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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
PR often follows a very predictable cycle. When you launch a new technology, the novelty (which is what “news” means) drives a wave of interest, hype, and exaggeration. Whatever this new thing is, it becomes the singlehanded savior of western culture, perhaps life as we know it. Eventually all the positive story lines run out,…
One of the ongoing themes in both SDN and NFV is that operators need these technologies to compete with the OTT players. We also hear that operators need a cultural transformation to do that, or that they need to form subsidiaries or buy somebody. We could almost claim to have a cottage industry here, people…
There are, as you’re all aware at this point, a lot of open questions in the SDN and NFV world. Recently I covered one of them, the operations impact of both technologies. While that’s undoubtedly the most significant open issue, it’s not the only one. Another is the broad question of how networks and network…