The telecommunications industry struggled with an economic downturn and geopolitical turmoil in 2023, forcing us to rethink how we conduct business, expand networks and serve customers. We'll likely face similar challenges in 2024. Rising interest rates, inflation and network operations costs are forming turbulent headwinds for internet carriers. Internet carriers are also responsible for meeting the accelerating networking demands of hyperscalers and Big Tech amid increasing digitalization, AI applications, cloud services and more. As a result, the need for scalable, high-capacity bandwidth and secure, low-latency connectivity will persist regardless of 2024’s economic challenges.
With all we’ve been through in 2023, further predictions are speculative at best. However, there are a few trends I expect we’ll see in 2024. While technological innovation will help operators reinvent their network infrastructure, human collaboration will reinvent how we communicate across the tech ecosystem to foster cooperation. Some carriers may hunker down and play it safe. Others will reinvent their networks and invest in them to be more secure, efficient, scalable and reliable, enabling them to serve the connectivity requirements of global tech titans.
#1. Secure: The Human Network Will Protect the Global Network
The Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) threat landscape looks bleak when you peruse industry headlines. However, we may realize a brighter outlook in 2024. The tech ecosystem has collaborated over the past few years to reduce DDoS attacks and improve security on the network, with statistics showing positive momentum. At Arelion, our annual DDoS threat landscape report indicated a 35 percent decrease in DDoS attacks on global networks, signaling a possible power-shift in the DDoS arms race as the tech ecosystem collaborates to respond decisively to threats.
Increased cooperation among the human network may continue in 2024 through industry initiatives. These initiatives will strive to fill the weak spots in the network that cybercriminals have traditionally exploited. Through these industry initiatives, key stakeholders in the tech ecosystem (including service providers and IT infrastructure owners) can share network vulnerabilities, attack traffic patterns and more, creating safer global networks through cultural transparency. However, the human network is only a piece of a larger network security strategy. It should be bolstered by continuous technological innovation through automated prevention tools that mitigate multi-vector attacks.
#2. Efficient: Increased Network Automation
Network automation is not new, but it will accelerate to meet 2024’s challenges. Traditionally, large-scale network automation was operationally difficult and costly. However, with the development of advanced analytics tools that provide real-time data on traffic patterns and security incidents, operators will increasingly apply smart algorithms to automate network operations in 2024. These automated operations may include low-latency-based segment routing, configuration services, DDoS mitigation and fault management.
As carriers enhance their network automation and data-driven decision making, they will empower hyperscalers with the network efficiency and performance required to provide cloud services to their global customers for content, gaming, business needs and more. By accelerating network automation, internet carriers will also make their networks more energy-efficient through real-time resource optimization.
#3. Scalable: Accelerated Optical Innovation
Optical innovation will accelerate in 2024 to serve hyperscalers’ capacity needs, with this shift already underway in some carriers’ networks. More internet carriers will adopt open optical networking via open line systems, allowing them to deploy coherent pluggable optics to meet tech giants’ colossal capacity requirements. In 2024, large-scale optical innovation through coherent pluggable optics will help internet carriers reinvent their networks to be more energy-efficient and cost-effective while improving scalability and capacity. Carriers will also increasingly integrate line systems that offer an L-band option, allowing them to double the capacity of a single fiber pair and address fiber’s physical capacity constraints as we approach Shannon’s Limit.
Scalable, high-capacity bandwidth will be a key consideration for internet carriers in 2024, allowing them to adapt dynamically to hyperscalers’ vast amounts of data traffic so that hyperscalers can provide cloud services reliably and cost-effectively to millions of global customers. Coherent pluggable optics’ enhanced energy efficiency can also help internet carriers contend with rising energy costs. Along with network automation, these components make carriers’ networks more sustainable, with sustainability becoming increasingly important across the tech ecosystem.
#4. Reliable: The Continuance of an Open Internet
Unfortunately, geopolitical turmoil persists as we head into 2024. There have been rumors in our industry of an “isolationist” Internet. In other words, more nations will cut off global communications links completely, creating insular networks. While this seems plausible amid recent events, with certain nations already taking this step, this will likely not materialize on a larger scale. A globally connected Internet is more vital than ever amid increasing geopolitical tensions. An open, reliable Internet enables hyperscale cloud services that allow consumers to share information, communicate with loved ones and stay safe. No matter the cloud application, this free exchange of information relies on a dependable, underlying global network.
It’s hard to put the genie back in the bottle because the Internet’s power lies in its ability to bridge borders and cultures. To serve the need for a globally connected, reliable Internet, internet carriers will continue to build their networks to maximize redundancy and diversity, enabling them to minimize the impact of service disruptions due to geopolitical conflicts or other factors.
Meeting hyperscalers’ networking requirements amid economic turbulence
In the face of economic and geopolitical challenges, internet carriers are responsible for innovating their networks to serve the connectivity requirements of tech titans who provide business-critical services to global enterprises and consumers. Internet carriers that reinvent their networks to be more secure, efficient, scalable and reliable will provide optimal value to hyperscalers and tech giants in the coming year, many of whom are contending with similar macroeconomic challenges. While some carriers may seek shelter in the face of 2024’s headwinds, these cultural and technological reinventions will ensure a smooth landing for the carriers who dare to innovate in 2024.
