Telepocalypse

Welcome to planet Zog

A most valued reader forwards the following link to me:

It might be big, but it will never be dumb

There is a myth in telecommunications companies today – partly promoted by the newly integrated IT guys – that the most economical way forward for networks is for the whole network to evolve into a “big dumb network”. […]

Well, just as there never is a free lunch, there will never be a big dumb network – at least not unless there are big dumb operators.

You don’t say! It only gets better…

A critical step for the immediate introduction of NGN services will be an open discussion on how much intelligence will actually be in the network – a big clever network – and where it should be located. Then, how this intelligence can be used to seamlessly support issues like NGN roaming, consistent inter-domain SIP handling and (inter-domain) QoS must be considered. These are time critical issues, as purchasing decisions for NGN equipment are now under way.

Ah! NGN roaming, what a beautiful concept. I’m sure I’ll create a great deal of end-user value. I guess all those Skype calls I’ve made around the world on weedy DSL and WiFi links — while running a BitTorrent client in the background and no QoS — were just an illusion.

Ever get the feeling these guys are having an oh shit moment, and realising that their smart network business just reached its use-by date?

PS — I’ll write about Freedom to Connect real soon, but I’ve had a bad head cold and awful jetlag for a few days, and real-world business needs to be sorted out first.