Ericsson notes NFV, cloud conversations beginning, biz models set for fundamental change
ATLANTA – The virtualization revolution that is hitting the mobile industry’s largest operators is not lost on smaller players, who will need to keep pace with technology evolutions in order to remain competitive in the minds of consumers as well as to enable vitally important roaming services with larger rivals.
While virtualization is probably not an immediate concern for most of the carriers attending this week’s Competitive Carriers Association Global Expo, equipment vendor Ericsson noted it was on their road maps.
“We have begun to have some very early discussions with the tier-two and tier-three operators in terms of virtualization, but for the most part the movement is being led by the larger operators at this time,” said Manish Jindal, VP and CTO for broadband and media accounts at Ericsson.
Just like larger operators, Jindal said the move towards virtualization should allow smaller operators to become more agile in rolling out and scaling services, which is becoming more important in the face of increased competitive pressure from over-the-top content providers, and market opportunities in the enterprise and machine-to-machine space. Ericsson is currently working with a number of operators on their virtualization plans, including being one of the initial partners in AT&T’s Domain 2.0 program.
In making the move towards virtualization through NFV, SDN and cloud, Jindal said rural operators typically have three options: deploying their own virtualization platform; partnering with a carrier to host that platform; or work with a vendor partners – like Ericsson – to host that platform.
Jindal explained that the first option is probably the one most rural operators would like to choose as they are used to controlling their network, but the financial considerations could make that option difficult to follow. The second option could prove to be more fiscally responsible and with a number or larger tier-two operators moving to deploy cloud-based platforms, could be the option that sees the most traction.
The third option is a bit more complicated in that while Ericsson is more than capable to provide a hosted platform, rural carriers are unlikely to want to give up that level of control. Because of that, Jindal said Ericsson is not pressing that option with rural carriers as a first or second option. But, should enough customers look towards that choice, Ericsson said it was willing to move in that direction.
“We don’t solicit that option, but customers are aware that is an option and have started talking to us about possible hosting,” Jindal said. “If we have 10 carriers on board, it might make sense for all involved. We have the ability to do that, but it’s just a matter if or when they are ready to move in that direction.”
Regardless of deployment plans, Jindal said rural carriers need to make sure they have a strong resource management and orchestration option in place as well in order to handle what could be equipment pieces sourced from different vendors. Jindal also noted the deployment process is being impacted by a mobile operators ownership structure, as those with a wireline component are often more able to show a business case for a move towards virtualized platform than those operators that are mobile only.
However, with new technologies like voice over LTE and a new push towards so-called “5G” networks, virtualized platforms can provide a compelling deployment option regardless of a rural mobile operators network structure.
“These are not going to be rip-and-replace deployments, but instead will follow a cap-and-grow model,” Jindal said. “VoLTE could be that first fiscally responsible step in the process, but it will just be the beginning.”
While the timing on broad virtualization deployments remains up for debate, Jindal added that rural carriers need to at least begin looking at their options in order to stay ahead of what he said will be a monumental change in how those operators do business.
“This is not just a technology or network evolution,” Jindal said. “Virtualization through the cloud and NFV are set to fundamentally change how these rural carriers do business.”
In speaking with some mobile carriers, many realize the coming change and are looking to adjust their workforce accordingly. This includes plans for training that will allow current employees to expand their areas of expertise into more software-defined roles. One carrier CEO noted that the change might be painful for some, but will be necessary as the industry moves towards new operational models.
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