During the recent Fall VON show in Boston, I was asked an interesting question while serving as a panelist on one of the panel discussions: "If you can help monitor the quality of a network, what advice do you have on building a high-quality network?"

I thought of various ways to answer the question, and then I had a mini-revelation (at least for me):

Peering aside, the outsourcing arrangements for long-haul transport -- Ethernet, microwave, or other -- are just the beginning. The real innovations are coming from the wireless carriers of the world as their services evolve and they realize that profits come from service differentiation and not providing the network.

Wireless backhaul over Ethernet is all the rage, as wireless operators switch mobile traffic from their TDM backhaul networks to Ethernet networks. This switch involves replacing the T1 lines they are currently using to connect the Mobile Switching Centers (MSCs) to their cell towers. This switch to backhaul Ethernet delivers lower operating costs and the ability to quickly and easily add bandwidth on-demand for their revenue generating applications, like mobile video, mobile data, and VoIP. By getting out of the network business, wireless operators are truly concentrating on their network core and the radio connections needed to deliver next-gen services.

Want further proof? Think about the recent picocell/wi-fi announcements from Sprint and T-Mobile. The T-Mobile HotSpot @Home service takes full advantage of wi-fi service whenever possible: your mobile phone will switch to your home broadband connection, a T-Mobile hotspot in a Starbucks, or any open hotspot. And Sprint's AIRAVE service takes a slightly different path, automatically connecting your mobile phone to the Sprint mobile service using your home broadband connection without switching the phone to the wi-fi network.

What does this mean for the consumer? It means that a lot of these customers will be tempted to ditch their landline phones and have a single phone number via their mobile carrier. If their phones switch to their home broadband connection, the quality increases immensely over having to get their service from a distant cell tower. For example, I have trouble at home connecting to my Sprint service, but the AIRAVE service will allow me to have reliable access to my mobile service at home.

For the mobile operators, however, this essentially removes the "controlled" world of Carrier Ethernet from the equation and introduces the wild and wooly Internet into the mix. Now, mobile carriers cannot enforce a Service Level Agreement (SLA) with the backhaul provider because they are not paying for backhaul services. Customers can connect to their mobile provider on any type of broadband connection, which means that customers will complain about voice quality to their mobile operator when, in reality, the operator doesn't have complete control of the quality of the connection. It's a good thing we've been trained to expect lower quality mobile phone calls these days because mobile operators will be at the mercy of broadband home network providers.

In addition, the wi-max deployments in the last mile will bring even further confusion to the mobile service equation, as not all mobile operators will be managing wi-max deployments in their network. Some will outsource the entire wi-max operation and some will connect their wi-max extensions to their Ethernet backhaul connections and finally to an MPLS core. This combination of network layers introduces a number of complexities and interdependencies that increase the risk factors for delivering a quality user experience.

In the end, wireless carriers are choosing to lose control of their network infrastructure to save on capital costs, and are now looking for creative ways to validate and troubleshoot their next-generation revenue services. Deploying additional layers of software and hardware, or rolling trucks to manage this environment, is highly impractical and cost-prohibitive. In response, operators and equipment vendors are developing new standards to measure and troubleshoot across these network domains and quickly trying to adapt to an unpredictable environment for mission-critical applications.

Deploying end-to-end converged service solutions at strategic points throughout their network that can provide visibility of core transport, backhaul transport, and access availability is the best way to retain customers who have switched from their landlines to next-generation mobile services that take advantage of the cost savings of wireless Ethernet backhaul.