'Infranet'- Juniper's promise of a secure net
Juniper Networks Inc. unveiled a sweeping blueprint for a future communications grid that would be as global as the Internet but with the security of private networks run by many companies to protect trade secrets and secure transactions.
Calling its vision of that next-generation system an "infranet," Juniper called on other network equipment vendors and telecommunications companies to work together on joint standards that would allow development work to begin.
Such a network, Juniper said, would allow telecom carriers to move out of the brutally competitive, low-margin business of transporting data and charge more for offering premium services such as security and the delivery of video.
Corporations, such as banks and others, would gain because they would be spared the cost of maintaining their own networks and could rent what they need, much as they pay for long-distance telephone service now.
