1. The ______________ is an extremely complex and expensive piece of equipment that resides within the local exchange or central office (CO).

2. The _______________ tandem switch is responsible for intermediate connection of trunk lines between the station originating the call and the destination.

3. To date, the majority of efforts devoted to easing congestion have targeted the trunk side of the PSTN, attempting to off-load the network and alleviate the need for additional Class-4 tandem switches and Class-5 egress switches.

4. Egress switch congestion has driven carriers to look at alternative RAS connection architectures, including direct RAS connection to tandem switches.

5. The key component in line-side off-loading is the ________________, which separates data calls from voice calls before they hit the ingress switch.

6. Preswitch off-load solutions are typically more costly to carriers because they redirecting various access technologies to the Internet or other data networks without involving any Class-5 switch.

7. In the carrier-grade convergence solution, voice, modem, and DSL traffic will terminate right on the platform, obviating the need for external DSLAMs and other stand-alone access equipment.

8. By accomplishing convergence solutions directly upon a next-generation convergence platform, carriers can lessen their investment in circuit-switching equipment as well as service-specific narrowband and broadband platforms.

9. Actual usage data indicates that average Internet session length increased _______ percent (55 to 64 minutes) in the first quarter of 2000 versus the same period in 1999.

10. Advancing the all-packet network nearer to the customer, to modernize, extend, evolve, and ultimately revolutionize the network, is the future of telecommunications.