Now that network operators worldwide have migrated various service platforms to an IP-based NGN platform – or are in the process of doing so – one might have thought that a redifferentation of services would be taking a step back. But as we have seen, a QoS differentiation in all-IP networks offers a lot of potential to operators. So it is a step in the direction of the future after all.

Change of course needed

According to the legend, Aeneas saved himself and his men from the monsters by changing course. In other words: recognition of a threat at an early stage is vital for survival. If you once enter the strait, you are lost. For network operators, this means turning away from the course “business as usual”. Differentiation in the form of a network capable of better performance must be a component of the corporate strategy – and in reality, not just as a vision. What does the old adage tell us: “It ain’t what you got it’s the way that you use it!”