With more people spending more time online and consuming data-heavy content, network infrastructure is under constant pressure to expand and improve. This challenge is compounded by the rapid shift towards cloud-based services and applications. Carriers must not only maintain and upgrade their existing infrastructure but also adapt it to support cloud-first architectures. This transition often requires significant in new technologies and skills, as well as careful planning to ensure seamless integration with legacy systems. Balancing these demands while maintaining the high standards of carrier-grade networking is a complex and ongoing challenge.
Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) is particularly relevant for carriers in this context as it combines network security functions with WAN capabilities, offering a cloud-native architecture that aligns perfectly with the evolving needs of modern enterprises. By implementing SASE, carriers can provide enhanced security, improved performance, and greater flexibility to their customers, all while maintaining control over their network.
Teridion is pioneering advanced solutions to these challenges, investing over $65 million to create the world’s largest private global network backbone. Trusted by major international telecoms like Deutsche Telekom and Singtel, what sets Teridion apart is its ability to universally support fully integrated Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) technology. That means zero-touch provisioning with any edge device or service, and end-to-end traffic encryption that integrates network security with any SSE vendor.
With Teridion’s solution, carriers can offer a seamless connectivity experience that evolves ahead of the network technology curve, exceeding customers’ expectations for speed, capacity, and dependability. Importantly, this is achieved while allowing carriers to preserve complete visibility into network operations and maintain end-to-end economic control, increasing margins and positioning them as SASE owners—not just resellers. In other words, carriers can stay competitive in a rapidly evolving telecommunications landscape without sacrificing profitability or operational insight.
Understanding Carrier-Grade Networks
Carrier-grade networks represent the highest tier of networking infrastructure, designed to meet the exacting demands of telecommunications service providers. At their core, these networks are distinguished by their exceptional reliability, typically maintaining “five nines” (99.999%) availability, which translates to less than 5.26 minutes of downtime per year. This remarkable uptime is achieved through comprehensive redundancy, including backup hardware components, multiple network paths, and geographically distributed systems, all supported by automatic failover mechanisms and hot-swappable components that enable maintenance without service interruption.
Network Challenges Faced by Carriers and Their Customers
Latency, or the delay in data transmission, is a persistent issue that carriers struggle to minimize. For enterprise customers, high latency can disrupt critical real-time applications such as video conferencing, Voice over IP (VoIP), and financial trading platforms. Imagine a multinational corporation conducting a crucial video conference with teams spread across the globe. Even a few hundred milliseconds of delay can lead to awkward pauses, talking over each other, and ultimately, a less productive meeting. This seemingly small issue, when repeated daily, can significantly impact overall business efficiency and employee satisfaction.
For small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), latency issues can hamper their ability to compete effectively in an increasingly digital marketplace. An e-commerce company, for instance, might struggle with slow page load times due to network latency, leading to higher bounce rates and lost sales. In today’s fast-paced online environment, even a one-second delay in page response can result in a 7% reduction in conversions, directly affecting the SMB’s bottom line.
Remote workers, who have become increasingly common in recent years, are particularly vulnerable to network challenges. A data analyst working from home might find it difficult to access and manipulate large datasets stored on company servers due to high latency. This not only reduces productivity but can also lead to frustration and a sense of isolation from the wider team.
Downtime presents another critical challenge for carriers. The expectation of 24/7 availability means that any period of network unavailability can have severe consequences. For enterprises, network downtime can result in substantial financial losses. According to a 2022 ITIC study, 91% of SMEs and large enterprises say a single hour of downtime costs over $300,000. For SMBs, even short periods of downtime can lead to missed opportunities and damaged customer relationships.
Scalability issues often become apparent during periods of unexpected demand surges. Carriers must be able to quickly scale their network capacity to handle these spikes without compromising performance. The COVID-19 pandemic provided a stark example of this challenge, with many carriers struggling to cope with the sudden increase in network traffic as millions of people shifted to remote work and online learning almost overnight.
Poor network performance leads to increased pressure on customer service teams, as they deal with a higher volume of complaints and support requests. This not only increases operational costs for the carrier but can also lead to negative word-of-mouth and damage to the carrier’s reputation.
These network challenges have a direct impact on customer satisfaction and, consequently, on customer churn. According to a McKinsey report, “As much as 38 percent of churn [for telcos] is driven by network issues, with customers seeking better data speeds and voice reception.” This statistic underscores the critical importance of network performance in retaining customers.
