It'll take awhile to get to the bottom of Sprint's announcement.
According to the following, Cisco will provide an ATM CPE solution negating a need for DSL.
Is this a little like planting a flag at the North Pole, hoping others will follow?
Pat
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Sprint Unveils Integrated On-Demand Multi-Function Network
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Sprint Corp. (FON) unveiled its Integrated On-Demand Network, which will enable users to conduct multiple phone calls, receive faxes and use the Internet simultaneously through a single connection.
In a press release Tuesday, the phone service provider said it invested more than $2 billion in building the network, which it expects to roll out to large businesses later this year.
The service will be generally available to businesses in mid-1999, with customer availability late in 1999.
Sprint expects the Integrated On-Demand Network to cut a typical voice call by more than 70% by using cell-based network technology.
Costs to provide a full-motion video call or conference call will be less than to provide a typical domestic long distance phone call today, the company said.
Sprint said the long distance network will be extended through metropolitan broadband networks available in 36 major markets nationwide in 1998, and in a total of 60 major markets in 1999.
The broadband networks will allow the Integrated On-Demand Network to pass within proximity of 70% of large businesses, without having to use Digital Subscriber Line.
Sprint said the network supports a seamless, integrated service to the desktop over an asynchronous transfer mode, or ATM, backbone network. The network provides voice, video and data services, with the capability to customize multiple services and provide access to unlimited bandwidth, available on demand.
Sprint's partners in the deployment of the Integrated On-Demand Network will be Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO), telecommunications researcher Bellcore, and Tandy Corp.'s (TAN) RadioShack unit, which will continue to provide Sprint services.
Cisco will provide technology, including customer premise equipment. Through the exchange of intellectual property, Cisco will provide the voice-over-ATM capability for the network, and the ability to connect to other carriers' legacy circuit-switched networks.
Sprint said it plans implement the Directory Enabled Networks, or DEN, standard, which Cisco is currently reviewing. Networks with the DEN capability place information about users and their services on the network to deliver better performance, reliability, security and quality for a variety of networked applications.
Bellcore is providing the central software framework that is the core intelligence of the network, in addition to commonly used telephone features. Bellcore will also develop software and provide consulting services.
Several companies have committed to using Integrated On-Demand Network services in the coming months, Sprint said, including Coastal Management, Ernst & Young LLP, Hallmark Cards Inc, Silicon Graphics Inc. (SGI), Sysco Foods and Tandy. >>>> |
