1999: The year of interoperability?

Network World, 01/18/99

Every year brings major technology improvements in the core functions of telecom equipment. Last year, we had hoped to see major interoperability progress in a few key areas, such as access, IP telephony and small office/home office (SOHO) network products. But, for the most part, 1998 was more a year of interoperability announcements than a year of actual products.

We did see the first Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification-compatible cable modems start to ship at year-end, and a bevy of DOCSIS offerings are scheduled to debut this year.

As the industry moves toward the retail model - in which you buy your cable modem, such as a 56K bit/sec unit, off the shelf - you can expect that plug-and-play interoperability will be a must-have feature. Sure enough, 1999 will bring major demonstrations and products from the cable sector to achieve DOCSIS interoperability. Hopefully, that will mean lower access prices and improved cable modem sharing across offices.

The digital subscriber line (DSL) folks had 1998 to puff their chests about interoperability as the year started with the big plug-and-play 1.5M bit/sec G.lite announcement. DSL vendors were misquoted as promising delivery by Christmas 1998; in fact, they said Christmas 1999. That's only a one-year difference. But still, this year you will see interoperable products from the DSL vendors that will drive down the costs of these modems.

On the SOHO network front, we've talked before about wired homes and home networks, and if you've read anything about the recent Winter Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, you know this was the topic of the year there.

In 1999, SOHO equipment vendors really have to produce some standards and interoperability or the whole movement will be stopped dead in its tracks. What's the point of having a really smart home wiring infrastructure if you cannot plug anything you want in to it? A whole plethora of companies are pitching their ideas.

Finally, we had hoped that 1998 would be the year many of the standards for voice over IP would be finalized and interoperability would begin. Well, we're pretty far away from any semblance of interoperability; some have joked we're still working on operability.

Without interoperability, true growth in interservice provider voice-over-IP offerings will be limited. That means the big event that would drive down pricing of core voice services - worldwide, quality-ofservice-based IP voice services - is still a little bit off. Lacking such interoperability, you have to rely on your provider to expand its IP offerings to all the places you want to go and to cut special transit technology deals where it can. This fact just slows the uptake of the voice-over-IP services.