Internet will drive high-speed access to Sonet
Communications Industry Researchers Inc., in Charlottesville, VA, forecasts that the demand from larger business locations for customer premises equipment that provides access to services above the T1/E1 (1.554/2.048-Mbit/sec) rate will exceed $4 billion by 2001. By 2006, the corporate broadband market will have shifted significantly to Synchronous Optical Network (Sonet) and Asynchronous Transfer Mode (atm) access, predicts the firm.
The company?s new study, Beyond T1/E1: A Global Study of Broadband Access Technology Opportunities?Volume One, covers such equipment as broadband modems, multiplexers, bandwidth managers, atm/frame relay switches, and wireless and satellite equipment providing access at the nxT1 or Sonet levels (see table). It states that multiplexers and bandwidth managers providing access at the DS-3 (44.736 Mbits/sec) or nxT1 levels currently dominate the high-speed corporate access market. However, this will change over the coming decade, and Sonet and atm will predominate.
The study predicts that frame relay equipment will not find significant market acceptance beyond the DS-3 level. In addition, xdsl and cable-modem access equipment sales will be confined largely to the small office/home office and residential markets.
The Internet will spur much of this evolution. OThe Internet is becoming what we all expected Broadband isdn [Integrated Services Digital Network] would be,O explains Lawrence D. Gasman, president of Communications Industry Researchers. OIt is increasingly providing connectivity from anywhere to anywhere and to virtually any type of information. The Internet is already a lot more than just a public network. Closed user groups, in the form of intranets and extranets, are having an enormous impact. But if the Internet is to fulfill its destiny, it will need a lot of bandwidth at the customer premises.O
The study covers the United States and Canada and costs $6000. Volume Two will treat Latin America, Western Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region. The two-volume set will cost $9950. Call Robert Nolan at (617) 484-2077 for ordering information.