Question

What are two benefits and two issues/challenges to voice, video and data services converging into one market?

Answer 1

In the high-speed telecommunications trade, “convergence” suggests that the merging of the normal voice and knowledge networks into one shared infrastructure. the worth of this convergence is in potency and value savings. a serious long-distance carrier representative explicit at a serious conference the implication of convergence in giant networks. He aforesaid that if there have been really one network in their company for all voice, knowledge and different applications a really 'pie-in-the-sky' read since it most likely cannot ever be 100% true he calculable that a converged network for all services would save within the neighborhood of seventieth on administration and 40-50% on maintenance and operations. therefore if suppliers and users may even bring home the bacon this potency it leads to tremendous savings on these primary operative expenses.

This impact is mirrored in typical client premises situations. for instance in several buildings there's cabling, PBX or exchange instrumentality, telephones, instrumentality rooms, and employees to engineer, maintain, arrange budgets, arrange strategy, manage modification, etc., to support the voice infrastructure. Then there's cabling, routers, switches, computers, instrumentality rooms and employees to engineer, maintain, arrange budgets, arrange strategy, manage modification, etc., to support the info infrastructure. If these 2 environments -- voice and knowledge -- might be provided over identical infrastructure, the savings would be huge. These 2 worlds square measure traditionally separate for several reasons together with technology, political-economic development and social dynamics. additionally, the necessities for quality provisioning of constant-bit-rate services like voice, yet because the expectations of the tip user, square measure terribly totally different from those of bursty knowledge applications. each square measure severally advanced.

But service suppliers envision this 'one world' and try to be the only supplier. for instance, regulated voice phone corporations have talked regarding and tried to try and do the knowledge for many years. ISPs have toyed with voice. Cable corporations square measure one entity that has compared to being an omnipresent supplier of each service well, however most of their offerings square measure still within the trial stages. Migrating current infrastructures to one technology could be a nice challenge. however what that single technology ought to be is turning into less and fewer a subject of dialogue.

Data networks became essential to business, and a few would say maybe a lot of vital than the voice network. several businesses may do while not their dial tone for AN hour, however, if their servers or routers went down, it'd be a disaster. Home users use "data" with every email or net browse. The actual protocol for knowledge networks is TCP/IP, the protocol of the net.

Vint Cerf, one in the fathers of the net, believes that the net is that the vehicle for convergence:

“What is that the way forward for the Internet? it'll become the twenty-first Century's telecommunications infrastructure. it'll become our medium of commerce and education, of analysis and medication. it'll become a repository of the data, knowledge and creative thinking of the human spirit. web is there, for everyone” (Cerf).

Much add the standards arena, in trial environments and rising merchandise support phonation the net Protocol, or "VoIP". The "data over voice" standards of many decades past square measure just about forgot. its anticipated that the protocol for each voice and knowledge networks -- and for any converged network -- are extremely dependent upon, and maybe even whole dependent upon the TCP/IP protocol. Thus, increasing broadband knowledge networking nowadays sets the stage for the power to produce converged services tomorrow.

But convergence isn't only for businesses. These same suppliers wish to be the only supplier for residential voice, knowledge and video applications. so broadband knowledge services to the house square measure as vital a driver of convergence on the business.

The trend toward convergence can continue as a result of the price savings of 1 network for knowledge, voice, and every one application is considerably engaging from the position of the building, maintaining and operative this key business infrastructure element.