Panel session: Telco meets ICT

The evolution and convergence of technologies have blurred the lines that once separated telecom players from the world of information and communication technology (ICT), and the two sectors are on a collision course. With the advent of Internet of Things (IoT) this collision is even more eminent, as it requires a tight integration between telecom and ICT services.
Today, many telecoms are actively trying to make use of their existing position and infrastructure scale to move beyond basic voice and data services and begin providing ICT services. The most prominent path in this direction goes over Mobile Edge Computing (MEC), which pushes the frontier of computing applications, data, and services away from centralized nodes to the logical extremes of the network. Due to its proximity to mobile subscribers, telecoms can offer a service environment with ultralow latency and high-bandwidth, as well as direct access to real-time radio network information that can be used by applications and services to offer context-related services.
However, the convergence taking place is not a one-way street. A number of ICT players have already recognized opportunities to make a move into the telecoms space by designing substitutes for traditional telecom services, such as over-the-top application collaboration and IP-based communication applications. Additionally, modern ICT services such as Cloud Computing require communication products as integral parts of their offerings, and this is where 5G technology kicks in by providing ubiquitous and massive Internet access.
Finally, as the boundaries between voice and data, mobile and fixed, telecoms and ICT begin to disappear, so does the collaboration between those two worlds straightest in order to provide efficient, reliable and secure services to end users.

Panelists:

Univ. Prof. Dr. Ivona Brandic, Vienna University of Technology

University Professor for High Performance Computing Systems at the Institute for Software Technology and Interactive Systems.

 
Dr. Albrecht Sandor, Ericsson Research

Director of Digital Services Design in Ericsson Research and founder of Ericsson Garage, a corporate technology and knowledge incubator.

Ms. Hrvoje Sukic, VIPnet d.o.o.

ICT and Security Director for Croatia and Macedonia region in VIPnet d.o.o. telecom operator.

Moderator:

 
Dr. Toni Mastelic, Ericsson Nikola Tesla d.d.
Innovation Coach at Ericsson for Unified Data Management.