Fresh from the classroom
Today this article is the third article "Communication introductory trilogy", the final article.
The first two articles, to introduce the basic theory of communication ( link ), as well as network infrastructure (mobile communications link ). Today, this would be a little more practical, tell us about the "communications industry."
"Communications industry" is the word, I believe we will not be unfamiliar. We often mention that too often see in the news media. As the name suggests, "communications industry" is the communications and related industries, not difficult to understand.
But in fact, most people outside the line, little is known about communications and communications industries. Even learned N communication majors in communication knowledge in the face of the communications industry, is also a look ignorant to force upon graduation.
Many people still believe that companies like Huawei is selling mobile phones, China Mobile, China Telecom, China Unicom, is selling phone cards and Zhuangkuan Dai. And those of us so-called "communications engineer" is foil, brush machine, computer repair, Zhuangkuan Dai.
We can say that the outside world for our industry is full of deep misunderstanding.
Communications industry, in short, is to focus on user communication needs and provide communications products and services of the industry.
Decades ago, the telecommunications industry is a big industry on high, because the technology at the core, be regarded as high-tech representatives, so the threshold is high. Like the telegraph, the telephone such "high-end" communications services, the average person can not easily affordable. Even in the 1990s, installed phone for ordinary families, is a test of economic strength.
At that time, the communications industry is relatively closed, self-contained set system, only a small number of enterprises and institutions involved. People want to go out, it is not easy. If you can engage in the telecommunications industry, will inevitably lead to envious eyes.
However, with the development of science and technology, social progress and communication technologies become more sophisticated, so down the altar. Threshold in communications product development, production and sales of getting lower and lower, adding to the communications industry companies, will more and more.
Open and competitive, completely changed the situation of industry profits, slashed prices also rapidly growing popularity of communications products, into everyone's life, changed everyone's life.
But can not imagine that, with the rise of the Internet, the popularity of individual PC, information technology (that is, we are more familiar IT) step by step over the communications technology, becomes the new hot in the market.
Now, although nominally information technology and communications technology known as ICT industry (IT + CT), but in fact, as we all know, the status of the communications industry as before, are squeezed more powerful IT. Moreover, this trend even squeeze annexation, more and more obvious.
If you let the relationship between IT and communications me, I think, can borrow now a very popular word to refer to, that is - cloud pipe end.
This is a very loaded word 13, many large companies prefer to put the word on the lips. In fact, I think the word nothing, just some of the concepts pieced together a package about it. Cloud, in fact, content and services, it can also be understood as a cloud platform or server. Tubes, pipes that passage. Terminal, the terminal is UE. A user through a pipe connected to the upper cloud services and content, is the cloud pipe end.
Conventional communication is the tube. The cloud and the end, more belong to IT.
We are kind of how a "tube" mean?
This is the root "tube" is actually the communications industry chain, or that a communications ecosystem.
The industry chain, including three important player character, namely telecommunications operators, telecommunications equipment manufacturers and other suppliers.
We use the mobile Internet and phone, with whose net? Operator's network. Our phone bill to whom? Operators.
Yes, like China Mobile, China Telecom, China Unicom such, responsible for the construction and operation of telecommunication networks and provide enterprises to provide services, is the basic telecom service operators, also referred to as operators. They are our main root "tube".
They have a national telecommunications competent authorities (Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, referred to the Ministry of Industry) telecommunications business practice licenses issued, to provide customers with communications services.
Note: In addition to the mobile telecommunications Unicom, China Radio and Television (China Radio and Television Network Co., Ltd.), also belong to the telecom operators, we tend to ignore it. The Chinese tower but not the operators, it is the infrastructure service provider, specializing in tower operators, infrastructure services like the station house.
Communications operators, though they have a lot of communication equipment, built up a network, but these devices are not of their own making, but from the purchase of communications equipment manufacturers.
Communications equipment manufacturers, is responsible for the development of communications equipment manufacturing companies. Like Huawei, ZTE, Ericsson, Nokia, is the world's four largest communications equipment manufacturers.
The same thing is making things to sell, communications equipment manufacturers and Konka, Midea, Haier home appliances such as equipment manufacturers are very different.
The complexity of the communications device is relatively high, professional level is relatively high, impossible to unload the goods away, also you need to be responsible for equipment installation and commissioning. Accurate, in addition to installation and commissioning, but also including design and planning, civil engineering worthy, acceptance of delivery, maintenance optimization, and so on. The work is very complex, it must be performed in a manner of operation of the project.
These projects if only by equipment manufacturers to do it themselves, is not possible. So, there will be many communications companies join together to participate. Such joint participation of companies, is the other suppliers .
Operators communications industry ecosystem is undisputed upstream . After all, our calls, both to the operator's pockets. National communications infrastructure for investment, but also basically went carriers.
Operators will throw an equipment purchase contracts, construction contracts and maintenance contracts, as one after another throw Hydrangea, attracting many industry companies to compete.
Wherein, the communication equipment purchase contract master, such as the core network, transmission network, base stations, of course, divide equipment manufacturers. Construction contracts and maintenance contracts, rob from the various types of supplier companies. This type of company, the number very much.
Some companies is the whole package, is a contract engineering projects alone. Some companies are subcontractors, the contractor is part of it. There are companies, it is after contracting the project, handed over to other companies to do the part, called subcontracting (sometimes is not allowed).
Equipment manufacturers such as Huawei, ZTE, will usually get a lot of project contract, it will be part of the work content, to their partner companies to do it. These companies, called their partners and subcontractors. These partners subcontractors, but also from the front of said suppliers. In other words, these vendors that take the operator's contract, also took major equipment manufacturers contract.
