India Broadband Forum

India Broadband Internet

Telecom technology is undergoing a massive transformation. Earlier it was restricted to providing improved services for making and receiving phone calls. It has now moved into both the technology and service fronts with a whole new dimension of services and value-added features being offered to the customers. At the same time, telecom companies are also investing heavily in upgrading their infrastructure.

The latest concept, ‘Next Generation Networking’ (NGN), forms a part of the emerging telecommunications environment. NGN refers to networks that encompass data and voice communications (Public Switched Telephone Network - PSTN) and also additional media such as video. These networks are based on Internet technologies such as Internet Protocol (IP) and Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS).

Basically, a telecom network consists of transport and service layers. NGN’s architecture separates these layers. Whenever a provider has to enable a new service, he can do it directly by defining it at the service layer itself, without having to consider the transport layer thereby making the services independent of transport. This unified network architecture is fast evolving into transmission technology to deliver various data types.

NGN allows service providers to build and operate networks that provide local and long distance calls, global, mobile, data, voice and Internet services to businesses and consumers.

NGN, which is a massive and long-term process, is also aimed at protecting the future profitability of network operators by strengthening infrastructure, minimising running costs, making optimum use of operational processes and increasing asset productivity, while increasing revenue collection.

In due course, operators are bound to shift from ‘offering capacity’ to ‘delivering capability’. NGN will reduce the time to market and life-cycle costs of new service offerings. This will result in increased entrepreneurial spirit among application developers and content providers. Operators will have to work with those industry players who can provide solid business returns for their services.

It is exciting time ahead and if expectations are met, NGN is likely change the face of telecommunications forever.