When my daughter was about nine she overheard a conversation that I was having with my wife. We were talking about some of our favorite record album covers. Some of mine were Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” and the Beatles’ “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”. Having no idea what we were talking about, she asked what a phonograph record was. I slowly explained that a phonograph was a machine with a turntable that spun around. We would place a flat, round piece of plastic that was about the size of a pizza on to the turntable. With the use of a needle, the record would produce music that we could listen to. She though this over for a couple of minutes with a puzzled look on her face. She finally piped up and asked me what was on her mind…

“How did you carry it around while you were listening to it?”

In the telecommunications industry, we had better be focusing on the consumer of the future. These kids have never had to sit in one place to do anything. The ability to communicate and share ideas and experiences in real time is very important to them. It will be interesting to watch as our kids start to drive technology trends and become consumers. Old guys like me don’t mind sitting in front of a PC or TV to get my information but this will not be acceptable to the next generation. As tablets and smart phones with cloud capability become the standard, the PC and TV are going to be the record player of the future.

So what is the answer? Get more fiber out to the cell towers! Cellular backhaul is going to continue to be an important piece of the “Fiber Puzzle”.

By Tom Warren