Looking Ahead: Is a Technology Only Strategy Viable?

As the telecommunications market develops and the debate about access technologies intensifies- bps/hz, MIMO,Rx diversity, cooperative communications, cloud, NFV, GPON, COMP processing,etc & what really makes 5G- few things seem to be forgotten. It is understandable that the 10 year (rule of thum) for a new access technology(5G) is due and network expansion and data intensive applications pressure is mounting. This has applied more pressure on semiconductor manufactures( e.g. for quicker,cheaper and more reliable hardware architectures), vendors( e.g. solution Integration ), operators( customers upgrade,procurement, time to market, marketing and price models) and content providers( e.g.content pricing and generation). yet, are these the only challenges? let's look at some points & future challenges that overrides all this.

White technology and the need to be equipped (with the latest gear) for a service provider is critical, the need to manage energy, OPEX and CAPEX expenditure and customer demographics is equally important. The natural economical need to be competitive is an underlying concept which is sometimes overlooked at the expense of being in the race of the latest 'gear'. For example, VOLTE and SDN are new technologies that promise improvements to the user experience and profit for service providers. Yet, their 'real'  value in relation to the current business trends are yet to be assured esp. the ROI, payback period and other profitability factors.

Certainly, the business and cost models are the real barriers to delivery of Internet services to the world's final 3rd billion. This research challenge exist and it emerges over time that solutions remain in the social, economic policies more that technical approaches. Doesn't this mean the spectrum of future challenges  is not a merely technical one?.

There i also the growing challenge of managing energy of network infrastructure. The ability to optimize and control is a critical concept, that service providers need to consider seriously. Take those points as something to think about:

•  Is it time to stop viewing mobile service providers networks as black boxes accepting input and delivering an output!
• How important is the 'cost' of coexistence of access technologies and application level tools to a service provider! how sustainable is this going forward.
• Is it inevitable that energy optimization and energy management will be the focus on the industry? well at least in the long run

Will history contradict itself. Will the management and business concept influence the technology more that what technology has influenced business,commerce, health and other industries in the past decades?. The argument is that the interaction is now a two way one and sustainable network reform is  important to 'watch' as technology develops. The way that technology trajectory is heading requires a pause and reflection on how would the other section of the business should follow suits.

Thanks for reading. I look forward to questions and discussions on h.hamdoun@ieee.org