 | Issue: | Global-ICT 2005 |
| Article no.: | 16 | |
| Topic: | The future of telecommunications: the next wave of innovation | |
| Author: | Jeong Kim | |
| Title: | President | |
| Organisation: | Lucent Technologies Bell Labs | |
| PDF size: | 256KB |
About author
Jeong Kim is the President of Lucent’s Bell Labs. He joined Lucent Technologies when it acquired Yurie Systems, a high-tech communications equipment company that he founded. During his tenure at Lucent, Dr Kim served as the President of Lucent’s former Broadband Carrier Networks, and as the Chief Operating Officer and, later, as President of Lucent’s Optical Network Group (ONG). He left Lucent for several years to join the University of Maryland faculty and rejoined it as president of Bell Labs. Dr Kim’s early career encompassed computer design, satellite systems design and data communications, and included seven years as a Nuclear Submarine Officer in the US Navy. He currently sits on numerous corporate, university and non-profit boards, including, among others, Johns Hopkins University and the Stanford Institute for International Studies. Jeong Kim holds a PhD in Reliability Engineering from the University of Maryland, a Master’s degree in Technical Management and Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Johns Hopkins University. Dr Kim is a recipient of numerous awards including the University of Maryland’s Innovation Hall of Fame, the Johns Hopkins University Blumenthal Award and the Ernst & Young Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
Article abstract
Soon, as you step off a plane, adaptive networks will provide your PDA with local weather and traffic information, then phone to advise your family of your safe arrival. Your wireless PDA will route your car to avoid traffic jams, read your email aloud and let you dictate responses. Natural networks using nanosensors and network intelligence will recognise users and interact naturally with them when they walk into the room. Customers will choose providers based on these personalised, adaptive services.
Full Article
On the surface it may seem that not that much has changed in the telecommunications network over the last five years. When you pick up the telephone you get the same dial tone. When you turn on the computer, you see the same Web browser and receive your email in the same inbox. What you do not see is that the networks behind these applications have changed, and continue to change, and this is setting the stage for a future with some pretty incredible services that will revolutionise the way we communicate, share information and are entertained. There is a true network evolution taking place, one that will impact every one of us. Where we have been The first step in this evolution has already been accomplished. Today’s networks, wireline and wireless, are faster, cheaper, more reliable and brawnier than ever before. Internet connections, whether dialup, DSL or cable, are significantly faster. That’s because new, more powerful and efficient technology has been deployed that dramatically increases bandwidth. Cellular providers are delivering wireless communications and connectivity that is clearer and more reliable than just a year or two ago. This is due to increased bandwidth and other advances that have improved the coverage and capacity of wireless networks. There has also been an increase in the processing power and functionality of devices at the ‘edge’ of the Internet, the devices the user touches. The mobile phone, wireless-enabled Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and personal computers, now support the emergence of new services such as video messaging and online gaming. Why send a voice message describing what you see, when your phone can now take a picture or a short video clip that you can send with your thoughts to your friends? So we’ve come a long way, but wait until you see what lies ahead. Where we are headed The next step in this evolution is that these high-powered networks are becoming much smarter. Through the convergence of services and the deployment of a new network architecture known as IMS or IP Multimedia Subsystem, networks soon will be able to recognise you, remember your preferences and deliver to you any of the voice, video or data services you are subscribed to, regardless of where you are or what device you are using. Ten years ago, if you wanted to know tomorrow’s weather forecast or local traffic conditions for your route to work, you would turn on the television or the radio and wait for a report. Today, you can instantly find an online forecast using your laptop or, if you are on the go, via a Web-enabled mobile phone or PDA. In the near future you will be able to pull out your mobile phone and see the traffic in real time through a remote video feed from a camera on the side of the highway. A little farther out, the network might proactively track where you are, know your route and alert you to a traffic jam and suggest an alternative routing. This will be possible through a service layer that makes the network ‘smart’ enough to know who you are, where you are, what device you are using and proactively feed you information that it thinks you need. With a network like that, it would be possible to step off a plane in a new city and have your mobile PDA greet you with local weather, traffic information and the baggage claim area for your luggage. A one-word voice command could place a call to your family, no matter where they are, as the network would know how to connect to each of them to let them know you have arrived safely. You could get in your rental car and the network, through your wireless PDA, will display an easy-to-follow map to your first stop, and automatically get directions for manoeuvring around any traffic jams that come up on the way to your second stop. While you are driving, your mobile device could read your email messages aloud and let you dictate responses. Once you have checked in at your hotel, you could use your laptop and log on to your IP TV service and watch your favourite show, even if it doesn’t air in the city you are visiting and regardless of time zone. And, when it is bedtime for the kids at home, you could just dial them up through your laptop and see them in full colour video so you can tuck your family in for the night. Your experience will be powerful, simple, seamless, flexible and, most important, personalised. This is not science fiction. The powerful devices are here. The broadband has been deployed. The network intelligence is in trials around the world, and the services, those we discuss above and hundreds of others, are being created today in corporate R&D labs, university labs and start-ups around the world. From connectivity to quality of life Up till now, a variety of static networks have been able to reliably connect people to information and other people, but in a very inflexible manner. Today, networks, both wireline and wireless, are becoming dynamic and adaptive. Networks can connect you to people and information more immediately and in real time, over whatever device you might be using. The real benefit of this new adaptive network is that the end user derives value from the network in a different way. People will no longer look to the network as a fast pipe through which to pull and push information but rather for ‘quality of life’ reasons. Does the network provide them with the services they need, when they want them, where they want them, and, often, without them asking? Customers will start choosing providers based on how well their networks provide these personalised, adaptive services. This is the near term future, this is where telecom is going. Beyond the adaptive network Our futurists are working on what we call the natural network. The real innovation in here is in the last meter. The natural network, through ambient nanosensors and powerful network intelligence, recognises users when they walk into the room (through an electronic nose, voice sensor, etc.), hears them clearly (nano-based microphones), sees them (nano-based liquid lenses) and, through voice recognition and powerful network-based processing, can interact with them naturally. This is the vision and the future of telecom as we see it. Quietly, in the background, wireline and wireless carriers have deployed a powerful broadband IP network. The devices in users’ hands or on their desks have huge new processing power and features not available a few years ago. Combine these recent developments with an intelligent network and the possibilities are endless. We are at the edge of a real transformation, a transformation in how people are entertained, share information and communicate, connecting everyone, everywhere to virtually everything, seamlessly, simply and securely.
