Page 16 - Telecom Reseller April-May 2017

16 Telecom Reseller PANKAJAKSHAN
months, they must evaluate incomes and
make appropriate plans and build appropriate business models to maintain support, and design networks with demand in mind. New investments in 5G wireless systems with dynamic network scaling for sustainable future, will be critical as value and revenue will now come from B2B, B2C and IoT, not voice and SMS, as it has done in the past.
RETIRE OLD NETWORKS
As smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices increase in availability, consumers
have begun to replace older 3G devices. In
2014, Verizon made the leap and announced
its plans to retire their 3G network. Now, we
are witnessing operators make plans to shut down 2G and 3G as we move towards 2020,
and to support the dwindling number of
devices e ciently, dynamic spectrum sharing
/ re-farming is being discussed. is means
that operators should prepare for full reliance on 4G LTE infrastructure, which includes planning revenues from machine-to-machine (M2M), voice and roaming. According to Ovum research, other considerations for providers are the cost of migrating residual customers to LTE and the cost of maintaining an aging legacy core network as they move to a single IP network. Not only should operators plan for a full transition to 4G this year, they should consider the necessary steps to take for 5G.
EMBRACE 5G AND IOT
Although 4G was barely being deployed in the mid-2010s, conversations about 5G already began to spring up. Discussions about what
5G is and what its value will be for business dominated conferences and media (and continue to do so). Qualcomm, for example, highlighted the real impact of 5G in a recent study with IHS, where it predicted a 12 trillion global opportunity by 2035. What is clear
is that 5G will deliver clear qualitative and disruptive di erences to previous technologies, as well as provide new dynamic, programmable and elastic networks designed around service rather than network elements.
e year 2020 promises 5G’s full-scale arrival and, as operators brace themselves for an unprecedented level of innovation, they must work now to modernize their networks to accommodate and deliver these ever-richer digital services and support exploding tra c from IoT.
e number of users and their devices will put a serious strain on pre-existing services and networks. With three years to spare, operators should begin to de ne their use cases and customer priorities, which then impact
April/May 2017
continued from page 13
decisions about needs for bandwidth, latency, transmission quality, and variations of these factors over time.
Commit to NFV, SDN and Network as a Platform solutions
In addition to preparing network updates, operators should invest in technologies like Network Function Virtualization (NFV) and Network as a Platform (NaaP) that ultimately improve user experience and drive cost e ciency and agility, as well as provide new microservices and development opportunities, as part of a DevOps model. 2016 was the
year that operators started to take notice and plan for network transformation; 2017 is the year that it will take o . Operators who are committed to NFV architecture will experience low-cost elastic scale of their networks, improved service agility, and improved cloud and services experiences. To move forward, operators should prepare to face challenges
like product interworking, orchestration and migration complexity head on this year.
ADOPT MULTIPLE NEW SERVICES THAT PLAY TO MULTIPLE DEVICE HOLDERS
e nal recommendation for operators to prepare for the IoT and rising device trend is to adopt services like multi-line and multi-
ID which work directly to improve user experience. As IoT, multi-service and multi- line o erings grow, it is essential to keep
users’ and businesses’ accounts and phone numbers streamlined and easily accessed. Mavenir’s Multi-ID solution allows users to access messaging and calls from any internet- enabled device, across any network or brand of device. By embracing these technologies, operators can ensure that their customers are happy, while meeting services o ered by over the top competitors like Skype, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. By doing this, they can e ectively ensure new and relevant revenue streams.
e future of mobile device adoption and use may look daunting for operators, especially as they are faced with the constraints of retiring legacy systems and pressures to adopt 5G. And with any new technology, there
are unknowns at stake, which can arise as networks are deployed – these unknowns can cause big challenges and risks which will need to be overcome.
