As DesiEngineer pointed out on the message board last month, it's probably too late for Cisco/Juniper to bother getting into the 3G/LTE radio network.
That means they're both banking on IP, building a story where "convergence" means the integration of the wireline and wireless IP networksto create better subscriber visibility and three-screen-ness and all that. As opposed to an end-to-end story of owning the radio network and the core network.
The RAN (Radio Access Network) is off limits for CSCO and JNPR. It's too crowded, too "old" (there are players in the radio space that are there since decades, starting with analog RAN's) , the marginality is too low and it's a market not (only or mainly) product-quality driven (as the Nortel story proves). The Mobile IP core on the other side is relatively new, much more open and...requires expertise (and footprint!) both vendors have. We shall see...
There's tons of money to be made in an LTE network, and not the least is the IP infrastructure. Juniper and cisco make it sound like they have "mobile" solutions, but in reality, they have IP solutions that can fit the, ugh, shall I say it, ecosystem.
Frankly, I think there's more money (profit) to be made in the backhaul and core IP network than in the RAN. So hats off to cisco and Juniper for sticking to the LTE sidelines and having a profitable business plan.
As DesiEngineer pointed out on the message board last month, it's probably too late for Cisco/Juniper to bother getting into the 3G/LTE radio network.
That means they're both banking on IP, building a story where "convergence" means the integration of the wireline and wireless IP networksto create better subscriber visibility and three-screen-ness and all that. As opposed to an end-to-end story of owning the radio network and the core network.
It's going to be an interesting debate.