I have recently returned from sampling the finest of New Orleans hospitality and hanging out with my wireless friends at the CTIA Wireless 2012 conference.  CTIA provides great insights into the wireless industry in one of the world’s biggest markets and technology superpower – the USA.  It’s hard not to compare CTIA with the recent Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.  While many of the things that I observed at MWC in February were equally visible at CTIA, I also observed a number of different items, or different slants on where the mobile industry was heading.  I am always amazed and overwhelmed at just how big the mobile ecosystem and economy are.  Unlike MWC, the CTIA show floor had a very healthy representation from all parts of the mobile ecosystem – everything from device accessories, to back-up power solutions, to applications, to CNBC broadcasting live, and many things that I couldn’t understand.  It makes you realize just how big this industry is and how innovation across all parts of the value chain have fueled this phenomenon.

The U.S. wireless industry feels like it is back on top.  Once the leader in innovation and customer demand, U.S. mobile lost much of that position over the last decade as it battled amongst itself on competing 3G technologies.  The U.S. now has 105% mobile penetration and 64% of the world’s LTE subscribers.  Not to mention that innovation in mobile has shifted back to the U.S., with the likes Read More »

Tags: byod, ctia, IBSG, LTE, M2M, mobile cloud, mobile operator, mobility, ott, Service Provider

Today, Cisco is kicking off its “Your Way” campaign which is focused on the universally desired but sophisticated requirements around the delivery of mobile experiences.  Not just mobile access – that is simply changing an access type – but rather a mobile experience that maps to your needs depending on the device you’re holding, the service or application you’re using, the time and location you want it  — in sum, it’s a mobile experience “your way.”

You’ll see Cisco highlighting this in a variety of forums – from an opening webcast featuring Cisco CTO Padmasree Warrior  and BT to an array of on-going activities such as a dedicated website advertisements and even in future innovation announcements like the major one we’ll be having on June 5^th (you can register here to be among the first to hear the news. And when we do, you’ll see that we promote that such personalized, superior mobile experiences “don’t have to compromise the way of business.”

While that phrasing may make sense for the Bring Your Own Device trend in the Enterprise where many CIOs are concerned about security and compliance, how does it apply to Service Providers?

A number of ways: Read More »

Tags: mobile, mobility, multiple devices, padmasree warrior, Service Provider, your way

The last time I blogged about CCAP, we were checking the online anagram universe for words one could make out of “CMAP” and “CESAR,” then two competing labels for the work of converging the QAM modulators used by digital voice, video and data services in cable.

Happily for me (because the anagram selections were abysmal), it settled out as what is now “CCAP” – the Cable Converged Access Platform. Watch for it to be a pretty hot topic at next week’s Cable Show — and not just because we announced a pretty incredible new downstream line card (the DS-384) related to it. Although…

CCAP matters at this year’s Cable Show for the same reason it mattered last year: Because consumer usage of broadband is off the hook, and cable operators need to stay ahead of that very tight curve, because narrowcast services are Read More »

Tags: ccap, qam, Service Provider, video, videoscape

One of the topics we covered this week at the Cisco Packet Optical Networking Conference was cloud computing. A benefit of cloud computing is that the physical infrastructure – the storage and compute resources – can be located almost anywhere as long as there is reliable network access. Several countries are leveraging their low cost green power to grow their economies with new data center facilities. A publicly announced example of this is Facebook which has built an enormous facility in northern Sweden. Iceland with its cooler temperatures and green geothermal power, plus ideal location between North America and Europe has seen a significant growth in its data center industry. However, being an island nation it faces a challenge to ensure that sufficient cost-effective network capacity is available to connect off-island users with its storage and compute resources.

Farice, the primary provider of networking services to and from Iceland and operator of two submarine cable links to Europe has sought to Read More »

Tags: 100G, 100GE, ASR9000, Cisco, cloud, DWDM, facebook, Farice, Green Data Center, IPv6, PONC, Service Provider

The scale of today’s transport networks and content provider data centers are directly driven by the explosive nature of packet traffic growth. As a result, the demand for 100G and beyond is a key topic in the industry.  Cisco’s recent 100G announcement and its industry leading performance for Ultra Long Haul continues to receive significant attention within the service provider community as they consider options for their next generation transport networks.

