It’s a Flat World After All

In this month’s issue of Telephony, Kevin Fitchard explores a topic that is near and dear to my heart - flat network architectures.  The article examines how many carriers are moving toward this structure as a way to more efficiently process the deluge of data that needs to flow through their networks, for the simple reason (even if the technological explanation isn’t so simple) that having a flat architecture reduces the number of “hops” on the network for data, increasing speeds and reducing both network latency and bottlenecks.
 
I’ve been a proponent of flat networks for quite some time, and thoroughly enjoyed (and agreed with) Kevin’s analysis of why this design is better, as well as the real data he presented from Nokia Siemens - ROI like that is enough to have anyone jumping on the flat bandwagon!  But he did raise an interesting point about carriers who are already undergoing network transformations without planning to flatten their architectures. What are they to do? I’ll be interested to see if they choose to take the opportunity, as he suggests starting from scratch, and if LTE really becomes their turning point. 
 
One thing Kevin didn’t explore that I would have liked to read (perhaps a follow-up story?) is an answer to the question, “now what?”  For both carriers looking to flatten their existing networks and those who are looking to build from the ground up, how can they do so without crippling their networks in the process and to really get the most benefit from the transformation?  Surely using proper network planning in advance of the roll-out and conducting what-if analysis will be critical (those would be some interesting ROI numbers to see, too), but what else can carriers be doing in these penny-pinching times to ensure they and their networks are prepared for whatever the future throws at them?

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