From Walled Garden to Community Garden: Collaborating in a Competitive World

by Wedge Greene & Trevor Hayes

The economic drivers of Edge service providers and those of Core service providers are not the same. The Edge (companies providing devices or over- the-top services) represents the new generation of service providers - innovative, flexible and somewhat impatient, they are accustomed to a business environment with a relatively low barrier to entry. The Core (network owners/operators) is the domain of more traditional companies, those with large investments in network infrastructure, accustomed to being able to exert a level of control over customers and partners. The Core and Edge could view each other as competitors, but we suggest looking at becoming partners to yield a more positive business outcome. The emergence of a collaborative attitude should allow all to flourish. What results is not simply a world in which the Edge provides the services and the Core provides the network. Instead, The Core unbundles component services to qualified partners at the Edge. Edge companies use the service enablers supplied by the Core. The starting point for the Garden Clubtm could be the development of an “open” Service Delivery Framework.

Wedge Greene is a consultant for LTC International.