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Intel and telcos left in virtual RAN limbo by rise of AI RAN
A multitude of general-purpose and specialist silicon options now confronts the world's 5G community, while Intel's future in telecom remains uncertain.
The age-old user-vendor disconnect persists
November 1, 2006
5:30 PM -- So, I'm lurking in the halls of the Hyatt Regency Chicago after this morning's keynote panel at Mobile Business Expo, which featured executives from AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), Siemens AG (NYSE: SI; Frankfurt: SIE), IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM), and Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC). And I strike up a conversation with an enterprise user who just got out of the panel.
ME: So what'd did you think of the panel.
USER (in heavy British accent) : I thought it was bollocks.
ME (knowingly) : Yeah.
USER: Yeah. Y'know, these guys say, 'Oh, the price doesn't matter. It's value.' Well, it does matter.
ME: They don't live in the real world, huh?
USER: Definitely not. They're up there talking about how great voice-over-WiFi is, and guess what? Their company is pushing a voice-over-WiFi solution.
ME: Bollocks.
USER: Right. I take this stuff to my CEO, and he says, 'We've got a system that never goes down. And you want me to replace it?' I've got to show him something that will pay for itself. Soon.
ME: So will you be adopting WiMax, or any of the other new technology they're promoting here?
USER: Well, sure, eventually. But this idea that the price doesn't matter, it's...
ME: Bollocks?
USER: Right.
— Richard Martin, Senior Editor, Unstrung
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