Deutsche Telekom: Cloud services need ubiquitous mobile broadband
LIVE FROM HUAWEI GLOBAL MOBILE BROADBAND FORUM 2011: Bernhard Scholl, VP for radio network systems at Deutsche Telekom, highlighted the need for ubiquitous mobile broadband coverage to enable the adoption of cloud-based services. Growth in connected services “will only happen if all these services are everywhere available,” he said.
“I don’t want to have all my files in the cloud, if I don’t have access everywhere,” Scholl (pictured) noted. “If I just have access to it at home for instance, I would be quite unhappy… I want to use it all the time, outside my house, if I am on a trip, and so on.”
This ubiquitous connectivity will also be important as users begin having multiple connected devices.
The operator has a network evolution strategy in place to support the growth of mobile broadband services, including the adoption of a single RAN, with a single vendor supporting multiple network technologies at each site. The company is also updating its backhaul network. “Why are we doing this? We are doing this to reduce the costs per bit,” Scholl said.
Also highlighted were the potential of new technologies such as small cells to increase network capacity, as an alternative to building out the macro network. “To increase capacity, to build out new sites is very difficult,” he observed.
The potential for WiFi to support operator networks was also highlighted, although this needs to be integrated with mobile broadband technologies in order to deliver a suitable user experience. “If we just rely on WiFi as it is now, we cannot make any guarantee of quality,” Scholl noted.