The fundamental shift in the wireless industry from technology to applications in the four years since Telecom ’95 is evident in Nortel Networks’ changed theme for its exhibition. In 1995, it was “Nortel-A World of Networks,” which Peter MacLaren explained was designed to address multiple networks. This year in Geneva, Nortel’s theme will be “Nortel Networks-How the World Shares Ideas.” Quite a difference.
“The point being is that we have moved our thinking from the nuts and bolts to what it is those networks deliver,” said MacLaren.
“I think the major difference (in four years) that I see was that in 1995 there was a lot of focus on radio technology choice. And there was a lot of debate in terms of multiple standards that were very much in contention-the CDMA, TDMA and GSM standards. We were spending a fair amount of time considering we were a major player in all three,” he explained.
“We and the industry are much more focused (now) on the applications associated with wireless and that wireless has matured to become a major part of the telecommunications business. Four years ago, the wireless business was seen as predominately a voice business.”
Now, he said, what the industry is talking about is packet data. Data and the Internet.
MacLaren has been surprised by the tremendous pace associated with Internet development. “Four years ago, the Internet to a large extent was a novelty,” he said. “Most companies didn’t have Web pages. Intercompany e-mail was rare. Today, (it’s) the opposite of all of these. Any company worth anything on the stock market has an extensive Web page.”
“I don’t think any of us had predicted four years ago the influence of the Internet.”
Looking ahead, MacLaren predicts the Telecom show will be a much smaller or different event in 2003. The Telecom show was originally developed to serve the world’s major PTTs. Today the world is different, he noted, so Telecom ’99 will serve as a transition show.
“There will be a lot of soul searching as to what the next [show] should look like.”-Dianne Hammer in Denver, United States
