As with NFV (see previous item), so with software-defined networking (SDN) – operators have good intentions, but are at the very early stages of large-scale implementation. So perhaps, as in other areas, telcos can learn from the webscale industry, which is already a lot further along with SDN. And if Google is to be believed, it has already progressed to a whole new phase of SDN, which it calls a ‘network brain’ (or ‘temporospatial SDN’). The latest study to indicate how gradually SDN is making inroads into the central operations of operators comes from IHS Markit, whose survey found that most service providers have started evaluating or deploying SDN, but that barriers remain. The highest ones relate to products not…