David Hooton

The #telecom industry needs to engage rapidly with a new #platform technology called #MCP, which may form a central plank of future #AgenticAI architectures and #APIs. But it should not over-react or over-engineer. I'll do deep-dives later as I learn more, but MCP (Model Context Protocol) is moving so fast it needs immediate attention. It was announced by Anthropic in Nov'24 and has snowballed into a major "thing" In short, MCP servers give AI agents and #LLMs a well-structured description of, and access to, a set of available "resources". This could include APIs, tools, data sources or other AI functions. A common description is that MCP is an abstraction layer or "universal connector" that reduces the need for developers or IT asset owners to manually set up connectors for each of them. It could also be seen as a directory or registry of AI-accessible resources, or even a marketplace or appstore as an analogy. There will be many MCP servers, both in the cloud and in the enterprise's own systems. Some people describe it as being analogous to REST APIs, but designed for agents, with richer descriptions (context). There are also various attempts to create parallel agent-to-agent standards, such as Google's A2A. In telecoms, I see a range of possible uses for MCP: - Internal AI development by telco / vendor AI teams - Agentic discovery & consumption of telco and NetworkAPIs. Critically this could include both standard APIs (eg TM Forum or #CAMARA) and customer / specific APIs, and span telecom and enterprise networks, plus #CPaaS - Interaction with non-telco APIs (eg for specific verticals, apps, or adjacent sectors such as utilities and government) - Enablement of the #B2AI concept I introduced recently & discussed at the July #UnthinkableLab workshop with Andrew Collinson & Charlotte Patrick - MCP agents & servers inside network elements, such as RAN nodes, #5G / #6G core, home gateways, enterprise #WiFi or BNGs. That said, more deterministic (non-LLM / #GenAI) approaches may be more appropriate for low-latency or high-regulatory aspects such as #spectrum management. - *Maybe* a long-term post‑REST paradigm that could create a new AI front-end for systems, if we posit an "agent-native" world. There is already telecom work on MCP, including from TELUS, Telefónica, Vodafone, IETF, Sinch and The Linux Foundation #CAMARAProject Overall: - MCP is not (yet) a silver bullet. It’s a useful abstraction layer for APIs & future "Agentic-native" systems - Telcos should treat MCP as an urgent experiment for now - MCP and B2AI may become mutual catalysts - Security and regulatory concerns are *very* messy here. Beware - We're going to see lots of hybrids of REST, gRPC, MCP etc for different “users”: humans, apps, microservices, AI agents etc - No, telecom won't shape MCP. It's already too late - Laugh at anyone saying "Telco MCP market is worth $xxx billion" More to come from me. It feels important. Get in touch for private advisory & consulting.

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Network slicing is no longer just a concept — it’s live, nationwide, and powering real-world applications. With Jio Platforms’ robust #5G SA Core and Network Slicing Platform (NSP), 10 active network slices are now in production, optimized for scale, performance, and reliability. 🔹 Fully deployed across #Jio’s #5G SA network 🔹 Purpose-built slices for Enterprise, #IoT, #Gaming, #AirFiber, and mission-critical services 🔹 Production-grade and battle-tested for real-world traffic Welcome to the future of differentiated, SLA-backed 5G experiences. #software #innovation #technology #5GNR #5GCN #6G #networkslicing

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ITS & Freedom Fibre added to Zen Internet Fibre Hub. Trooli FTTP + Sky & CityFibre leased lines coming soon!   Yesterday was the official launch of Freedom Fibre’s consumer footprint and ITS’s B2B footprint in our Fibre Hub, giving our channel partners increased full fibre coverage, better commercials, and more choice. In the video below, I’m joined by Lindsey Sutherland, COO & CTO at Freedom Fibre, and Daren Baythorpe, CEO of ITS, for a brief chat about the launch & partnership with Zen. Lindsey reveals Freedom Fibre’s merger plans, which will double the size of Freedom Fibre’s network to about 500k premises. Daren talks about ITS’s reciprocal partnership with Zen, with ITS selling Zen services as well as Zen selling ITS’s services.   I announce that Zen will be launching Sky leased lines to our channel next Wednesday (13 Aug), Trooli broadband in a couple of weeks, and CityFibre leased lines around mid-September.   In addition, Zen has agreed heads of terms with two other Alt-Nets and we’re busy integrating. Announcements on both within the next 3 months.   Our ambition to become the UK’s Alt-Net aggregator of choice in the channel is gathering momentum!   Big thanks to Lindsey and the Freedom Fibre team, Daren and the ITS team, all the channel partners who joined us for the event, and the Zen team that is working hard to make the Fibre Hub a success.   #AltNet #FullFibre #Broadband #Channel #BCorp

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A lot of eyes will be on Cupertino tonight but we’re making history of our own this side of the pond…EE is now the world’s first operator to launch ARC (Advanced RAN Coordination) in its distributed mobile network.   Delivering a huge boost to 5G performance, including 20 percent faster download speeds and more reliable connectivity in the busiest locations, it’s already benefitting customers in Manchester and Edinburgh. Soon it will be doing the same for millions more in London, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool, Belfast, Cardiff, Newcastle, Sheffield and Sunderland.   Customers using the latest smartphones with 5G standalone will see the biggest performance gains, which is why we’re also rolling out our 5GSA network to 17 new towns and cities across the UK. By the end of December our most powerful network will be available to more than 37 million people within a year of its launch. More details here: https://lnkd.in/e8W7GFUY Thanks to everyone across BT Group whose hard work and expertise has made this possible. From Brighton to Newcastle and many places in between, we’re connecting our customers, communities and the country to the nation’s best network.

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The truth is: you can only be in the business your OSS/BSS lets you be in. This is especially true for 5G. A cornerstone of OSS/BSS is monetization, the process by which service providers turn their networks and services into revenue. In the past, revenue came from calls, SMS and monthly plans. Today, the landscape is far more dynamic. Service providers sell extra data packages, enable immersive video streaming, enable mobile payments, offer cloud storage and connect smart devices, like watches and cars, to the internet. Simply put, effective monetization is the key to turning innovation into profit. When it works seamlessly, everyone is happy and revenue flows. When it doesn't, no one gets paid. With 5G, opportunities are greater than ever. New business models like network slicing, IoT ecosystems and real-time services need a monetization solution that can capture every opportunity, scale efficiently and deliver tailored offerings faster. Learn more about Ericsson 5G monetization here: https://ow.ly/NwMf50WJoyH #NoNonsenseOSSBSS #monetization #5G Ericsson Software

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