Ascend exec: converged voice/data networks remain five years out

By MATTHEW NELSON

InfoWorld Electric, 05/14/99

LAS VEGAS -- Converged networks of voice and data will need to be able to guarantee service akin to today's voice systems to be successful-and that will not happen for at least five years, according to Jeanette Symons, chief technology officer at Ascend Communications.

Just as standard telephone systems provide 100 percent availability with no lag time, no hiccups, ease of use, security, and fine grain control of usage, converged networks will have to promise the same, according to Symons, who presented the final keynote speech here at NetWorld + Interop Thursday.

All of these things that we assume today in a voice network we have to get in a data network and IP network," Symons said.

Users and vendors will eventually move to converged networks for its ease of use and possible cost savings, however, and the IP protocol will be the basis of that service, according to Symons.

"We've all stood up and said it's IP. The core of the network, the backbone, it's going to be an IP backbone," said Symons.

However, it will not be today's IP protocol, Symons said.

"This IP protocol is going to have to have switching characteristics both of ATM and IP today," Symons said. "This equipment is also going to have all that data management and all that security."

Symons also defended her position of converged networks only truly evolving in five or six years against the fact that IP voice providers exist now, by explaining that those companies current systems work now, but will not extend very well into the future.

IP carriers today, they have huge amount of bandwidth or they've got a layer two converting the data," Symons said. "Is that good enough longer term? Probably not."

Symons also explained that while development of converged networks continues, data networks will still evolve because "we're nowhere near the peak growth of that."

But Symons also acknowledged that before converged networks see wide use, the industry also will see completely new means of addressing the issue that no one can predict today.

"Eventually, somewhere in this window, we are going to see a new human metaphor for using the network and that is what's going to make things different," Symons said. "Along the way we are going to see changes in metaphor. I don't know what, I'd be surprised if anyone here knew."