Go on, hug a switch

Telecommunications Americas, Dec, 2004 by Sue O'Keefe

It's the time of year that the editors of and contributors to Telecommunications[R] magazine lovingly refer to as "case study hell." Every December for the past several years, we've used this issue to showcase the best and brightest examples of how technologies are being used by carriers worldwide as the basis to offer new and innovative services.

The reason the task becomes so seemingly daunting is the number of "innovations" we see on a daily basis. As I mention in the introduction to the Technologies@Work section on page 18, despite the fact that the industry saw dramatic capex cuts over the past several years (and in some cases the cuts continue), the seeds that were laid in the late-1990s and (vary sparsely) in the early part of this decade have become the backdrop for some major leaps forward.

This is especially true for IP technologies and wireless in general, so it's no surprise that three of the five case studies we've highlighted center on wireless and VoIP (but not wireless VoIP--not yet, anyway). The fact is, life went on in telecom and networks continued to function--and function well--despite being supported by what could be termed as only minimal investment. Networks didn't care about regulatory jockeying or burst bubbles. So go on, give your switch or router a nice, big hug of appreciation.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

So, if we've come so far, what is going to be accomplished going forward, as capex budgets start to see at least some mild bounce-back and network investment goes beyond mere maintenance? I, for one, am living for the day I can sit by my TV watching a football game, answer my ringing phone with the click of the remote, have a live feed of my parents zoom in, and watch them interact with their grandchildren in real time over my HDTV (while the game continues to stream picture in picture, of course). That might take some real effort on the part of carriers (and it will be interesting to see who gets there first--the ILECs or the MSOs) but that's an innovation I can really wrap my arms around.

Happy Holidays to all.

Sue O'Keefe

Editor in Chief