Networks are about communication, and communication means standards. As networks across the world reach out toward everything from mainframes to smart devices, those standards become even more important. Fast data transfer means providers must agree to a common set of rules for their networks, according to Willie Lu, chairman and chief executive officer at Technaut Intellectual Venture.

“From a design view, my picture is very clear,” said Lu, as he described how carriers are moving from a carrier-centric model to one focused on the user.

Lu spoke to John Furrier (@furrier), co-host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE’s mobile live-streaming studio, at their Palo Alto, CA location, to discuss this week’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, as well as how mobile is expanding.

Taking mobile across network borders

“When you talk about mobile, you have three vectors: high speed, mobility and capacity,” Lu said. Previously, 2G, 3G and 4G focused on only one of those vectors. In the future, providers will need to offer all three. A single standard won’t work, so providers are converging multiple standards into the same device, he explained.

When wireless converges, a phone can run on a Wi-Fi-first basis, grabbing a signal first and then worrying about providers. If AT&T doesn’t work where they are, the user can switch to Verizon, etc. “We’re building a community based on mobile Wi-Fi; that’s in the next five years,” Lu said.

Providers in the future won’t just supply access, but also more services, Lu stated. For the operator, it’s not good to focus on making money from access alone, because access is getting cheaper. On the vendor side, they can’t support just one standard, because customers are moving between networks, she added.

The future seems to hold a transition from mobile communication to personal communication. In this future, everything will be person-centric, moving with the customer. Wireless won’t just provide access, it will act as a gateway for everything a person needs to live their life. “That’s why we need a wireless network converged together,” Lu said.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE and theCUBE’s coverage of the Mobile World Congress 2017 Barcelona.

Photo: SiliconANGLE