The most immediate and obvious benefit of these next-generation switches is their low cost. When compared to traditional Class-5 switches, next-generation switches reduce the up-front investment and offer scalability that is far less expensive and far more linear (see Figure 8).

Figure 8. Switching the Economic Model

The market implications of these cost advantages are clear. With a next-generation switch, even small, start-up CLECs can afford to enter under-served secondary or tertiary markets and compete profitably. As they gain market-share, next-generation switches can be rapidly and cost-effectively scaled to meet growing demands.

The Service Advantage

Reducing cost, however, is only part of the competitive equation. Today's subscribers demand innovative services that add value to their personal communications. The ability to create and deploy customized services that satisfy subscribers' needs is required to compete profitably.

Next-generation switches offer an advantage: flexible programmability, with enhanced service applications integrated within the switch architecture. This eliminates the need for a separate enhanced services platform in most situations, further reducing up-front costs. The open software architecture enables rapid development of new services and features and allows for third-party application development.

This flexibility, combined with the low cost and distributed nature of next-generation switches, enables network operators to create service offerings tailored to discrete subscriber bases—even in the smallest deployments. As next-generation switches offer unprecedented network integration capabilities, they allow unique service bundles, combining voice services, data services, Internet access, enhanced services, and more. The implications and benefits of this capability are clear to any network operator in a competitive situation.

Delivering on the Promise

While opinions abound, the fact is that no one is certain how the multibillion-dollar telecommunications race will turn out. To compete and win in the next century, network operators will require vision and extreme flexibility. In this context, advanced next-generation switching architectures offer important advantages, providing the ability to accomplish the following tasks:

• reduce the cost and complexity of network operations by pushing switch functionality to the edge of the network
• satisfy the need for voice and data convergence, giving network operators the flexibility to take advantage of emerging technologies and standards
• protect existing network investments, while allowing network operators to cost-effectively deliver new services to new markets

Next-generation switches will provide a solid migration path from the networks of today to the converged networks of tomorrow. They offer full PSTN integration and true Class-5 switch capabilities, together with seamless integration with IP and ATM data backbones. Their open programmability enables next-generation switches to deliver customized enhanced services to discrete subscriber bases. Additionally, the low cost and high scalability of the next-generation network enable profitable operation in small and large deployments.