Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Sprint plans move to packet-switch network

From: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 28 May 2003 10:07:16 -0400

Sprint plans move to packet-switch network

By Gillian Law, IDG News Service
MAY 27, 2003

http://computerworld.com/newsletter/0,4902,81552,00.html?nlid=PM

Sprint Corp. is to change its entire circuit-switched telephone network to
packet technology in an
attempt to keep up with customer demand for capacity, the company announced
today.

All 8 million of Sprint's lines will eventually be moved over to the
packet-based ATM system, allowing
voice, video and data to be broken down into small digital blocks and sent, in
effect, simultaneously.
This allows the network to be used more efficiently and will allow new
multimedia services, Sprint said.

Sprint is the first major telecommunications company to move all three of its
networks -- local, tandem
and long-distance -- over to packet technology, said Nortel Networks Ltd.
spokeswoman Ann Fuller.

Nortel Networks in Brampton, Ontario, is managing the changeover, taking
responsibility for delivery,
installation and testing of the new equipment.

While Nortel is working with other telecommunications companies on changing
parts of their networks
(usually the tandem networks that aggregate calls on the local network),
Sprint is the most expansive
and first to change over all three, Fuller said.

Packet networks are simpler to operate and more cost-effective, Fuller said.
Sprint hopes to see a
30% reduction in operating costs after the changeover, she said.

"It also lays the foundation for the next generation of services, multimedia
services like instant
videoconferencing, virtual whiteboards and, my own favorite, a personal call
manager that handles all
your e-mail, BlackBerry mail and phone calls. You don't need separate
wireless, home and work
numbers anymore," Fuller said.

Such services can easily be bundled for corporate clients, Fuller said, and
Sprint will be able to reach
areas of the country that haven't been economically viable to date.

Sprint is beginning the transfer with an initial 1 million lines in areas
where economic factors have
shown it to be most necessary. That decision is based on the amount of traffic
in each area and
whether it makes sense to upgrade the circuit switch or move to packet
switching, Fuller said. The
rest of the 8 million lines may take up to 12 years to be moved over.

The move is an important one for the company because it opens the door for new
services customers
will demand, industry analyst Jeff Kagan said. The move from circuit-switched
to packet-switched is
similar to that from analog to digital or narrowband to broadband, or indeed
horse and buggy to
automobiles, he said.

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