AT&T ofers voice-over-IP, part II
AT&T's $7 billion network modernization program last year
resulted in the completion of 32 SONET (Synchronous
Optical Network) and fiber-optic network rings in the
company's network, with the remaining 20 planned SONET
rings scheduled for completion this year, said Armstrong.
Each ring will carry traffic at OC-48 speeds. But AT&T
has begun to test, and will deploy, dense wavelength
division multiplexing equipment from Lucent Technologies
Inc., of Murray Hill, N.J, that eventually will increase by a
factor of 80 the amount of traffic carried on each
fiber-optic circuit, said AT&T officials.
In a move to align the architecture of its voice network
more closely with its data network and to combine all of its
voice, data and IP traffic on a single ATM backbone [ASND's OC-48 GX550 ATM core switch can fit here],
AT&T also plans to de-emphasize its core 4ESS voice
switches in favor of more decentralized 5ESS switches
and Northern Telecom Ltd.'s DMS [voice] switches placed at the
edge of its network, Zeglis said.
In addition to Armstrong's strategic and architectural
plans, AT&T officials have introduced the Interactive
Advantage set of Web-based monitoring and management
tools for its data services, an offering that competes with
MCI Communications Corp.'s similar networkMCI
Broadband View Web tools.
AT&T also has introduced new service-level agreements
for its frame relay, managed network and its WorldSource
international services. |
