Convergence through softswitches?: Developing technology has battles yet to fight

Carriers treasure simplification, consolidation and lower costs. Many carriers also are looking at the benefits of operating a single converged network. Although the concept seems enticing, reaching that converged pot of gold may not be as well-defined.

To help provide a pathway to convergence and simplification of networks, several vendors and carriers, including Cisco Systems, Enron Communications, Lucent Technologies, Nortel Networks and North-Point Communications, are members of the International Softswitch Consortium, which formed in May to develop standards and interoperability for softswitch technology (Telephony, May 24, page 49). The softswitch is intended to end the need for Class 4 and Class 5 circuit switches by taking over their distributing functions. They will focus on interconnecting traditional telephone networks and IP networks, enabling the convergence of voice, video and data networks. They also are supposed to replace the circuit switches and eliminate forklift upgrades. Instead, only software changes will be needed to upgrade the network, which reduces costs.

But softswitches probably won't totally eradicate circuit switches - and if they do, it will take a long time, said Ike Elliott, vice president of softswitch services at Level 3 Communications. "Much like the mainframe market in the '80s, everyone thought they would go away, but they are still there," he said.

Still, the evolution is easier for younger carriers. "With carriers such as Level 3, they have the advantage of not having to worry about Class 5 switches," said Robert Kelley, director of innovation at Rhythms NetConnections. But for carriers with circuit switches in place, the migration will not be so simple. "Switches are a major barrier to getting convergence done," he said.

To spur acceptance of soft-switches, vendors and carriers will be forced to change traditional business practices.

"In the past, everyone kept innovations close to vest, but with the next generation networks, everyone needs to look at it [in terms of] maximum reach," Kelley said.

And it's not for the faint of heart. "A lot of carriers stick their heads in the sand with [time division multiplexing] networks, but they can't if they want to survive," said Stan Hanks, vice president of research and technology at Enron Communications. Voice is not far from an "all-you-can-eat" offering, and carriers have to combat the erosion by migrating voice to packets, he said.

Softswitches will facilitate migration, although they will not "tip the industry over," Hanks said. Standards and industrywide acceptance still need to occur if softswitches are to fulfill promises.

Several vendors, such as Magellan Network Systems, are developing softswitch products. The Magellan softswitch will provide carriers - even those without a circuit-switched infrastructure - with the software to deploy voice, video and data services, said Jeff Paine, vice president of marketing at Magellan (see figure). "Softswitches have the big circuit-switch vendors worried because it jeopardizes their revenue stream."

But one analyst doesn't believe softswitches will affect convergence. "The error with the Soft-switch Consortium is to assume that glamorous technology is intrinsically valuable," said Tom Nolle, president of CIMI Corp. Voice and data convergence anywhere except in the local exchange infrastructure would be pretty meaningless, he said.