For telcos, hyperscaler protocols and edge clouds key in 2022

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Bangalore: Hyperscaler protocols and Edge clouds will be key for telecom operators in 2022 reveals the latest Enea study. The Enea study surveyed a cross-section of telcos and mobile industry thought leaders and experts to identify the key trends for the next 12 months.

State-sponsored cyberattacks accelerate and evolve: According to the Enea study, this year 2022 will witness an increase in the number and sophistication of nation-state cyberattacks on mobile telecom infrastructure. Citing the political tensions in different parts of the globe such as Taiwan, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, the study called mobile networks as a potential target for espionage and disruption will soar.

Furthermore, IT/OT/telco convergence and 5G’s expanded attack surface including 2G, 3G and 4G weaknesses will all provide ripe terrain for achieving geopolitical ends via cyber warfare.

Hyperscaler protocols dictate terms to operators: Complex encryption protocols, such as Google’s QUIC, based on UDP, were meant to keep subscribers safe and improve web and video performance. And they have.

But they’ve left operators scrambling to maintain the traffic visibility they need to stay in the game. Expect more trouble ahead as UDP dominates traffic, and newer encryption protocols like eSNI and DoH/DoT become the norm.

Video delivery shifts to new edge clouds: According to analysts, the edge cloud market for mobile operators is set to grow significantly in 2022. Ultra-low latency applications like live multi-angle sports streaming and cloud gaming will be at the forefront of this growth.

While Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) have been bringing content and users closer together for many years, the nature of the edge cloud tilts the game in favour of mobile operators, who have ready-to-go locations across thousands of towns and cities.

Sustain the environment AND the bottom line: With mounting pressure around sustainability, climate change, as well as bottom-line, telcos need impactful earth-friendly strategies. They need to go beyond the straightforward savings of virtualization.

For example, Subscriber Data Management systems with flexible capacity expansion and smart synchronization between servers can deliver TCO reductions of up to 50%. What’s more, RAN congestion management can increase cell site capacity by 15% also reducing hardware footprint.

Wi-Fi ties the knot with 5G: As telcos deploy 5G, they’re struggling with in-building penetration that is up to 100x worse than 3G/4G. This undermines their ability to displace the residential broadband market and support indoor enterprise IoT use cases.

With Wi-Fi 6 tripling the available spectrum of earlier WiFi specifications, 2022 will see operators building their own Wi-Fi 6 capacity in public locations combining Wi-Fi 6 and 5G.

“For mobile operators, 2022 will usher in both opportunities and threats that deeply impact their bottom line. In the past, network providers had to grapple with encroaching hyperscalers, now a plethora of attack vectors make security in particular a critical consideration,” said Jan Häglund, CEO – Enea.

“We trust that the trends highlighted in this year’s report provide a roadmap for mobile operators to navigate our post-pandemic world,” added Häglund.

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