What Today’s Customers Expect from a Carrier-Grade Experience
Service-Level Agreements (SLAs) have traditionally played a significant role in setting customer expectations by guaranteeing performance metrics such as uptime and latency. However, in an increasingly competitive market, customer demands are shifting toward a seamless, personalized experience that goes beyond the minimum requirements laid out in SLAs.
The evolution of the carrier-grade experience is heavily influenced by customer expectations for real-time responsiveness and problem resolution. Differentiating in the market requires offering an intuitive, frictionless experience. As McKinsey highlights, telecom operators can harness AI to better understand individual customer preferences and network experiences, which helps drive both customer satisfaction and operational efficiency. AI allows telecoms to create a more personalized experience, from proactive network adjustments to tailored service recommendations, boosting customer engagement and loyalty.
This shift in customer experience is not just about preventing service disruptions. It’s about using technology to anticipate customer needs, personalize interactions, and deliver more meaningful experiences. According to McKinsey, AI-driven personalization can enhance customer lifetime value by predicting user behaviors and dynamically adjusting network capabilities to optimize performance for each individual customer. As telecoms adopt AI to reshape the customer experience, the network itself becomes part of the product, enhancing both the service quality and the overall customer relationship.
The Role of Cloud Networking in Carrier-Grade Solutions
The transition to cloud-based networking offers telecommunications companies several significant advantages. Operational efficiency stands at the forefront, with automated network management and orchestration reducing manual intervention in routine tasks and optimizing resource allocation. This automation leads to lower operational costs and improved overall efficiency.
The cloud also provides unprecedented scalability and flexibility, allowing telecoms to adjust capacity dynamically based on demand, deploy services rapidly, and expand geographically with greater ease. Innovation capabilities are significantly enhanced, as cloud infrastructure enables faster introduction of new services and easier integration of emerging technologies such as 5G, IoT, and edge computing.
From a financial perspective, the shift from CAPEX to OPEX models reduces hardware investment needs and provides more flexible pay-as-you-go pricing options. Additionally, cloud migration can substantially improve service quality and customer experience through enhanced network reliability, better performance monitoring, and faster problem resolution.
However, telecoms face numerous challenges in executing this transition. Technical complexities present significant hurdles, particularly in integrating legacy systems with new cloud infrastructure and implementing network function virtualization (NFV).
The organizational challenges for telecom operators to transition to cloud-based networks are equally daunting. Telecom’s established workforce, trained in legacy hardware systems and protocols, often lacks crucial skills in cloud computing and resists fundamentally changing their established expertise mid-career. This challenge is amplified by a deep cultural mismatch, as telecoms’ traditional utility-like focus on reliability clashes with the fast-paced, agile methodologies required in cloud computing environments. While telecoms offer stability, they often can’t match the compensation packages, equity, and innovative culture of pure tech companies or startups.
Security and compliance pose another set of challenges, as telecoms must navigate data sovereignty requirements, ensure regulatory compliance across different regions, and implement enhanced security measures for cloud environments. Operational risks during the migration process are significant, including concerns about service continuity, performance consistency, and the potential for vendor lock-in.
Vendor selection and partnership play a crucial role in the success of cloud migration initiatives. The right vendor can provide not only the technical infrastructure but also valuable expertise and support throughout the transition process. Telcos must carefully evaluate potential partners based on their track record, technical capabilities, security standards, and long-term viability. A strong partnership can help navigate the challenges while maximizing the benefits of cloud adoption.
How Teridion Supports Carrier-Grade Networking
Teridion’s AI-powered private global backbone enables carriers to transform their networks by offering seamless, high-performance connectivity designed for the cloud era. By leveraging real-time traffic steering and dynamic path selection, Teridion provides optimized network performance at both the middle and last mile, ensuring that users experience fast and reliable connectivity regardless of their location. With its CAPEX-free deployment and zero-touch provisioning, Teridion’s solution integrates smoothly into existing carrier networks, allowing for easy scalability and multi-cloud support. This ensures that carriers can deliver a network that adapts to the speed of business, enhancing customer experiences without the need for expensive infrastructure overhauls.
The security and transparency offered by Teridion’s global backbone further elevate the carrier-grade experience. By integrating end-to-end traffic encryption and providing a single pane of glass for monitoring application performance and routing, Teridion helps carriers maintain full visibility and control over their networks.
This not only ensures compliance with stringent security standards but also enhances the quality of service delivered to customers.
The network’s plug-and-play architecture, combined with customizable APIs and white-label options, allows carriers to offer highly personalized services, supporting use cases like IoT edge device communication, remote work, and 5G backup. Trusted by global telecoms, Teridion empowers carriers to meet modern customer demands for speed, security, and flexibility.
