Intel @ MWC14: Our Love Story with Mobile – Transforming Wireless Networks

Written by Bernadette Andrietti, Vice President, Sales and Marketing Group, Director, Europe, Middle East and Africa Marketing, Intel Corporation Bursting with product launches, new technologies and insights from the biggest names in mobile, the recent Mobile World Congress was as exhilarating as ever.  Each year the show is a heady reminder of just how fast developments in mobile are taking place, and how mobile computing has become so integral to our lifestyles. Our love story with mobile technology shows no signs of abating.  A quick walk around the stands at the show revealed a dizzying array of smartphones, phablets and tablets.  But it doesn’t stop there – we’re set to embrace even more mobile devices over the next year or so.  For example, brace yourself for a wave of wearable devices from smart watches and fitness trackers to smart headsets and earpieces.  Our mobile lifestyles are also becoming more connected thanks to the Internet of Things, where refrigerators, cars, thermostats and just about every ‘thing’ you can think of becomes connected to the Internet and gets smart.  To put this in context, by the end of 2014, the number of mobile-connected devices will exceed the number of people on earth. Of course, all these connected devices require bandwidth so Internet traffic is exploding.  In 2012, mobile data traffic was nearly 18 times the size of the entire global Internet in 2000 and it is set to increase nearly 11-fold between 2013 and 2018.  This raises the question – do we have a networking infrastructure robust enough to handle this explosive growth?  In response to this, over the last couple of years industry leaders have been focused on re-architecting the network to meet these new demands, and in ensuring carriers can reduce their high operational costs. Consequently, it came as little surprise to me that some of the most talked about technologies at the show were network function virtualization (NFV) and software defined networks (SDN).  Together, they signify a transformative approach to building and managing the network.  The approach allows service providers to upgrade their inflexible, expensive legacy networks to ones which are more dynamic, automated and can be run on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) servers.  This allows network operators to significantly reduce operations, administration, and management (OAM) costs, while providing more agility to address changing traffic patterns and simplify the deployment of new services, like cloud-based services. Intel has been driving technology advancements since it began in 1968 – our technologies power massive data centers, network infrastructure, phones, tablets, PCs, automobiles and the tiniest sensors.   And today we are working with industry players to help drive the transformation of the network infrastructure that underpins our connected world. For example, Intel is working with equipment manufacturers and service providers to deliver the standardized hardware and software ingredients needed for the new approach.  At MWC, we announced the expansion of our partnerships with Alcatel-Lucent* and Cisco* to drive adoption of NFV and SDN technologies, and to optimise them for Intel architecture.  We also talked about numerous Intel-based trials that are already underway to test the capabilities of NFV and SDN with leading service providers including SK Telecom*, China Mobile* and Telefonica*. There is a precedent in the server market for the kind of evolution that we are currently seeing in the networks.  In the 1980s, servers were monolithic, expensive and proprietary.  In the 1990s, Intel Architecture enabled affordable server platforms with far greater flexibility.  From the turn of the century, cloud computing – still based on Intel’s standardised hardware – has enabled ultra scalability, and rapid innovation.  SDN brings cloud-like flexibility and scalability to what have traditionally been expensive and proprietary network components. So the connected lifestyle is a key force of innovation and change across the mobile, networking and telecoms industry, and Intel is a key player in this transformation.  With the adoption of SDN and NFV, a consistent infrastructure based on Intel Architecture is emerging that spans the networks, enterprise datacenters and the cloud.  This in turn increases interoperability, efficiency and security – all of which are needed if we are going to achieve the mobile lifestyle we desire.  One where our devices recognise our faces and our surroundings, and offer useful information based on our location and personal preferences.  A future where technology enables us to monitor our health and the health of our loved ones and to protect ourselves and our belongings.  The world is getting increasingly smart and connected world, and I’m excited to see what progress we make by Mobile World Congress 2015. About Intel Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is a world leader in computing innovation. The company designs and builds the essential technologies that serve as the foundation for the world’s computing devices. Additional information about Intel is available at newsroom.intel.com and blogs.intel.com. Intel is a  trademark of Intel Corporation in the United States and other countries.  * Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.   Bernadette Andrietti, Vice President, Sales and Marketing Group, Director, Europe, Middle East and Africa Marketing, Intel Corporation Bernadette Andrietti is responsible for marketing programs, product positioning and launch management, insights and marketing research, advertising, media, sales channels and promotional campaigns as well as technical marketing. All designed to reach consumer, business and ecosystem customers to drive demand, preference and purchase intent for Intel products and solutions. In addition, Andrietti is an active Member of the EU HPC (High Performance Computing) Board. Prior to being appointed Marketing Director, she headed Intel’s European sales territory, responsible for growing demand, revenues and Intel brand preference amongst the 500 million population across Western/Central Eastern Europe. Andrietti joined Intel in 1988 as a design engineer for application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). Previously, she worked on ASIC design for SGS Thompson and Philips Electronics