IP's Future Is Now

This is not your father's IP network.

Not with converged voice and data, associated wireless LANs, IP television, remote access, and ultra high-speed broadband services, it isn't.

When it comes to these next-generation networks, the future is now. Consider the blockbuster deal that SBC just signed with Alcatel, the world's biggest provider of broadband Internet hardware.

SBC will pay Alcatel $1.7 billion over five years to build a next-generation fiber optic network that will deliver every service you can imagine over an IP network-- from IP-based television to IP voice, to associated wireless LANs, and a whole host of services we haven't dreamed of yet.

SBC, the nation's second-largest local-telephone carrier, isn't paying for a pipe dream. It's paying for a solid network that will deliver innovative IP-based services to consumers, and potentially businesses, and that will eventually fatten its bottom line.And then there are IP services once considered cutting-edge, that today have become mainstream, and almost ho-hum. As the Voice Over Network (VON) show in Boston showed, VoIP has become an everyday affair. Hardware, software, and services of every kind were on display. If you're not using VoIP today, you will be very soon.

Meanwhile, Nokia recently teamed with Sweden's Hotsip to use Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) technology to enable a wide range of new IP communication services between PCs and mobile devices. The agreement, says Nokia, will open up a whole range of application possibilities for IPO infrastructures built on Nokia's IMS, such as rich calls between mobile phones and PC clients that include hyperlinks and video.

But all of this pales in comparison with what a team of international engineers has just accomplished. They created the world's longest 10Gigabit Ethernet connection, spanning 17 time zones and 11,500 miles, in a serpentine path stretching from the University of Tokyo to the CERN particle physical laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland.

The average transfer rate achieved between servers was 7.57 Gbps for a single TCP stream. They were also able to get 9 Gbps disk-to-disk transfer with nine Xeon servers at each end of the connection.

What does all this mean for enterprises? It points to a new generation of innovative high-speed services on a converged globe-spanning network that can be managed more simply than the tangle of multiple networks businesses must deal with now.So get ready for your networking future -- it's a lot closer than you think.

SBC Selects Alcatel To Build Fiber Network In Blockbuster $1.7 Billion Deal
Agreement furthers Project Lightspeed, designed to deliver integrated IP Television, ultra-high-speed broadband services, IP voice, and wireless to 18 million households.

Researchers Build World's Longest 10GB Ethernet Connection
Network spans 17 time zones, stretches 11,500 miles in path from Tokyo to Geneva.

Nokia Teams With Hotsip To Provide Multimedia IP Services
Will use SIP to enable a wide range of new IP communication services between PCs and mobile devices.

VoIP Shows Signs Of Going Mainstream
The Fall 2004 Voice on the Net Conference in Boston expects to draw twice as much interest as it did last year, one of many signs that suggest voice-over-Internet Protocol technology is surging.DEEP BACKGROUND

Extreme Networks Debuts Power Over Ethernet Switch For Edge Devices
Switch will ease deployment of Internet protocol phones, wireless access points, and other edge devices.

Boingo And Vodaphone Announce Major VoIP-Over-WiFi Service
Business travelers will be able to make VoIP calls at Boingo's 11,000 hot spots using the Vonage service and softphone.

VoIP Gets The Call
As demand for converged data and voice services builds, vendors release a slew of products aimed at helping service providers deliver VoIP quickly and easily.