Verizon’s Enterprise Solutions group thinks that hybrid clouds will be one of the top trends, and a telling comment is that they see the cloud supplanting the VPN as an enterprise service. While this may seem outlandish on the surface, I think there’s a lot of logic/truth behind the statement, and it also explains some … Continue reading Where Will the Hybrid Cloud Take Us?
Most everyone who uses telecom these days knows that we’re not in our mothers’ network anymore, but the changes have come somewhat gradually and it’s hard to realize now that we’re only 60 years from the first coast-to-coast non-operator-assist call. Some recent events may help us come to terms with reality, though. Verizon and AT&T … Continue reading The Three Legs of The Future of Networking
Alcatel-Lucent reported its quarter, and the results were disappointing to say the least. The company suffered from margin pressure, caused no doubt by the competition from arch-rival Huawei. The devil here is in the details, which in some ways are much better for Alcatel-Lucent, and in some ways worse. When you’re a very broad-based supplier … Continue reading Reshaping for the Future?
The parade of misses continues, so it seems, with Acme Packets, Amazon, Apple, and Ericsson joining in. One might think this proves that economic conditions (those “macro” factors I blogged about yesterday) were to blame after all. I still don’t buy it, and if you look at these companies you see a mixture of root … Continue reading More Misses, Same Stories
The Network Functions Virtualization stuff I talked about in my blog yesterday has picked up steam, adding more Tier One sponsors and turning to ETSI to host them as a body. The group is emphasizing that they’re not a “standards group”, hopefully trying to avoid the glacial pace and lack of market responsiveness that characterizes … Continue reading Are We on the Fulcrum of Change for the Role of the Network?
The DoJ cleared the Verizon deal with cable companies for spectrum in return for joint marketing, but with conditions. The primary fear of regulators at the DoJ was that Verizon might not roll FiOS as aggressively under a deal that let them co-market cable services. FiOS, like all FTTH, is very sensitive to demand density … Continue reading Spectrum and U-Verse, Apple and Cable
Google’s 1Gbps FTTH Internet service is getting ready to roll out in Kansas City (MO and KS), and of course the hype is high on this one. The idea that people could be getting Internet “twenty times” or “a hundred times” faster has obviously captivated journalists, but the truth of the deal is a LOT … Continue reading Why Google Won’t be Lighting Up Your Ground
As you all know, I like to read the earnings reports to spot critical trends, both with the companies themselves and for the markets they play in. Microsoft and Google both reported earnings yesterday, and both gave the markets an upside surprise. So what does that mean? Media coverage of Microsoft has missed the point. … Continue reading Microsoft and Google: Still Winning
At this point, nobody can doubt Comcast’s determination to become the big ecosystemic player in content. The company already owns NBCU and now it’s bought out Microsoft’s stake in MSNBC.com. Microsoft had already dropped out of the cable network venture and now it’s apparently ready to get out of the whole deal. That may be … Continue reading Content, Delivery, and Public Policy
Telefonica today announced a research-network trial of a basic IP/DWDM technology combination that flattens networks to an agile IP/MPLS edge and an agile optical core built around GMPLS. The project included Universal Edge routers from Juniper and Adva Optical DWDM core technology. Everyone is happy about the resulting reduction in capex and opex, and in … Continue reading Inside Telefonica’s Optical Announcement