As communications networks become more about “our life’s work,” telecom operators should start to measure network relevance as much as revenue per user, and extract real value from emerging services.

That’s the message delivered on Wednesday in a keynote address to the telecommunications industry by Robert Vrij, Alcatel-Lucent’s President of the Americas and head of the company’s global strategic alliances. Vrij’s keynote is part of this week’s TIA 2012, Inside the Network conference and exhibition taking place in Dallas, Texas.

In his speech, Vrij highlighted the role today’s networks play in delivering value across a number of fronts, including economic growth, healthcare and education, to name a few. Taking these benefits into account, he will appeal to the industry to “tear down the walls” between fixed and wireless networks as consumers demand seamless connectivity between the two.

Vrij illustrated how the approach to the network should be less about measuring bits and more about measuring the impact that today’s integrated network has on consumers and enterprises a network that, according to Vrij, is “becoming more like the air we breathe everyday.”

Looking ahead, Vrij highlighted some exciting new service concepts that can embed the value of the network even more deeply into consumers’ lives than ever before.