Partnering could help service providers avoid becoming 'dumb pipes'

A report developed by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) for Amdocs suggests that service providers can avoid becoming "dumb pipes" for over-the-top content providers by partnering with outside players. "Forward-looking service providers are finding ways to generate new revenue via new business models," said the EIU's Denis McCauley in an Amdocs news release.

The report, cleverly titled "Fighting Smart," says that service providers have their own unique assets, including customer relationships that make partnerships a viable option.

There is another unrelated reason why service providers should partner rather than develop their own content. The number of IPv4 Internet addresses will run out by September 2011, at about 4.5 billion addresses. The good news is that IPv6, slowly progressing forward, can supply 4 billion addresses "for every person on the planet" according to details outlined at the IPv6 Summit in Dublin, Ireland.

For more:
- see this news release
- and this story

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