Author
Jessica Olstad
The central office is undergoing a bit of a transformation. While all of its functionality will be the same, more will be expected of it in the coming years. With the advent of virtual reality and the Internet of Things, the central office will take on more demand than ever before.
In our new white paper, “The Virtualized and Converged Central Office/Cable Headend,” we outline four trends that will no doubt have an impact on the central office:
1. Evolution of access networks: From the telephone to the fax to the digital subscriber line (DSL), the majority of the world’s fixed Internet services were delivered via copper in the last mile. While that still has a significant place, we are now on the threshold of a new generation of high-bandwidth, low-latency access technologies that enhances the user’s experience.
2. Convergence of wireless and wireline: Today, service providers are bringing both of these together. They’re adding small cells and building C-RAN hubs (centralized/cloud radio access networks). Some of the functionality that used to be performed at a mobile switching center is now inside the central office.
3. Virtualization: Physical functions performed by actual equipment are being replaced by software programs.
4. Moving to the edge: By establishing smaller data centers near the edge (closer to the user), more content (i.e., your favorite streamed TV show) can be delivered faster.
CLICK TO TWEET: Read the 4 trends that are redefining the central office.
This is a fascinating time for evolving networks. Yet, so much of the infrastructure is already in place. Operators just need to modify a little, and we’ve got them covered. CommScope created a page for everything you’d need to redefine a central office. Click here to get our central office checklist and learn more on all our new technologies.
Forecasting demand can be difficult, but that’s what we’re here for. Learning is half the battle to creating a solid – and successful -- plan of action.
