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Hegel’s dialectics give way

Thursday 25 September 2008, Carrier Ethernet World Congress, Berlin

HEGEL’S DIALECTICS GIVE WAY IN THE SHADOW OF BRANDENBURG’S GATE
By Mark Lum

Berlin’s iconic Brandenburger Tor and Reichstag are literally just around the corner from the Maritim hotel and it’s a cool and sunny walk out to a breakfast cafe before today’s conference, to consider the depth of history present in this magnificent city.

A far cry indeed from the technical and business discussions of this week. Carriers tell me they are heartily glad that the heat of the recent technology wars is now dissipating: perhaps “storm in a teacup” would be the most polite verdict! Operators have bigger fish to fry, and are happy to still have a choice of Ethernet and MPLS technologies and vendors to support applications such as IPTV and access — today’s principal topics. I learn that residents in Slovenia are offered by T-2: a 14 Euro/month 10M/10M broadband service plus 140 channels of IPTV at 12 Euro/month using Carrier Ethernet. Perhaps one day, we may all be so fortunate!

At the main event, it’s something of a slow start, as many delegates are perhaps in a leisurely mood after being treated to vendor hospitality alongside a large display of vintage cars. I can only say that latecomers missed a fascinating exposition from MTN Nigeria, the first of today’s service provider speakers including Belgacom ICS, BT Openreach, Deutsche Telekom, Magyar Telekom, NoaNet, Verizon Business and Virgin Media.

A case study in modern mobile network growth, MTN has grown to support 19 million subscribers in just 7 years, including a substantial proportion of 3G. Building entirely on PDH microwave access/backhaul with an SDH optical and microwave backbone, MTN continues to build about 180 new sites per month. In MTN’s view evolution to Ethernet is certain, but it must be a gradual implementation whose starting time is still yet to be decided (perhaps somewhat disheartening to hear for the cheerleaders of Ethernet backhaul).

Over in Ofcom’s parallel seminar on Ethernet Active Line Access, I find a sizeable number of delegates deliberating a fundamental question: how best to ensure competitive NGA (next generation access) using Ethernet? High-level speakers from the European Commission, HanseNet, IFNL, KPN plus industry bodies Broadband Forum, ITU and MEF are presenting their insights and thoughts. Ofcom is seeking to catalyse standardisation of Ethernet Access in the UK, perhaps beyond, and has published a new regulatory consultation on technical requirements.

I was relieved to hear one speaker — thank you, BT Openreach — to at least mention Green Telecoms, and the need to reduce power consumption. Any delegate who received a free sauna from the 16-rack CEWC interop showcase can relate to that. Trend-setting carriers such as BT and Verizon, are leading the way in this area, and I trust that others will follow in the next year.

Verizon Business gain today’s “open and honest” award. Perhaps emboldened by its award as MEF European service provider of the year for business innovation, they stated “there is no such thing as Carrier Ethernet: there is no standardisation”. I think they have a point! In the good old days, you knew exactly what an E1 or STM-1 circuit was: the specs were laid out, with no deviation. These days, an “Ethernet access service” can mean almost anything. Flexibility is surely a good thing, but perhaps not if you’re a competitive carrier trying to offer consistent services around the world.

Looking back on today, it feels that the conference has moved a long way from the Kompella’s “Purple Line” and Hegelian Dialectics of Day 1. In the carriers’ world, the principal challenge is growing fancy new applications using cranky old access networks. It was always thus! But from Berlin, Carrier Ethernet is rising to the challenge as it continues to scale in momentum.

As the exhibition packs up around me, join me at the last day of Carrier Ethernet World Congress 2008, tomorrow.

Read more of the CEWC Daily Digest, Day Three >

Posted by Pauline Rigby on September 25, 2008 7:07 PM | Permalink