Over the past twenty years, the information age has
developed at a rapid pace, and various technological transformations and
applications have grown in both scope and variety. Today, the exponential
growth of digitized information, combined with the skyrocketing popularity of
mobile networks, has led to a surge in the sheer volume of digital content.
Concurrently, as the digital divide has become smaller, people around the world
are now able to freely share information and communicate with each other with
fewer barriers.
This new digital era is marked by an important new
factor: user experience. Users have the ultimate say in steering the
development of the industry so it is vitally important that they are equipped
with the means with which to quickly and easily access mobile networks. This in
turn drives current and future industry development, which will result in a
flourishing information age.
I. User experience drives industry development
In today’s world, millions of services and applications
are close at hand, enabling a constant, 24-hour online digital life. While the
underlying network infrastructure is at the heart of this ubiquitous
connectivity, user experience is limited to a few points of interface. Since
user experience and the demand for continuous service drives technological
development, it is therefore of utmost importance to provide users with optimal
experiences.
The following factors best illustrate what comprises an
optimal user experience.
Speed that counts: Zero wait time redefines network speed
In telecommunications, increases in speed are often
measured exponentially. Due to rapidly advancing technologies that have taken
us from dial-up to fiber to the home (FTTH), it has taken a mere 20 years to
increase bandwidth by 1,000 times. Despite this extraordinary pace of
development, people are still clamoring for additional bandwidth.
Despite the current fixation on bandwidth, in the future,
network speed will no longer be measured by the bandwidth a service needs, but
determined instead by the wait time experienced by users waiting for networks
to respond. Zero wait time for users is the new paradigm that will shape
Internet development.
Quality that counts: Ensuring the availability of video
and other media presentation forms powered by augmented reality technologies
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The development of the Internet has witnessed the
transformation of web content from mere text, images and sounds into
high-definition videos and other next-generation forms of media presentation,
such as 3D technologies, ultra high-definition technologies, and augmented
reality technologies. These vivid media presentation forms will become more
widely available and will increasingly be used across various applications such
as e-commerce, social networking, and broadcast media.
Freedom that counts: Access the ubiquitous Internet
easily and instantaneously
It took twenty years to bring the number of fixed
Internet users to two billion, but only five years to bring the number of
mobile Internet users to one billion, two times faster than the fixed Internet.
Today people are enabled to be online anywhere and anytime because the mobile
Internet sets users free from fixed lines as well as the popularization of the
smart phones. .
Similarly, Ã la carte services will continue to be
provided on-demand, television programming in particular, since people will
have the ability to watch programs at any time much more freely than they do
today. Key to this provision of on-demand services is a freely available mobile
Internet, which will enable users to easily access services and applications
around the clock and in any location.
Simplicity that counts: Optimal ergonomic function
The history of man-machine interaction, during which the
input method has transformed from keyboard and mouse to touchpad to motion
sensing input, demonstrates a return from complicated input devices to
intuitive and natural ones that tap into natural human function and form. In
the future, even more natural ergonomics will further the user experience by
leveraging people’s natural abilities like speaking, making gestures, and
conveying emotions.
Sharing that counts: Community-like experiences elevate
user experience
Google introduced mathematical logic to its search
services, providing improved access to massive amounts of information. Google
does this merely at the tool layer, while Facebook transcends the tool layer
and deals with the social nature of humans. By emphasizing the social aspects
of the Internet, Facebook addresses users’ emotional needs to some extent as
well as satisfying their desire for sharing. The Facebook phenomenon indicates
that a community-like experience will be a basic feature for both
consumer-oriented services and enterprise-targeted applications.
The pursuit of a better user experience is a major driver
in the further development of the telecom industry. A better user experience
equates to higher speed, better quality, more 2012-1-4 Page 3 of 5freedom, greater simplicity, and easier sharing.
II. 10 key issues that affect the development of the
telecom industry
User experience and progress in network technologies are
inextricably linked: User experience drives network development, and progress
in network technologies guides improvements in user experience. As an improved
user experience coincides with cutting-edge mobile networks, a new round of
opportunities avails itself to the telecom industry.
The telecom industry as a whole needs to closely adhere
to the following 10 key issues to take full advantage of this round of
opportunities.
1. The mobile network enters the Gigabit Era. It’s time
to build ubiquitous broadband networks
The biggest bottleneck for current mobile networks is
insufficient bandwidth capacity. Compared with fixed networks, mobile networks
still have a long way to go in terms of user experience, and it is only through
building mobile broadband networks with traffic at a gigabit level that user
experience can improve. In this scenario, innovations in architecture and
continuous cost reductions for networks will support the sustainable
development of mobile broadband services provided by operators.
