1:30 PM -- Bob Dylan sprang to mind today, and not just because the hippy look appears to be coming back into fashion. Instead, I was humming a tuneless version of The Times They Are A-Changin as I watched events unfold at my national operator, BT Group plc.
Specifically, those changes are happening at the heart of the carrier's make-or-break 21CN project. As previously reported, Andy Green is now leading BT into the next phase of the next-generation network's development, with CTO Matt Bross, CIO Al-Noor Ramji, and other assorted executives at his side. (See BT Revamps, Creates New Units and BT Unveils Strategy Team.)
And as part of the transformation, BT has shut down its original 21CN VOIP test network. (See BT Ends 21CN Trial.)
But one guy who won't be there for the ride is Paul Reynolds, who almost single-handedly spread the word about 21CN to the global telecom community following its official unveiling just more than three years ago. (See Reynolds Leaving BT to Run TNZ and BT Moves Ahead With Mega Project.)
As anticipated, Reynolds is decamping to the other side of the world to take up the CEO role at Telecom New Zealand Ltd., which is facing some of the same challenges BT has overcome in the past few years. (See Telcos Consider the Splits.)
We wish the towering Scot the best of luck, and trust he plans to get up in the middle of the night each weekend to see if his beloved Celtic can see off the Rangers for another season in the Scottish Premier League.
— Ray Le Maistre, International Sports Editor, Light Reading