By treating 2017 as a year to evaluate user trends and preferences, and making plans
to adopt technologies that will carry them forward, operators can prepare themselves for the delivery of 5G and form the foundation of a strong and sustainable future. n
AT&T Partner Exchange Equips Solution Providers with New Resources to Tap into IoT Potential ...continued from page 15
and guidance on how to prepare their own IoT strategy. It outlines IoT building blocks, success stories and resources available to help them succeed.
IOT READINESS ASSESSMENT
AT&T Partner Exchange collaborated with Infusion Partners, LLC to create the IoT Readiness Assessment to help solution providers understand where to begin when developing an IoT o ering. e survey evaluates a solution providers’ market focus, investment level, o er strategy and business plan to assess their IoT readiness and identify potential areas for IoT growth.
“Understanding how your company can maximize the potential of IoT is a major hurdle,” said Brad Sander, president, Infusion Partners, LLC. “ e IoT Readiness Assessment helps solution providers discover opportunities to empower growth and innovation through IoT.”
AT&T IOT STARTER KIT
e AT&T IoT Starter Kit is available to AT&T Partner Exchange solution providers and o ers them hands-on experience to rapidly prototype their own IoT solution. e all-in-one kit comes ready with the tools and services to trial new o ers to meet customer needs.
All of these resources are available on a new IoT website where AT&T Partner Exchange solution providers can explore their IoT journey.
When they’re ready to take action, program members can dive deeper into these resources on the new AT&T Partner Exchange Solutions Center. ere they’ll nd IoT use cases, sales tools and technical resources to help them harness the power of IoT.
“IoT will continue to impact the way we
live and work. Connected devices produce rich data that helps companies better respond and understand their customers’ needs,” said Robert Senatore, president and chief operating o cer, Data2Go Wireless.
“ ose who want to seize these opportunities need the right tools. AT&T Partner Exchange is helping us do just that.”
*AT&T products and services are provided or o ered by subsidiaries and a liates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.
More at https://www.att.com/. n
Cincinnati Bell Business, CBTS partner with VeloCloud on SD-WAN O ering
CINCINNATI, OH - Cincinnati Bell Business (CBB) and CBTS are pleased to announce a new SD-WAN o ering
in partnership with VeloCloud, the Cloud-Delivered SD-WAN company, which will provide nationwide support for customers’ network needs and strategically expand the CBB and CBTS portfolio of uni ed communications and cloud services. The customized VeloCloud PoweredTM SD-WAN o ering from CBB and CBTS features a unique network of strategically placed cloud gateways utilized for enhancing both Software as a Service and CBB’s Connected O ce Voice o erings.
SD-WAN from CBB and CBTS includes enhanced Uni ed Communications as a Service, cloud migration, and Software as a Service, which will provide customers with
a exible and scalable networking experience to help transform their businesses and prepare them for future technology capabilities.
CBB and CBTS partnered with VeloCloud after conducting a series of tests that delivered conclusive results and exceeded expectations. Those tests centered on di erent scenarios of connectivity – ranging from dual MPLS, down to a single broadband or LTE link.
CBB and CBTS concluded that
the VeloCloud o ering dramatically enhanced applications and remediated connection problems to provide a high- quality experience for voice and video.
“This managed VeloCloud SD-WAN product supports our portfolio of hosted collaboration applications, cloud computing, and other services that will further enable CBB and CBTS customers to have best-of- breed technologies and support
the increasing technology demands of their customers,” said Christi Cornette, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Cincinnati Bell.
“Cincinnati Bell has developed a reputation for delivering traditional telco services, business productivity, uni ed communications, enhanced customer service, and collaboration for a multitude of businesses,” said Sanjay Uppal, CEO and Co-founder
for VeloCloud. “Cincinnati Bell is continuing to drive innovation through a partnership with VeloCloud to deliver industry-leading Cloud-Delivered SD-WAN for on-premise and cloud services.”
For more information on the VeloCloud Powered SD-WAN o ering from CBB and CBTS, go to http:// cbbconnect.com/sdwan/.
More at www.cincinnatibell.com and www.cbts.net. n
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