Everyone who’s followed NFV knows that there is a relationship between NFV and the cloud. Logically there would have to be, because public cloud services host applications on a per-tenant basis with tenant isolation for security and performance stability. That’s what network features for individual customers need, so it would be totally illogical to assume…
What Google’s MVNO Plans Could Mean for Operators
A number of independent rumor sources say that Google is finally going to make the MVNO move, striking reseller deals with Sprint and T-Mobile to become a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO). This is what I thought Amazon should have done with its Fire phone, and what I still think would be a possible move…
The Cloud: Just Sayin’…
IBM reported its numbers which, in terms of revenue and guidance at least, were not happy. I’ve talked about the opportunities IBM still has in some prior blogs, and speculated on some of the marketing factors and other decisions that may have led them to where they are. What I’d like to focus on today…
The NGN Bridge: Drivers, Trends, and Carpentry
You’ve probably noticed by now my enthusiasm for the metro space. I think that enthusiasm is vindicated by the recent Street speculation on Verizon’s next-gen metro program, which the Street analysts say will go primarily to Ciena with a nod toward Cisco. The thing is, there are other fundamental numbers in play that have been…
Tech Future: IBM’s in Trouble and Maybe You Are Too
It’s always interesting to listen to or read about what’s happening in the tech market. You get the impression that the industry is a vast river that’s dragging everyone to a common destination. We have systemic this and technology-trend that and it’s all pretty much relentless. There are obviously systemic trends, and I’ve certainly talked…
More on the Savings or Benefits of NFV
My blog recently on NFV performance has generated a long thread of comments (for which I thank everyone who’s participated), and from the thread I see a point emerging that’s really important to NFV. The point is one I’ll call scope of benefits. Operators build networks to sell services from. If you presume that the…
Do Vendors Now Risk Running Out of NFV Opportunities?
It’s about time for somebody to ask the question “Is NFV going mainstream?” so I may as well ask it here, then try to answer it. To be sure, NFV deployment is microscopic at this stage but NFV interest is high and growing. It’s obviously possible that this is a classic hype wave (remember the…
Golden Globes, Nielsen, Net Neutrality, OTT Video…and NGN
We’re not there yet, not in the age of online video where TV networks are dinosaurs and Netflix reigns supreme. Even though (not surprisingy) Netflix’s CEO thinks that TV as we know it will be extinct in five years or so. But we are clearly in a period of change, driven by a bunch of…
A New Policy Managed Model for SDN (and NFV?)
One of the challenges that packet networks faced from the first is the question of “services”. Unlike TDM which dedicates resources to services, packet networks multiplex traffic and thus rely more on what could be called “statistical guarantees” or “grade of service” than on specific SLAs. Today, it’s fair to say that there are two…
What Could the Net Neutrality Proposals do to SDN and NFV?
With all the ink net neutrality is getting, I feel like I just have to say something about it. Regulatory policy, after all, is perhaps the largest single factor in setting business policies for network operators and so one of the largest factors in setting capex policies too. Since I’ve blogged before on the broad…