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To: RetiredNow who wrote (13686)	4/26/1998 12:31:00 PM
From: Frank A. Coluccio	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 77400

mindmeld, >>Does anyone wonder why switching contracts have moved away some? I'm willing to bet it's because of the progress that Cisco has made in this area. But one area where LU has increased R&D spending is in data networking, so maybe they'll regain ground eventually.<< Cisco does not, believe it or not, compete in the switching area that the poster was alluding to. His reference was to larger Telco-grade end-office and long-distance voice switching 'machines,' not the LAN/WAN data networking "switches" that I believe you referred to. He's talking heavy metal, not wafers. FWIW, Cisco, along with many other traditional data vendors, is entering the Telco venue from a different angle, putting their chips on new signaling system 7 (SS7) initiatives (SS7 is the X.25-like packet network overlay that provides the necessary orchestratation for the PSTN) and voice over the Internet (VoIP) adjunct elements that will interact with the referenced legacy voice switches, but not the actual switches, themselves. This is an interesting subject, because the approach Cisco and other traditionally data-oriented vendors are taking will undoubtedly supplant the older model of voice switching, eventually. I mean literally, as opposed to virtually (as is the case right now in the early stages), displacing the older "DS-Zero Cages'" (as George Gilder once called them) place in the universe, with ATM and IP and yet-to-be-unveiled photonically-derived alternatives. We have begun to see this transformation already with some of the larger inter-exchange carriers (most notably AT&T) abandoning their future plans for Class 4 (big iron) regional switching acquisitions, and declaring that they will be pursuing alternatives in "other networking models," going forward. It is also notable that T this spring is inaugurating its own IP voice service, which at the present time merely represents tipping its toes in the water, but it is notable, nonetheless. Time will tell whether this is only a gesture to demonstrate hip & savvy or whether it is actually true grit. Much will depend on uptake and customer acceptance, and a little help from the gods in the early going. The legacy 'Telco' switch market is, at the current time, dominated by Nortel, Lucent and Siemens for the most part, stateside, and Alcatel, NEC and others, internationally. Regards, Frank