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Technology Stocks : LAST MILE TECHNOLOGIES - Let's Discuss Them Here
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To: John Stichnoth who wrote (3209)3/24/1999 7:22:00 AM
From: Frank A. Coluccio  Read Replies (2) of 12823
 
In PSTN voice terms, there are analogies to the stupid network trend on the data side, which to this point has addressed the Internet.
isen.com

The dumb-core/smart-edge movement started in the PSTN, in a very subtle way, right after the divestiture of AT&T in the mid-Eighties. It was not profound at first. The five class hierarchical model of switching has been "flattened" considerably, bringing both intelligence and routing closer and closer to the edge, from the center, through the use of programmable switches.

This trend accelerated about two or three years ago. Today it is not uncommon to have a CLEC or other SP peer directly with "class 5" machines thousands of miles away, without ever going up and down the traditional hierarchy. Furthermore, the Advanced Information Networking smarts resides on hosts on these programmables, which are situated at the edge.

THe above describes how the physical layer has been flattened, but it should be understood that in the PSTN, centralized intelligence for call initiation and tear down still resides in an overlay platform known as SS7/C7... and in subscriber data bases. But with memory and storage being so cheap, what's to stop these from being cached locally, as well? Just some thoughts... comments welcome.
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