However, the solution is not only about faster transmission speeds. Service providers must also increase efficiency within their network. Until now, traditional network architectures have inefficiently maintained separate Read More »

Tags: 100G, 400G, Andy Schutz, Cisco, Clarence Filsfils, iOverlay, optical ONS15454, PONC, Service Provider

Greetings from (very) sunny Las Vegas! I am here at the second annual Cloud Carrier Forum (CCF), and this year’s edition really upped the bar for the type of critical and actionable discussions taking place around cloud computing.

We just wrapped up a lively panel discussion on cloud services, and one of the topics that kept popping up was how service providers can best bring their cloud services to market. This actually fits very closely with the theme of my keynote session from this morning, which was titled “Delivering Services in a World of Many Clouds.” You can view the presentation slides below.

As CCF 2012 draws to a close, I want to pause for a moment and try to tie all of today’s information together. I’ll begin with the main concept of my keynote: A World of Many Clouds. Cisco believes Read More »

Tags: Carrier Cloud Forum, CCF, cloud, data center, interop, Service Provider, UCS, unified computing system

Customers from around the world are gathered today at Cisco’s campus in Richardson, Texas to kick off the Spring 2012 Packet Optical Networking Conference (PONC). This brings together network operators, large enterprise customers, optical industry leaders, and Cisco solution teams at a three-day event to collaborate on best practices and future requirements in IP and optical solutions. Some of the key themes that will be featured at this year’s event include:

1. 40G/100G Coherent DWDM transport over 10G infrastructure: Much of the infrastructure today was designed to support only 10G wavelengths.  It is undesirable to cap and start over with new infrastructure that is purpose built for 40/100G.  Cisco’s unique Coherent optical transport technology is a game Read More »

Tags: 100G, 400G, Cisco, internet protocol, ip, optical ONS15454, packet optical, PONC, Service Provider

Lately, our customers have been expressing interest in a number of cloud topics:

• What are best practices in building a cloud business?
• Enterprise-grade solutions versus best-efforts applications
• Standardization and security
• Connectivity from end-to-end
• Advanced technologies within and between clouds

I’m looking forward to continuing the conversations with cloud service providers next week down in Las Vegas. If you’re coming to Interop, we’re continuing Read More »

Tags: Carrier Cloud Forum, CCF, cloud, data center, interop, Service Provider, UCS, unified computing system

By Lisa Garza

It was raining in London last week during the LightReading event Strategic Opportunities in Service Provider Wi-Fi.  That might not sound unusual, but actually my cab driver said it had been a dry winter, and the rain was much needed for his garden.  That’s how I felt about the event – it felt like a lovely spring rain.

Heavy Reading Senior Analyst Gabriel Brown first addressed the packed room by likening the early days of Wi-Fi to the Wild West.  With the advent of carrier-grade Wi-Fi, the integration of Wi-Fi into Mobile networks, and initiatives such as the Wireless Broadband Alliance Next Generation Hotspot Program, the west is slowly Read More »

Tags: Hotspot, next generation hotspot, Service Provider, wi-fi, wifi

Everyone is talking about the transition to IPv6 in the run up to the June 6^th launch of the IPv6 Internet. Most of the discussion has focused on the technical details of various approaches – 6rd vs. DS-Lite vs. CGNAT for example. However, what we haven’t seen is an effort made to look at the economic impact of the choice between IPv4 extension vs. IPv6 transition and back it up with some real world data. A few months back we asked telecommunications analyst Nav Chander of IDC (pictured right) to evaluate and publish the results of an economic analysis of the IPv6 options. This is a crucial and timely topic because operators are faced with important decisions about which transition technologies to use, when to implement them, and where in the network.

We’re pleased to report that Nav is finished and is ready to reveal the results of his findings. To keep the scope of his analysis within a reasonable boundary, he initially focused on just one scenario: that of a wireline carrier considering the deployment of a Carrier Grade NAT-only implementation (which basically just extends the life of IPv4 with no IPv6), or migrating to IPv6 with a combination of CGNAT (for short term IPv4 extension) and while new customers were deployed with 6rd.

The results of this study are detailed in a new Read More »

Tags: 6rd, CGNAT, cgv6, Cisco, IDC, IPv6, Nav Chander, service proider

By Carlos Cordero, Director, Service Provider Internet Business Solutions Group

In my previous blog I explained the importance of collaborative testing between telecommunications service providers (SPs) and their network vendors in order to achieve higher service quality levels. I’d like to start where I left off and move on to exploring how this type of collaboration can extend into the planning process.

