The new approach is well-positioned to fulfill the needs of a digital society that demands agile and dynamic solutions on demand, such as full mobility BYOD or, more broadly, seamless personal connectivity.
Successful new business models in the Internet ecosystem are then possible for connectivity services and network service delivery; Freemium broadband subscriptions enable real-time QoS on demand or trial periods with temporary hardware downgrades.
The new software architecture promotes innovation and puts pressure on the definition and standardization of APIs. ETSI defines wholesale services, such as virtual network features as a service (hereafter VNFaaS, Network as a Service or NaaS), to be provided by both NIPs and NSPs. NSP will use wholesale services to provide B2B network services tailored to ISPs and end client needs.
A hypothetical future scenario is that NSPs can only provide customers with connectivity infrastructure from NIPs as they absorb network management and service delivery, as well as broadband and connectivity telecommunications services commercialization and client support. OTT companies and international NSPs will be in a position to provide global network services through local NIPs.
Creating future value for end users
Many technologies have improved the efficiency, connectivity or performance of networks in recent years. With the advent of virtualization, improvements have focused on network agility and automation, thus improving the user experience.
One of the limitations of traditional network architectures is that applications running at L7 of the OSI model lack visibility into resources at the network layer; Hence, allocation of resources is not efficient. With SDN, developers can add software at the upper layers of the OSI (L7 / L4) and control the network at the lower layers (L2 / L3), thereby creating added value.
Virtualization technology is opening a door towards new business and residential business opportunities (B2B and B2C) where the main features are in the idea of providing more agility and adaptability to the end customers.
As the ICT sector becomes increasingly cross-industry, CSP’s future growth depends on their ability to understand the level of value they provide to other industries. As a result, we expect the B2B segment to be the future growth engine of the sector. There are now operators integrating networking into enterprise clouds, allowing for more flexible and dynamic business models. On-demand VPNs and flexible bandwidth-on-demand (BoD) will create value for B2B customers. However, future services will enable specific customers to have their own network, tailored to their specific needs (e.g. network optimized for content delivery), using bulk IaaS or NaaS. In general, the B2B segment will continue to require complex solutions that are specific and tailored to customers, while NSPs will use open APIs to develop a variety of services through NIPs to help solve challenges faced by other sectors of the economy.
End customers and customers connected to the network are the most valuable assets for a CSP. Value is created through further customization and context enrichment by providing flexible network capabilities such as on-demand bandwidth, premium connectivity, personalized and relevant content, activities and experiences, or ensuring the privacy and security of personal data in a cloud communication environment.
Global identity has the potential to be a turning point. Using OpenFlow (OF) enabled switches and access points (APs), the user can be identified to provide individual access policy and performance with independence of the access network or device used. Along with geolocation capabilities and usage trends, it is useful to provide big data behavioral knowledge through standard interface APIs.
The challenge for ISPs is to take advantage of that and increase their value in the chain. This is only possible by creating and capturing value based on their customer base across other industries through B2B services. In the future intensive scenario, the customer base will enjoy free basic connectivity, while B2C will rely on value added services provided by NSPs on the infrastructure of NIPs.