SoftNET's Expert Event on Challenges and Trends in Telecommunications Technologies and Their Impact on the Business World

Expert Event on Challenges and Trends in Telecommunications Technologies and Their Impact on the Business World

On Friday, February 2, 2024, we once again hosted the Business Breakfast, where domestic and guest experts shared their insights on trends in telecommunications technologies and their impact on the modern business environment. The focus was on ensuring uninterrupted operation of telecommunication services, the importance of securing access to cloud services, and the advantages offered by eSIM, VoLTE, and VoWiFi.

Challenges in Ensuring Uninterrupted Telecommunications

In the discussion about key elements for providing reliable telecommunication infrastructure, Stanko Gjuran, Sales Manager at Softnet, emphasized that the backbone infrastructure and data centers serve as the foundation for high-quality connectivity. Redundancy in networks and systems ensures uninterrupted operation even in the event of failures.

The significance of bandwidth for internet reliability was not overlooked. Gjuran explained how sufficient bandwidth allows companies to manage high data loads and ensure smooth operation of real-time applications such as video conferences and cloud solutions. He also highlighted the difference between broadband internet access (BIA), often shared among multiple users, and dedicated internet access (DIA), providing companies with an exclusive, non-competitive connection, ensuring constant bandwidth and higher reliability.

In the context of discussing key elements for ensuring reliable telecommunication infrastructure, Gjuran specifically highlighted the Starlink satellite internet system as an example of innovation addressing key challenges. It boasts numerous advantages, including global coverage, high data transfer speeds, and low latency.

However, Gjuran pointed out the challenges associated with Starlink, such as high setup and usage costs, limited network capacity that can impact services during increased usage, and environmental concerns related to deploying a large number of satellites. Additionally, weather conditions can pose a challenge to connection reliability.

Trends in Mobile and IP Technology

In their discussion on trends in mobile and IP telephony, Uroš Demšar, voice engineer, and Simon Gajski, head of the telephony department at Softnet, outlined the historical development and current innovations in the field. They presented perspectives on how technological shifts shape communication strategies and business models, moving from 2G to the anticipated 6G, promising ultra-fast, low-latency, and highly reliable connections.

With eSIM and technologies like VoLTE and VoWiFi, new possibilities are opening up for users and operators, from simplified installation and greater flexibility in using mobile services to improved voice call quality and broader accessibility.

In the context of these advances in fixed telephony, they emphasized how IP connectivity enables not only greater flexibility and accessibility but also direct integration with key business systems, reflecting a transition to more integrated, efficient, and flexible communication solutions. These trends indicate a transformation of traditional communication frameworks towards greater connectivity, digitization, and automation.

"In an era where digitization and connectivity are becoming the foundation of modern business, mobile and IP telephony are not just evolving as technologies but as fundamental pillars enabling a new wave of innovations that will reshape our way of life, work, and interpersonal communication," said Uroš Demšar.

Strategies for Advanced Connectivity and IP Address Space Management

In his discussion, Andrej Boštjančič, Director of Softnet, shed light on key strategies for improving connectivity, reliability, and independence through "multi-home" solutions. He emphasized how obtaining appropriate, independent IP address space allows users to start advertising to their Internet Service Providers (ISPs) via the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), leading to improved network availability and resilience.

He also discussed the challenges of acquiring IP address space and highlighted the advantages of private dedicated connections to cloud services compared to the public internet. These advantages include guaranteed bandwidth, a secure route, lower latency, and protection against Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks since no point on the path is exposed to the public internet. "It doesn't matter where the cloud service provider's server is located; Softnet installs an additional physical or logical Ethernet connection at the subscriber's premises and creates a connection to the relevant cloud service provider that the subscriber uses," explained Boštjančič.

Proactivity as the Key to Uninterrupted Business Operations

The concluding part of the event featured a panel discussion where, alongside Andrej Boštjančič, Jure Pirc, IT Manager at Four Points by Sheraton Ljubljana Mons, and Zoran Ćurić, Director of Frikus d.o.o., participated.

In the discussion, they unanimously emphasized that reliable and uninterrupted communication is the foundation of successful business, a value many may not realize until there is an outage directly impacting business operations. They stressed that waiting for problems before taking action is risky and irresponsible. Instead of a reactive approach, they advocated for proactivity, investing in robust, reliable, and secure telecommunication solutions that prevent outages and ensure business continuity.

"A timely investment in reliable telecommunication solutions and proactive network management is not only a safeguard for companies but also the foundation for sustainable development and growth," said Andrej Boštjančič, emphasizing the key message of the panel discussion.

In a rapidly changing business ecosystem, where companies face diverse challenges and swift market shifts, uninterrupted and reliable access to telecommunication networks becomes a fundamental pillar for maintaining efficiency and seamless operations. In such a framework, a deep understanding and advanced improvement of telecommunication infrastructure play a crucial role in building a robust and advanced business space.