SP360: Service Provider

Enterprise operators are looking for new ways to leverage Industry 4.0 – the transformation of traditional industrial and manufacturing practices using smart technology – as we move toward a world of large-scale Machine to Machine (M2M) communications and Internet of Things (IoT) deployments driven by the two dominant wireless technologies, 5G and Wi-Fi 6. However, many operators aren’t sure which technology suits their needs.

Recently, I had the pleasure of participating in a tech webinar panel with HYPE Sports, The New Game Changers of Sports Media & Broadcasting. I was asked to share my perspective on the current landscape and innovation trends I’m seeing, and how I believe it will impact what’s coming next for the Media, Sports, and Entertainment industry. I wanted to expand a bit on some of the topics I covered and highlight big themes to consider for the future.

The re-branded Ethernet Technology Consortium has released a specification for 800G signaling. This goes hand in hand with the new QSFP-DD800 form factor MSA.

Wi-Fi is going through another major evolution, now in its 6th iteration since it was introduced and adopted as a worldwide wireless technology standard. The technological advancements introduced in Wi-Fi6 can drive new age use cases that demand more bandwidth for faster speeds, higher network capacity for more simultaneous users, and lower latency for near real-time applications.

Network Slicing is a key concept in 5G and a way to utilize the network in a more intelligent and cost-effective way than ever before.

The new QSFP-DD800 form factor MSA lays the foundation for 800G Ethernet pluggable optics.

Network slicing is essential for 5G service providers to deliver on stringent new SLAs while still producing quality service to their existing customer base, and we are excited to be at the forefront of delivering the next generation of technology solutions empowering 5G.

With the new 5G and IoT services, the network is becoming more interconnected than ever, and as a result, security is becoming even more critical. 5G and IoT impose a larger security risk on service provider mobile backhaul networks as a growing number of unsecured devices at the edge of the network could be compromised.

Cisco Optics are now qualified on Cisco UCS servers even when using 3rd party NICs such as those from Intel, Mellanox, and QLogic. This is a significant development for data center operators who are more and more reliant on cables and pluggable optics as SFP and QSFP technology progress, and cloud applications dominate.