Seven Castles

ITN Editor's Note, October 1999- -

                                      

September 13, 1999

 

In this issue

In the information revolution that sweeps across the entire world at the end of 20th Century, the wave of new technologies submerged the boundaries between traditional industries and accelerates the convergence of telecom, computer and CATV networks. "Three-Network-in-One" becomes the primary trend in the information age.

The rapid progress and full adoption of digitalization broke the technical barriers that traditionally classify services and market segments in IT industry by information categories. The evolution of optical communications significantly lowers the cost of transmission, as a result the network transmission platform meets the technical requirements for convergence. Software technology is in transition from computer-centric to multimedia information service-centric featuring network convergence. Technical convergence pushes forward service convergence and network convergence and a situation in which penetration and convergence from one industry to another is thus formed. In recent years, the rising wave of enterprise merge and acquisition in global IT industry gives proof of the fact that the blueprint of "Three-Network-in-One" envisaged many years ago turns out to be reality.

This issue focuses on Network Technology Convergence.

The basic media for communications contain no others than voice, image and data. If effective communication with each other via these three media at any time and any place is realized, then the integrated communications, one of the ideals for human society, comes true. A combination of ATM plus IP technology for broadband multiple service is just a typical example for network convergence.

In the two columns of Special Report and Enterprise Information, we have a number of articles of great interest. One article gives outlook for IP transport technologies and makes a comparison between IP over ATM, IP over SDH and IP over WDM. Based on analysis of the respective advantages the above mentioned three most popular IP technologies have, the author concludes that IP will eventually become the dominant communication protocol for telecom networks, and the traffic derived from IP technologies will be the main part in telecom networks in 3 to 10 years. Another paper entitled Integration of B-ISDN and Internet reviews the key technologies employed for TCP/IP over ATM. It compares the overlapping mode and integrating mode of IP over ATM and points out the existing problems.

Nortel Networks, in describing its integrated network solution for broadcasting and TV networks, assumes that traditional IP service routers and IP voice service routers can be used as LER, and MPLS , which will be a tie properly linking IP and ATM, should be the core switching technology used in ATM networks.

Network convergence is a trend of telecom revolution. In spite of its inherent problems and negative opinions given by a number of experts, the trend will go on.

In the next issue

The next issue will focus on Intelligent Building and Intelligent Network. One article describes the configuration and features of the standardized CIN (Chinese Intelligent Network) developed solely by Chinese experts and the 10 intelligent services offered. Another paper points out the problems to be considered in the current construction of intelligent buildings.

 

- 作者： zhangliping 访问统计：　2005年03月19日, 星期六 06:13 加入博采