> Moving to newer protocols makes a lot of sense, but for much of the developing world I imagine they'll continue to rely on legacy technologies like SS7 for so

> Moving to newer protocols makes a lot of sense, but for much of the developing world I imagine they'll continue to rely on legacy technologies like SS7 for some time to come, as they have that hardware in place etc. SS7 is going to be here for a loooong time yet, just like email hasn't died. > The driver away from legacy equipment in the West Most of the cell towers that are install in the EU are Software defined. Its far cheaper and future proof to have them programmable. Most other legacy stuff has been ripped out years ago, its far cheaper to maintain one fibre link than 15 ATM lines. Older kit eats power, which means for remote cell cites, more fuel. This costs money, so its cheaper to rip out and put newer power efficient kit in.