It seems to me the hot topic in telecomms today is the convergence between telecomms and computing - such as my own work in CTI, and, indeed, the Internet; this is being driven by the need to get more flexibility into the world telephone network, which is driven by business need. When your are aiming for efficiency, listening to engaged tone or talking to someone who does not understand what you are getting at is both expensive and - possibly more importantly - unbearably frustrating. Couple this with incremental improvements such as faster links, more bandwidth, and so on, then the pressure is on for continuing change. This can only be supported using computers, which have the added advantage of being (in hardware terms, anyway) a cheapening technology.

My own experience has seen (in the UK) Strowger exchanges replaced with Crossbar, then reed-matrix, then solid-state matrix with digital switching. It may be we shall see optical fibre switching systems in the network before too long. Just think what we could do with all that bandwidth! The current modem access to worldwide networks is just not suitable for full motion video and proper audio; even using ISDN, the bandwidth is still going to be a limiting factor. You really need several MBits for anything like reasonable performance, and I have to admit I can't see how this is going to arrive on my doorstep in a hurry, however much competition exists.

However, I look forward to being proved wrong!

Copyright © 1996 Roger Yeates
Most recent revision 5 October 1996