2. Implement intelligent optical network management, and
embrace the advent of all optical access
In the telecom industry, copper wires have been managed
manually for over 100 years. Since copper wires are highly inefficient in
operational terms, managing them is the most expensive part of network
maintenance. As the industry begins to evolve toward optical access, enhanced
cable deployment, maintenance and troubleshooting, fault correction and
intelligent optical network management are all core measures that can be used
to promote optical network development.
3. The telecom industry needs to further its
transformation toward ALL IP networks and enter an all packet phase
Over the past two decades, IP technologies have developed
at unprecedented speeds. Telecom networks today are a hybrid of time division
multiplexing (TDM) and Internet Protocol (IP). In the future, Single networks
based on ALL IP will be the inevitable trend. The telecom industry needs to
further its transformation toward ALL IP and complete service migration,
network convergence, network interconnectivity, and changes in operation and
maintenance to lead the industry into an all packet phase. 2012-1-4 Page 4 of 5
4. IT infrastructure based on cloud computing is the
prerequisite for building networks based on data centralization and data
centers
Data has replaced voice as the main content on networks,
enabling data centers to replace voice switching. This development adds new
meaning to flattening, which is an ongoing topic in network development. New
technologies, such as virtual and distributed storage as well as parallel
computing based on cloud computing, make it possible to build exabyte computing
and storage capacities. In addition, IT infrastructure based on cloud computing
is the prerequisite for building networks based on data centralization and data
centers.
5. Operations support systems/business support systems
(OSS/BSS) must be modernized to adapt to an open environment in the industry
chain and the on-demand operational model
User requirements have transformed the telecom industry
priority from cost efficiency to value creation, in turn changing the telecom
industry from a completely closed system to a completely open system. The
modernization and renovation of operators’ IT systems means that there is a
need to focus on creating value for users and building an open industry chain
to support the end-to-end process of product design and development, product
market entry, and value distribution. These systems need to support package
design by users as well as package selection and bandwidth selection in order
to provide users with the maximum amount of freedom and power to control these
systems.
6. Provide insights into customer needs and build
adaptable enterprises based on Big Data analyses
In the open Internet age, user requirements are
individualized and dynamic. Under the ALL IP architecture, automation and
statistical multiplexing have been achieved in networks, and both network
quality and Quality of Service (QoS) assurances are dynamic. By analyzing Big
Data, operators can provide insights into networks and user requirements, build
adaptable enterprises, offer better user experiences and services, and explore
more business opportunities.
7. Build resilient and intelligent networks, and support
on-demand bandwidth operations
Network and bandwidth are the bases for operators’
business operations, with networks becoming more intelligent and resilient.
This trend bodes well for on-demand user experiences, which enable users to
freely select bandwidth and services based on their own needs. In addition, the
provision of on-demand services will improve network efficiency and utilization
while reducing network costs. 2012-1-4 Page 5 of 5
8. Integrate digital media content, and build digital
distribution channels across various platforms
As digital content flourishes and networks serve as
channels on which digital media is distributed, traditional content delivery
channels are disrupted. Integrating digital media content and achieving a
cross-platform (mobile phone/PC/TV/PAD) on-demand user experience will be a
future trend for media content providers, presenting them with a significant
strategic opportunity.
9. Integrate the IT supply chain, and harness the impact
of cloud computing on the existing IT business model to transform ICT
Cloud computing has completely transformed the business
model of the IT industry, shifting the focus from selling products to selling
services. The ongoing popularity of broadband networks is a prerequisite for
cloud computing services. Based on innate advantages such as localized
services, network assurance, security, and trustworthiness, operators take
great efforts to integrate IT applications and communication capabilities. This
enables end-to-end ICT solutions, which can provide ICT services to
enterprises, especially small- and medium-sized enterprises. In addition, this
integration allows small-sized enterprises to enjoy the ICT capabilities of
large enterprises.
10. Provide trustworthy information services to ensure
cyber security and privacy protection
Open IP networks and cloud computing models have elevated
the importance of information security and privacy protection. In light of
this, operators need to build end-to-end security architectures – including the
basic architecture, data protection, application protection, and legal
compliance – to provide security solutions that fully protect user information
and privacy for both users and enterprises.
Although the concept of an information society has been
bandied about for years, actual information-based development has just begun.
The ongoing pursuit of better user experiences will continuously drive the
transformation of information services. The development of telecom networks and
technologies will also enter a new development phase. The combination of
optimizing user experiences and network technologies will undoubtedly drive
information services into stronger synergies and promote new applications and
technologies.
By Huawei team
[email protected]
