Convergence and SDN are the heart of Verizon’s bid to slash network costs

Convergence and SDN are the heart of Verizon’s bid to slash network costs When President Trump announced tax reform legislation at the end of last year, both AT&T and Verizon said the unexpected windfall would enable them to accelerate investment in 5G and new network architectures. Verizon, unlike AT&T, did not announce a direct boost to its absolute capex figure, but the impact on its deployment program, to support 5G and increased convergence, is starting to become clear. In AT&T’s case, the reduction of corporation tax from 35% to 21% led to a direct boost in the capex budget, to the tune of $1bn in 2018 (to nearly $25bn). Verizon did not announce a rise in its absolute capex figure,…