Just said, a lot of the number of contractors supplier industry projects, can be said to be a mixed bag. Many companies and some very large number, qualifications are complete. However, there are some companies, like purses companies, small contacts on small single live and work on human lease for a living. This treatment gives most small companies is very poor, is to eat human cost difference, there is no competition at all.
In addition to the project contractor, and some industry provides raw materials for communication projects, or companies involved in the manufacturing of some components of communication device, also known as suppliers, raw material suppliers belong or component suppliers. Such suppliers do not have the manufacturing capability of complete communication device, but it is also an important part of the communication chain.
Then there is the agent, as we all know, is the agent responsible for product sales agency.
In summary, the communications industry on the whole industry chain as shown below:
So, back to the question of the article mentioned at the beginning, like a home Wi-Fi router, enterprise switches such devices, as well as manufacturers of these devices, in the end count communications industry?
In fact, this question difficult to answer.
Communication, according to grade, generally divided into carrier-class, enterprise-class, consumer-grade .
The grading standards, product performance (speed, capacity), security and stability.
Performance carrier-class product is the strongest, largest capacity, highest security, stability but also the best. For stability, we will use the " availability to measure" this target. Availability requirements generally carrier-grade communications device is a "five nines."
The so-called "five nines", is 99.999%. In other words, it is to run one hundred thousand minutes allowed for one minute of service interruption. Then put it another way: every year only allowed to interrupt service for 5 minutes.
Our mobile phones, broadband such basic telecommunications services, namely mobile communications service Telecom, China Unicom offer, it must be designed in accordance with such standards. Every few days so that you can not "lost contact with."
The enterprise-class communications equipment, mainly medium-sized enterprises internal use, availability requirements will be much lower, as "three nines."
Of course, it is the lowest level of the home, is "a nine." Like some of us everyday household network devices, such as Wi-Fi router, obviously stability is not very good, often the problem occurs, the interrupt service.
Most communications equipment manufacturers, can manufacturing enterprise and consumer-grade equipment. Strong power companies can be manufactured carrier-class equipment.
Telecom is part of the communication . Broad communications companies, including providing enterprise-class telecom, enterprise and commercial grade communications products and services. The narrow communication enterprises, mainly telecommunications and enterprise-class (especially telecom grade) communications products and services company.
In other words, if a company only manufactured home Wi-Fi router, then it is a broad communications companies, telecommunications companies, rather than narrow, nor is telecommunications companies.
Earlier we said, is a tube-based communications, IT is the end and cloud-based.
End is the user side equipment, a user terminal. Phone is terminal, set-top box is a terminal, the terminal is a wearable device. These terminals are generally classified as consumer electronics consumer products, manufactured and sold by terminal equipment manufacturers. For example millet, OPPO, VIVO and other companies, is the manufacturer of the terminal device. Note, Huawei and ZTE, are also involved in business in this area.
Terminal this business, there is a very interesting place, that is, communication chips and modules. Although the terminal manufacturers generally classified in the IT, but the communication chips and modules, or belonging to some more traditional communications.
The final step is cloud .
Where cloud? Clouds in the IDC (Internet Data Center, Internet Data Center) in.
We often see on television the kind of large Google fried chicken room, is IDC, which kept a large number of servers, a magnetic array, switches and firewalls and other equipment. Switches, routers and firewalls, are data communication equipment, also belong to the network resources. Server count belong force, is computing resources. Magnetic storage resources belonging to the array. These three, basically belong to the scope of IT.
The IDC in pooled computing resources, storage and network resources, hardware resources belonging to, and then with the major software resources provided by the company, built up a cloud computing service. We watch videos, play games, listen to music, brush circle of friends, computing services are supported by these clouds. Obviously, these content and services, also belong to the category of IT.
Traditional communications, responsible for users and content, linking business, from the perspective of the role, is important. Like the article mentioned, if there is no blood vessels and nerves, your muscles and then developed useless, no matter how powerful your brain can not even play a role.
Importantly, however, does not mean that valuable. Air and water is very important, however, air and water worthless?
Data have value. As the pipeline, if the user data can not touch, out of the reach of business users, can not grasp the needs of users, will be marginalized, they can not add value.
This is why the main reason for the increasing decline of the communications industry. Again, this is why the old equipment manufacturers such as Huawei, will be in the terminal and cloud computing force, and China Mobile such incumbent, will set up a microphone main reason for such content services company goo.
Finally, I would like to mention that the Internet of Things.
With the continuous development of communication technology, the popularity of smart phones and mobile Internet, the communication needs of human beings has been well met.
Communication next goal is to achieve "all things Internet." In other words, starting from the communications network networking people to change things.
Especially NB-IoT, LoRa, eMTC the rise of low-power wide-area networking technology, but also accelerated the arrival of the era of "all things Internet." Communications operators have set up subsidiaries things, equipment manufacturers are also vigorously develop networking technology and promote the standard of things landing. Wisdom agriculture, medical wisdom, smart city, intelligent transportation ...... these concepts and things related to the flock. A lot of things startups have sprung up, join into this wave.
In view Jun jujube, 5G can not succeed, depends entirely on the Internet of things can not be successful. If 5G and things to be successful, that the communications industry will usher in a new period of prosperity. If things 5G and has yet to open up the situation, and that the future of the communications industry, and will no doubt continue to grope in the dark torment.
NetAll-CCS open platform of Things