Where would we have been without the technology that Capacity’s customers provide to the world?
For most of this year the world has endured a devastating disease, Covid-19, that has killed more than 400,000 people so far - meaning millions are mourning a loved one.
More millions, in order to counter the spread of the virus, have been locked down at home for months. Thanks to you in the global telecoms industry, though, families have managed to keep in touch; office workers and others have continued to do their jobs; in some cases, people have even got married by Skype or Zoom.
The industry’s Global Leaders’ Forum (GLF) launched an initiative,
#keepingtheworldconnected, to advocate for telecoms to be recognised as an essential service.
Although the world was less connected 20 years ago, just think if this virus had spread with such devastating speed when Capacity was founded.
Some, but not all, companies had email and a website; but most people did not have computers with email and web access at home — and if they did, it was dial-up at a speed of 22kbps if you were lucky. Mobile phones were still in the 2G era.
The international telecoms industry was then focused on the voice market — and, yes, it was thanks to the collaboration between telcos that we could then make calls to colleagues, customers and family members around the world.
But that was just the first stage of a revolution in telecoms that Capacity was set up to serve. Are we at the second or even third stage yet?
Covid-19 probably tells us that we still have a long way to go. The weeks and months since the first publicly notified case on 31 December 2019 show, more than anything, how important the industry is today — more than ever, more than in 2000 when our first issue came out.
Even as the global crisis created by Covid-19 goes on, the telcos are demonstrating enormous adaptability and resiliency, ensuring that the industry continues to develop.
For instance, CenturyLink’s Laurinda Pang, recently elected chair of the GLF, said in May that her company has grown its content traffic by 50% since the start of the pandemic. Gaming companies and networking providers are working together, she said.
Companies such as Deutsche Telekom, as well as Apple and Google, have worked with health authorities to develop contact tracers, to help measure and limit the spread of the infection.
And operators worldwide have recognised how important it is that they are resilient — and have a resilient supply chain.
On this twentieth anniversary of our beginning, I would like to thank all the companies and individuals across the industry who have supported Capacity as readers and customers. We look forward to following this vital and fast-moving business for many years to come.
I’d also like to thank all those men and women who have worked at Capacity through the years, of all nationalities, backgrounds and ethnicities. We are, proudly, a diverse group of people, serving a wonderfully diverse industry.
Ros Irving
CEO, Capacity Media
https://www.capacitymedia.com/articles/3825847/capacitys-milestones-over-years
https://www.capacitymedia.com/articles/3825848/the-world-in-2020-and-beyond
