Heard in the aisles

Behind all the hype and hoopla, Supercomm's true measure of success boils down to one thing: its attendees. And with 38,169 people swarming the show floor, Supercomm '96 boasted the largest turnout ever. Many observers said they found a better focus at this year's show-companies weren't just rolling out new technology but were offering solutions on how to deploy it. But others said they still lacked the essential roadmaps to plot the course from conception to implementation. And not surprisingly, that ballyhooed behemoth known as the Internet seemed to permeate virtually every aspect of the show. In a random survey, Telephony asked Supercomm attendees what they wanted to learn about, what kinds of questions they found themselves asking exhibitors, how their network requirements changed, and how the growth of the Internet has affected their network planning. Here are some responses.

"I'm looking for specific sources at Supercomm and I'm finding a lot of alternatives. It's pretty obvious that, as an LEC, whether you're going to make money or not, you're going to have customer demand for those services." -John Bauchman President Fremont Telecom

"[The Internet] has changed the world, to put it mildly. Since Fujitsu is in the ATM switching business, it's a very positive thing. It's had a tremendous impact on the way we do business and how our customers do business. It is affecting our marketing to them."-Tom Jepsen Service Marketing Specialist Fujitsu Network Communications

"I find myself asking vendors, Why am I not getting my stuff on time? I've had trouble getting equipment, and the vendors can't keep up with demand. Get that crystal ball out and predict the stuff before it comes out." -Cheryl Meyer Manager-Network Engineering Transport Southwestern Bell Telephone

"I'm here to keep in touch with what broadband technologies are available. We're looking at enabling technologies and how we can incorporate these into the Department of Defense environment. Is it cost-effective? Is it worthwhile for me to invest in this product? As long as manufacturers have raw, ball park figures, [we're interested]." -Robert Jimenez Project Management Department of Airforce,U.S. Government

"Just about everything is of interest to us. We provide Internet connectivity, so this is a good show to see all the equipment. We have a network architecture that is very heavily Sonet-based, so coverage is larger. The whole marketplace is evolving, and we're trying to evolve along with it." -Ian MacMillan Senior Manager MCImetro

"The requirements have become much better defined since Supercomm '95. There seems to be a better focus for RHCs in terms of broadband networks. They're finally getting to make up their minds. But there is still an absence of people talking about how [the technology] is going to come from point A, the headend, to point B, the customer. It is not being addressed in a pure network perspective." -Ron Fangio Access Systems Group Senior Product Manager DSC

"Since '95, there's more emphasis and acceptance of the Internet and video-over-broadband. The demands have grown exponentially, really. You react to it in providing all the capacity, but there's no such thing as enough." -Robert Pankonin Program Manager DEC