IP for the masses

The phenomenal growth of the Internet shows no sign of slowing. The 227 million by 2001, up from 68.7 million in 1997. Attendant to that growth isthe explosion in data traffic. Data traffic volume is projected to be five times that of voice by 2000, growing to more than 23 times that of voice by 2005.

This data explosion, coupled with increasing demand for broadband access and competitive pressures brought on by deregulation, is forcing service providers to seek new methods of structuring their core and access networks. It is clear that the form and the functionality of service provider networks must change to accommodate these emerging broadband access and bundled voice, video and data service offerings. Service providers that invest now in Internet protocol (IP)-optimized, scalable, reliable, high-functionality networks will be the winners as broadband access and converged voice, data and video networks are launched this year.

Aiming for access

A recent Strategis Group study revealed that by 2003, businesses and consumers will increase their use of broadband access services by more than three and nine times, respectively. This increase will result in global broadband access revenues of more than $120 billion by 2002 (Table 1).

Driven by the rich content currently available (streaming multimedia, graphics) or in development (television, unified messaging, enhanced groupware) and business-to-business/business-to-consumer e-commerce, the need for speed has inspired the growth of three major broadband access alternatives:

- Digital subscriber line. DSL services offer both businesses and consumers broadband access at speeds from 128 kb/s to 52 Mb/s for symmetrical and asymmetrical services. Delivered over standard copper, DSL offers end users the promise of higher speeds at lower price points than switched or dedicated fractional T-1 and T-1 services. It also offers service providers a profitable method of supplying value-added capabilities such enhanced voice, data and video services over existing local infrastructure.

- Cable modems. Cable services already pass more than 11 million homes in the United States. And though only about 20% of the coax operated by U.S. cable operators is currently capable of two-way transmission, cable operators are rapidly upgrading their systems to incorporate data transmission functionality. There are two reasons for this. First, cable operators have already experienced relatively high profit margins from data services. Second, they experience almost zero churn. However, as satellite and DSL services invade their domain, cable operators must offer data and voice transmission services to continue to compete in core markets.

- Local multipoint distribution service. LMDS is a fixed wireless point-to-multipoint microwave technology that encompasses the highest capacity wireless spectrum available in the 28 GHz and 31 GHz bands. Currently under development by companies such as Nextlink Communications and WinStar, LMDS is expected to be prevalent by 2002 and become a powerful alternative to cable and copper access.

All three broadband access alternatives provide the necessary raw bandwidth and technology options to offer innovative, bundled service offerings to the enterprise and the consumer. They also provide services that can deliver increased revenue and profitability, as well as ensure customer loyalty and reduce customer churn.

Adding applications

Broadband access adds the ability for service providers to deliver bundled, integrated voice, video and data services. Businesses and consumers are seeking cost-effective, simplified, single-vendor solutions to their voice and data network requirements.

A recent study by The Strategis Group found that 79% of telecom managers prefer to receive a bundle of two or more communications services from a single provider. The same study found that 33% of managers prefer to purchase a bundle of services that included local telephony, long-distance, cellular/PCS, Internet access, paging and enhanced data services.

Service bundles, including IP telephony, video, streaming audio and video services and emerging virtual private network (VPN) services, will be key factors in how enterprise customers choose a service provider. In addition, as service providers offer more bundling options, enterprise customers will demand guaranteed service quality - whether for network availability, voice latency and packet delivery variation, security management or service implementation time frames. Service quality and the service provider's willingness to guarantee the quality of bundled voice, video and data services are key factors in capturing and retaining enterprise marketshare in the 21st century.

It is uncertain if current service provider networks - frame relay, asynchronous transfer mode or IP-based router networks - can support the performance guarantees and access and bundled service offerings required to deliver next generation business and consumer services.

Current packet-based networks were constructed as overlay data networks, not multiservice voice, data and video infrastructures. They were built to deliver dedicated data services to businesses at T-1 and fractional T-1 speeds, and to consumers and home offices using dial-up or ISDN access. Most have not supplied the reliability and service quality that has traditionally been delivered by the public network for voice services, nor have they been scaled to deliver broadband services to millions of subscribers.

