The Convergence of Voice and Data Transport Networks

The general technology trend of infrastructure convergence or the coming together of various data and voice networks in simply the next step in e-business infrastructure evolution. Borne out of the needs of consumers for greater convenience in social and business networking, companies are in a race to 1) provide optical networks to convert electrical signals into optical data; 2) obtain sound quality of service solutions; 3) integrate services to provide voice and data over a single line; and 4) dominate the customer’s home contact point, expanding from the browser and modem to a myriad of in-home and portable appliances. This service convenience trend will only continue as customers’ needs are met through e-business initiatives.

In terms of service convenience, a telephone company is no longer able to sustain its business by simply providing a telephone service. With broadband providers offering voice-over-IP telephony in addition to high-speed Internet and cable services, telephone companies are now integrating voice and data services through asymmetrical digital subscriber lines. To further illustrate the continuing trend of infrastructure convergence, consider the videophone.

The videophone has existed since the 1960s, but technology is just now reaching the point of standard usability. For example, Telmex, a Mexican telephone company, now offers videophone service over existing phone lines. One of the problems customers encounter with videophone service is the quality of the picture. Much like the picture provided via webcam, the blips and dead spots are simply annoying issues that must be tolerated. This sluggishness occurs because the Internet is designed to break data into packets that can travel on several redundant network paths. Since network routers treat all packets equally, it can delay or drop them altogether, thus, wrecking havoc on streaming video. However, a recent article in Technology Review discusses a new emerging technology called video-packet switching, that prescreens data before it enters a router and can identify packets belonging to streaming media to give them priority. This could be just the thing a forward-looking telephone company might be looking for to give it an advantage over broadband cable providers. As customers become comfortable with the quality of the videophone, they will once again become restless and look for something new and the trend continues.