The history of telecom central offices and attached assets are facing extensive change. When data centers were initially being developed, they wanted to be located inside of central offices due to the already in place infrastructure. With rising prices and new technological advancements, central offices are playing new roles.
Telecom central offices and wire centers are the foundation of the ILEC or Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers and CLEC or Competitive Local Exchange Carrier. In other words, central offices are the building blocks of the telecommunication infrastructure.
These essentials hubs are physical locations at which business and home subscribers are connected to a telecom loop locally. Inside the office are telephone switches and other telecom infrastructure necessities. The office code is identical to telephone area codes. These locations are also referred to as public exchanges or end offices.
According to Techopedia, the most important attributes of telecom central offices include the following:
- Network Integrity
- Uptime or System Reliability
- Compatibility of Equipment
- Natural Disaster Survivability
Telecom Central Offices Evolve
The virtualization of telecommunication companies and their networks is transforming central offices to be more alike with data centers. AT&T has claimed that by next year almost all of the global network will be virtualized, this has had implications for central offices that house the wholesale network. These changes are evolving the typical central office. One of the major game-changers lies within the cloud.
Companies like Verizon and AT&T are changing their vast network infrastructures to be more dexterous with emerging software. This advanced software will run on large commodity switches and servers that will take the place of previously installed hardware technologies that can be very expensive. Central offices as we know it will receive mechanical and electrical enhancements that will enable them to resemble modern-day data centers.
Computing Reasons
In a recent article, How Edge Computing Affects Everything, it explains how edge computing is going to be the way of the future. This new era of computing calls for a network that has an extensive infrastructure, including updated central offices, modern cell towers, and the inclusion of small cells. These adaptations will allow for applications with augmented and virtual reality, robotic manufacturing, self-driving vehicle, and other low latency applications. These changes to telecom central offices are providing new value to carriers and more.
The evolution of central offices is starting to emerge and that means that the location-based data surrounding these telecommunication necessities is more pertinent than ever. GeoTel Communications is the leading provider of all telecommunications infrastructure data, contact us to learn more!
Author: Valerie Stephen