IP is both an enabling and a disruptive technology. Enabling in that it provides a common platform for the efficient convergence of Voice, Data and Multimedia. Disruptive in that it poses technology challenges, regulatory challenges and challenges to the business models of all industry participants, especially when applied to the transmission of voice traffic. VoIP comes in two different guises: as Internet Telephony (with voice traffic on a test efforts?basis over PC-Internet-PC, PC-Internet-PSTN, PSTN-Internet-PSTN or as Voice over Broadband, with voice traffic over proprietary managed ?oS?networks (using IP, as end-to-end IP telephony over an NGN rather than the Public Internet). This TIF will address each of these issues in a systematic way.
2004-11-16