X-Alted

Posted: 08/1999

As if there were any questions, the telecom world truly is turning into an open and packet-based world.

Level 3 Communications Inc. recently announced it would purchase a minimum of $250 million in "softswitches," which are software-based switches running on industry-standard servers.

It's a big innovation from Class 5 switches that run mass quantities of code on proprietary hardware. The new softswitches will benefit from rapid increases in processing power, along with decreases in the cost of that processing power. It means third-party developers quickly and easily will be able to bring new and enhanced services and functionality to these switches. And it leads carriers closer to a truly converged voice and data network.

Softswitches are an example of innovations that will allow new carriers to get into the market with new services more quickly and affordably (Moore's Law).

And Level 3 President and CEO Jim Crowe was able to coax these innovations out of none other than Lucent Technologies Inc.--the proprietary switching king.

But with Lucent's years of experience writing code for telecommunications, it seems a reasonable choice to help Level 3 create softswitches. The company has the experience, the research and development expertise and the financial resources to make the technology a reality.

For more on this major event, see our story in the "Hot Spot" section..

Until next time,

Paula Bernier
Editor-in-Chief

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