Reflections . . .
The changes in activites at MH/AP just reflect the transition in the Telecoms industry from the government-run & regulated monopoly PTTs of the mid-20th century to the multinational "business-lead" carriers & vendors we have today.
So the greatest change that I saw over 20 years association with the place was the growing integration with the business; I was lucky to have worked on projects that started with fundamental research & ended with support of the paying customers! Others were less lucky, having developed services that became run of the mill in other networks, but were told by the "dead wood" civil-service-leftover managers, buried in their London offices, that there was no market for them.
Sounds like the pendulum has now swung too far the other way now; not enough folks thinking about where the technology can lead the business in the mid-term, & trying to keep ahead of the vendors, which has always been the real strength of telco carrier "R&D". The BS "futurology" demos have to continue as they provide a public face & cover for the real development work that is the bread & butter of the place.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
