I don’t think there’s any disagreement that network devices need to be “smart”, meaning that their functionality is created through the use of easily modified software rather than rigid, hard-wired, logic. There is a growing question as to just how “smartness” is best achieved. Some of the debate has been created by new technology options,…
The Net Neutrality issue has raised its head again, as reported in this Light Reading piece. This time, EU telecoms are pushing back against the big US-based web companies (not named, but the identities are obvious), who they say are exploiting telco investments in access infrastructure to reach their users and earn significant revenues and…
Those who read my blog know I follow Wall Street’s views carefully, so you’re not likely surprised that I want to reflect on a recent Street-centric analysis of Cisco, run on Seeking Alpha. The title, “Cisco Systems: More of the Same” sets the tone for the piece, and what we need to reflect on is…
The news that Ericsson was buying Vonage took a lot of people by surprise, me included. The general view of media and analysts was negative, and many people took this as a signal that Ericsson was planning to get into the VoIP service business, something Vonage started with and is still known for. I think…
The problem with the notion that competition could spur broadband deployment to the under-served, even with the (modest) stimulus of the infrastructure bill just signed, is that broadband just isn’t all that profitable. The majority of the initiatives we’re seeing are targeting not so much “under-served areas” as “under-served micro-areas”. Even in rural areas, there…
It probably seems to be a silly question, but what is a network, these days? What is a cloud, a service? We’re seeing a series of technology shifts and business changes that are blurring traditional boundaries. At the same time, we seem to be unwilling to look for a new playbook to describe what’s happened,…
OK, there’s no lack of (or loss of) interest in multi-access edge computing (MEC), but there’s also no lack of fuzziness over the right way to think about it. A recent Light Reading article, the first of four promised pieces on the cable industry’s view of MEC, offers some insights on the important question of…
If edge computing is different from cloud computing, then it would seem likely that there are technical elements that would have different emphasis in those two spaces. One such element is fundamental to both; hosting. The differences, and the reasons for those differences, arise out of the mission of edge versus the mission of cloud….
Could Kyndryl, IBM’s infrastructure services unit spun off as a separate company, be a pathway for IBM to resolve its challenges? I blogged recently about IBM’s quarter and its challenging choice for a cloud strategy. Kyndryl seems to be taking on a broader role; their NYSE listing speech said “We design, build, manage and modernize…
Cisco released a report on network-as-a-service (NaaS) that’s eye-opening in some ways and utterly predictable in others. On the one hand, it’s easy to see what users are hoping NaaS will do for them, and the range of their hopes is broader than I’d thought. On the other hand, the report shows a remarkable consistency…