The advent of mobile internet access and the subsequent explosive demand for high bandwidth services on mobile devices has created a pivotal point for service providers. Widely considered the most disruptive technological event for service providers since mobile phones were first introduced, consumer demand for mobile internet access has quickly outstripped the capabilities of existing infrastructure. In addition, mobile phone and VoIP use continues to steadily increase while traditional land-based lines maintain a year-over-year decline.
This highly competitive and rapidly expanding market creates an unprecedented opportunity for service providers. By meeting the demand while maintaining efficient networks and increasing profitability, service providers have the ability to expand their footprint and market share by a significant percentage. Conversely, the ability to make costly mistakes in infrastructure planning also exists, resulting in an unsatisfied public, high competition and, ultimately, loss of market share. Service provider infrastructure needs to be adaptable, scalable and cost-efficient. These qualities will give stakeholders the ability to customize their service offerings to an ever changing and expanding market.
One of the key aspects of this sea-change from a mobile network perspective is the rise and adoption of Carrier Ethernet for Mobile Backhaul. Compared to traditional hardwire solutions, switched Ethernet provides a more economical solution while providing greatly increased bandwidths. Highly optimized for packet-based traffic and the ability to be transported over a variety of transport media, Ethernet-based infrastructure has quickly become a de-facto standard for the backhaul segment. Utilizing existing copper infrastructure and running Ethernet over Copper provides viability from an in-ground perspective although bandwidth limitations with copper leave fiber as the clear leader for backhaul solutions.
Fiber's limitations include the expense of existing copper replacement and the physical inability to run fiber to certain locations. These issues leave a service provider managing multiple services over divergent vendor equipment.
Read this whitepaper to learn about techniques and technologies for keeping up in the next generation communications market.
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