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W27D	Wednesday, January 23 · 12:15 pm – 1:45 pm

Softswitch for Next-Generation Networks The proliferation of softswitches is inevitable, even while skeptics criticize the pace of deployment. Clearly the industry has not lived up to the hype around convergence to date, but there are softswitch success stories that suggest that great strides have been made. This session will discuss the myths and realities of softswitches and the challenges of deploying them in live, PSTN–interconnected networks and take you through a real-world example through the eyes of a service provider. Next-generation networks market trends Deployment success factors Laboratory versus network experiences Operations considerations

CHAIRPERSON: Paul Passero, Vice President and General Manager, Next-Generation Networks, Telcordia Technologies, has over 23 years experience in the design, development and deployment of telecommunications software systems. Mr. Passero's responsibilities include Telcordia's Call Agent business and product development. Mr. Passero is a member of the ACM and the IEEE Communications and Software Societies. SPEAKERS: Christin Flynn, Director, Carrier Convergence Infrastructure, The Yankee Group, is responsible for area research in WAN hardware, ATM WAN switches, frame-relay switches and more. Patrick Donnelly, Executive Director, Product Management, Telcordia Technologies, brings with him over 18 years on experience in advanced network services. David Flessas, Vice President, Network Operations, Sprint, was formerly director of national standards in the BLN organization, having established a 25-manager team to support the network design, vendor selection, engineering and installation of an xDSL–based broadband local network.