AT&T IP migration rate could double industry’s by 2006

By the end of 2006, service providers will migrate 27% of layer-two traffic from ATM networks to IP/MPLS core backbones, according to a recent survey published by the Yankee Group. AT&T, however, is aiming to migrate about half of its legacy layer-two traffic to IP/MPLS by that time, the research analysis firm said.

In the next few years, carriers will look to a mix of new and established vendors to help them manage the migration, said the Yankee Group, taking one of three approaches. Some will upgrade their installed base of ATM switches using equipment such as Alcatel’s 7670 edge services extender and Nortel Networks’ Passport. Some will install new multiservice edge switches, such as Hammerhead Networks’ HSX 6000, Ciena’s DN series or Lucent Technologies’ CBX 3500. Some will install multiservice edge routers such as Cisco Systems’ 7600 series, Juniper Networks’ M320, Alcatel’s 7750 or Nortel’s MCP 9000.

The Yankee Group predicts most service providers will balance investment between new platforms and existing switches to mitigate the risk of violating service level agreements, avoid making radical changes in operations too swiftly and avoid the expense of a heavy dependence on routers.