By Mike Bygate
Head of business development
EMEA, Latin America & the Caribbean, North America & Southern Europe
BT Global Telecom Markets (GTM)
Times are already challenging for network operators, retail and wholesale, doing their best to serve their customers. Even more challenges lie ahead. One example is Cloud, or Big Data, putting converged networks at the heart of communications and putting huge traffic volumes on them.
Already a reality, these volumes will continue their massive growth. The obvious solution would be to build big new networks, deploying new technology that offers scalability, flexibility and lower operational costs. But that would mean big investment in a time of limited capital.
So what’s an operator to do to prosper, or indeed survive?
The answers lie in innovation with vision for the medium and long term, strategy for growth, quick routes to market for new applications and services, and effective partnerships with vendors and customers – all supported by the means to interwork across various technologies.
That’s a tall order.
At BT we believe the way to fulfil it is a global IP exchange (GIPX) platform that embraces different technologies and adapts to evolving customer requirements and operator roadmaps.
Global IP exchange
The GIPX enables true interoperability. With it come opportunities to maximise cost efficiencies, defend current business and grow through innovation that creates new IP-based services.
Both fixed and mobile operators now see GIPX as a way to effectively interconnect their networks to deliver interworking for end-to-end services across multiple networks.
A pioneer in this area, BT already links more than 300 operators (and rising) around the world on our Global IP Exchange platform. With it we provide interoperability, support our service-provider customers through the migration of their voice business to IP, and combine voice with data so they can create new value-added services.
The growing number of customers on our platform led us to launch our first IP Exchange node outside the UK last October in Singapore. Now we’re planning more of these nodes in other regions where we see demand for IP interoperability. We plan to deploy the next one for the Americas in summer 2013 to complement our footprints for Europe via our UK node and Asia via Singapore.
We already offer high-definition voice on the IP Exchange and we plan other enhancements like video-calling, Sigtran, LTE/4G roaming, transit, international toll-free services and direct inward dialing.
That’s how BT is innovating in the wholesale IP space. What does that mean for service providers?
New services are emerging on their own networks and on the internet (over-the-top or OTT) that have the potential to generate new revenue ― if they can be extended across network borders to become national or international services.
However, they are now available only on network “islands”, with little interworking between different providers’ services and between managed networks and OTT internet applications.
The BT Global IP Exchange can enable true interworking. Plus BT can offer white-labelled services and help for service providers to create innovative consumer services and enterprise portfolios.
For example, the IP Exchange enables high-definition voice, providing a high-quality calling experience across networks so end customers benefit from seamless availability. This adds real value by helping operators retain premium customers to keep ARPU and margin up.
They all position BT as a strong partner for new services.
In summary, service providers face tough challenges, not just in the network. But within those challenges lie opportunities. Through interoperability, service providers can innovate to create new services that their customers will be happy to buy.
Why not work with BT to seize the opportunities?
This article is based on Mike Bygate’s presentation for the Annual London 2013 Global Carrier Community Meeting (GCCM) on 19 March. Mike is a guest speaker to the conference organised by the Carrier Community, the Global Wholesale Carrier Club with 2500+ carrier executive members representing 1200+ wholesale carriers in 120+ countries. For more please visit: www.carriercommunity.com and its events page.
Biography:
Mike Bygate
Head of business development
EMEA, Latin America & the Caribbean, North America & Southern Europe
BT Global Telecom Markets (GTM)
Mike has 27 years experience in international carrier telecoms, especially with the commercial, product and technical aspects of voice services.
As head of business development for EMEA, Latin America & the Caribbean, North America & Southern Europe in BT Global Telecom Markets (GTM), Mike is responsible for creating and delivering customer-specific solutions based on the BT IP Interoperability portfolio, and for enhancing that portfolio for the future.
In his previous role as operational lead for the development and roll-out of BT services to new customers, he gained an in-depth background of IP Exchange services and their strategic setting.
Mike has a BSc (Hons) in maths and geography from Manchester Metropolitan University. In his spare time, besides golf, yoga, rounders, swimming and judo, Mike enjoys fund-raising and supporting a local charity for disabled adults and children.