In the end this will also be a worthwhile option for the providers. If they manage to convince their customers of the sense behind their long term and consistent technology strategy, then improved customer loyalty will be the implicit result. More consistent turnover over a longer period of time will then be able to be booked as a positive secondary effect.

But which measures have to be taken to actually achieve the network described above? For some time now, the producers have been working on production platforms which should make it possible to support a number of different technical standards in parallel, or at least to enable a simple switch between them through the relatively easy application of new software. In the past this has already been possible for individual network nodes and has also been applied in a few isolated cases. The ­challenge is however the application of this method for all network nodes, particularly those in the radio access network, as here there are hardware components which have been optimized to suit a ­specific standard at the air interface. The rapid developments in processor performance do however make it possible to ­achieve complete functionality using software, which should run on ­generic hardware platforms. The consequence is that the network functionality will no longer be defined by the installed hardware, but purely by the software version in use at any point in time.

A further area of activity is the gradual introduction of the IP technology into existing mobile networks. In order to achieve the long term objective of a unified transport network using IP technology the network nodes must be able to support this transport standard. But this doesn’t mean that we have to wait for the introduction of the new mobile standard, the platforms being used for newly installed 3G networks and capacity extensions in existing networks already support the IP protocol. This is vital if the equipment is to be used beyond the market entry of the 4G standard, and thus the return on its investment ensured.

To round off the measures to be taken, the existing network architectures should be gradually adapted to suit the target architecture. The standard is structured to allow this type of optimization as an optional solution, and thus makes it possible for the producers to aim for a consistent, flat network hierarchy at an early stage in the transition. In this way the operator not only profits from the related economic optimization potential quickly, but can also enjoy the flexibility needed to determine the timing of the migration so that this is in line with the over­all business strategy. The difficult part is the coordination of the necessary work on the network with operational business activities.