SPs with the highest service quality tend to have a strong planning capability within both their Network Engineering and Operations organizations, which is directly coordinated with their vendors. Leading SPs establish a joint Program Management Office (PMO) with their network equipment vendor, whose scope of responsibility includes early bug identification, bug remediation, and new feature deployment. This includes structured, joint planning meetings and performance reviews which are attended by VP-level engineering and operations executives, as well as senior members of the vendor’s account team, services organization, and the development organization.

The joint SP-vendor PMO performs several critical activities.  First, it drives requirements gathering with senior network designers, and then works with them until actual code is released.  The PMO also develops network architectures with the vendor and the SP’s engineers using “Plan-of-Record” (POR) documentation.  Next, the PMO jointly prioritizes feature functionality with the vendor, keeping track of critical features needed by specified timeframes.  It works closely with the vendor’s development organization to understand any design limitations, testing issues, and special conditions.  In addition to performing classic management functions, the PMO makes use of “Bug Workbooks” to track all major, critical, and minor bugs and trends.

For example, Read More »

Tags: business agility, carrier-grade, Cisco, IBSG, operational best practices, partnership, PMO, Service Provider, service quality, telecommunications

We’ve all now returned from the stardust of the annual National Association of Broadcasters convention in Las Vegas last week, which seems a useful time to reflect briefly on the major threads of the show. It was a great one for us, and I’m pleased and grateful to report the following, in no particular order:

1.     Broadcasters and program networks are getting fired up about the IP transition, like the rest of us, and not a moment too soon. We fielded tons of questions about the cost savings associated with CDNs (Content Delivery Networks), IP distribution over terrestrial fiber networks--the proliferation of IP-based, video-capable screens, and cloud--how to get new services to market more quickly and how to streamline workflows. Transcoding engines, contribution networks, and all of the tacit and explicit benefits of the overall IP migration were all hot topics.

Of course, we, as Cisco people, can talk about IP all day long. And so we did: One of the Cisco booth demos highlighted Read More »

Tags: broadcast, IPv6, nab, national association of broadcasters, Service Provider, video, videoscape

I am still feeling the energy from the Girls in ICT venue held in New York City on April 26, 2012 where I participated on a panel with outstanding women from Microsoft, Ushahidi and Facebook.

The conference included women pioneers from government and private industry who engaged in a stimulating dialogue on the topic of girls in ICT; to recruiting and retaining women in ICT a topic where shared accountability is a MUST.

Further, ITU Secretary General, Dr. Hamadoun Touré pointed out Cisco in his opening keynote:

“Special mention should go to Cisco, a long time partner of ITU, which today organized more than 40 different events globally – and I know that many other tech companies have also been very active in promoting events and celebrations.”

Read More »

Tags: engineering, girl, ICT, technology, women

Improved fixed broadband network performance and access are key measures used to analyze global region’s ability to support business- and consumer-grade cloud applications. All regions can support some level of cloud services (basic or intermediate); however, no region’s average network performance can support the advanced cloud applications (such as HD audio conferencing; HD video conferencing or streaming super HD video, et al.).

Of the six global regions covered, North America leads all regions in consumer fixed broadband access (27% of households); while Read More »

Tags: cloud, cloud index, cloudverse, Service Provider

The insatiable demand for smartphones, tablets, and other connected devices is generating staggering amounts of mobile data. The much-quoted Cisco Visual Networking Index (VNI) predicts that global mobile data traffic will increase 18-fold from 2011 to 2016, reaching 10.8 exabytes per month.   In tandem, the use of Wi-Fi for Internet access is exploding as more mobile devices are Wi-Fi enabled, the number of public hotspots expands, and user acceptance grows. Until recently most technologists and mobile industry executives viewed it as the “poor cousin” to licensed mobile communications.  And they most certainly never considered a role for Wi-Fi in mobile networks or their business.  The explosion of mobile data traffic has changed all of that.  Most mobile operators now realize that offloading data traffic to Wi-Fi can, and should, play a significant role in reducing clogged networks and the number of unhappy customers.

Mobile operators understand that off-loading data traffic to cheaper Wi-Fi defers significant capital expenditures for further build-out of the licensed network.  Operators around the world however, are asking if there is more to Wi-Fi than just data offload? Can they actually make money from Wi-Fi by turning the cost of doing business into profitable business models?  Read More »

Tags: business models, Cisco, data off-loading, IBSG, mobile, mobile data, mobile devices, mobile networks, mobile operators, monetization, service providers, wi-fi