Current frame relay/ATM network infrastructures are especially suspect because they were designed to support narrowband access services and have little or no true authentication (such as Radius in the dial-up environment), no ability to route packets (using OSPF or BGP4) or "application-centric" quality-of-service (QOS) functionality. IP intelligence for all users was added through a router overlay network, managed and operated by separate network management and back-office systems and personnel.

The resulting confusion has hindered service providers from rolling out broadband access (DSL market projections have continually been revised over the past three years) as well as bundled voice, video and data applications. The service provider infrastructure roadblock has also frustrated businesses and consumers seeking to employ network technologies to enhance their business profits and performance and purchase the bundled voice and data services they desire.

New services, new solutions

The next generation services that enterprise and residential customers await require next generation network infrastructures.

The new network edge and core will provide scalability. Supporting more than 15 million broadband access lines by 2002 will require high-density, high-capacity network switching at the edge and the core (Figure 1). And with service provider location space at a premium, the hardware must be provided in a compact form factor that does not require significant space, power or cooling resources. Edge systems must support the termination of tens of thousands of PPP sessions from a single chassis and provide wire-speed routing of those sessions to authentication servers as well as the network core. Core systems must minimally support OC-48 speeds and wire-speed switching.

The new network core also must perform reliably. Next generation networks must deliver the reliability we've come to expect from the public network - especially if true voice/data network convergence is to occur. Therefore, edge and core systems in data-centric service provider networks must meet the stringent reliability targets (99.9994%) set by the public network, as well as support current NEBS standards for logic redundancy, hot-swappable components and power usage.

Next generation infrastructure must deliver network QOS (Figure 2). Except for ATM, data networks have traditionally provided best-effort services. Best-effort services function capably for most data applications but are untenable for delay and jitter-sensitive voice and video services. Next generation service provider networks must support emerging QOS technologies, including:

- Multiprotocol label switching. MPLS specifies the method by which Layer 3, or IP, traffic is mapped to connection-oriented Layer 2 protocols, such as frame relay and ATM.

- Differentiated services. DiffServ inspects the IP type of service field and uses it to determine queuing and forwarding characteristics of IP traffic (Figure 3).

Support of both DiffServ and MPLS - especially as we transition from layered frame relay/ATM/router networks to integrated Layer 2 and 3 networks - are critical to delivery of voice, video and VPN services across multiple carrier network core and edge systems.

Next generation networks also must offer management elements crucial to the delivery of service guarantees. Business applications are now the glue that binds manufacturers with suppliers, distributors and customers. From SAP America Inc. to PeopleSoft, Baan to Oracle Corp., businesses now rely on mission-critical applications to power their commerce engines. Voice also remains an essential component in business transaction - from personal calls to call centers supplying marketing and customer support functions. Ensuring the network's reliability and delivery characteristics is critical to the success of customers that rely so heavily on network-based services such as e-commerce and call center integration. Service level guarantees are therefore key to a service provider's ability to capture and retain enterprise revenues.

Next generation network edge and core systems must supply information to - and integrate with - the management and reporting systems that deliver service guarantees to customers. Simple network management protocol and powerful command language interfaces are essential to basic management functionality. However, intelligent, integrated applications that include functions such as policy management, network-wide configuration management, customer management of specific configuration criteria and Web-based reporting are the foundations from which service providers will provide and report on service guarantees.

Finally, next generation networks must integrate with both existing and emerging back-office systems. If a service cannot be ordered, provisioned and billed, it is not a viable service. Therefore, next generation network edge and core network systems must provide the functionality to integrate with existing operations support systems, while offering support for the emerging, automated, Web-based systems of the 21st century. The ability for service providers to simply harvest billing statistics and import them into existing or new systems, as well as provision services through simple templates or rules-based policies, is critical when offering high-speed, specialized services to millions of subscribers.

Scalability, reliability, QOS, service level guarantees and back-office system integration are all keys to building next generation infrastructures. Highly scalable and reliable IP-optimized networks are the future for delivery of the innovative service offerings that businesses and consumers will demand in 1999 and beyond.

Millions of subscribers - enterprise and consumers - are awaiting delivery of their DSL, cable modem or LMDS services. Service providers that aggressively attack this burgeoning market will lock out their competition and ensure their ability to offer enhanced, high-value service offerings to their customer base - assuring revenue and profit growth well into the 21st century.