From Strowger’s Switch to NFV and 5G: Automating the Network

Telecoms.com periodically invites expert third parties to share their views on the industry’s most pressing issues. In this piece James Crawshaw, senior analyst with industry research firm Heavy Reading, presents his thoughts on the opportunities for automation in the telecom industry.
For me, the three key themes coming from this year’s SDN NFV World congress (9-13 October, The Hague) were automation, automation and automation. The basic concept of automation – the replacement