Has telecom's 'next big thing' arrived?
Hyped for years, technology known as multiprotocol label switching is finally hitting the mainstream amid growing demand for services that marry voice, video and data on a single network.
Networking gear makers have long pitched MPLS as the next big thing for the telecom industry, offering simplicity, cost savings and new revenue opportunities. Now buyers are starting to listen, thanks in part to applications such as voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) that are slowly reducing the importance of traditional voice networks.
In the latest signs of interest in MPLS, Sprint recently announced a virtual private network (VPN) service using the technology. In addition, Verizon Communications said that much of its 2004 capital budget will be spent on MPLS-enabled equipment rather than traditional circuit-switched telecommunications gear.
Vendors also are making a lot of noise about MPLS, as companies such as Alcatel, Cisco Systems, Juniper Networks and Nortel Networks prepare to show off their latest developments at the MPLS World Congress 2004 event in Paris this week. At the event, sponsored by the MPLS and Frame Relay Alliance, vendors will demonstrate interoperability between different MPLS-enabled devices.
