV) initiative aims to use common servers for networking functions
• The initiative promises to be industry disruptive

"The sheer massive [server] volumes is generating an innovation dynamic that is far beyond what we would expect to see in networking"

Don Clarke, NFV

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