Telecommunications Essentials

Convergence

In the new public network, we are moving from a narrowband to a broadband world, meaning we are going from single-channel to multichannel arrangements, and we are also moving from low bandwidth to high bandwidth. We're also shifting from a circuit-switched environment to a packet-switched environment. Circuit switching implies the use of an exclusive channel—one channel, one conversation for the duration of that call—whereas packet switching allows multiple conversations to share one channel. (Circuit switching and packet switching are discussed in detail in Chapter 4, “Establishing Communications Channels.”)

We're also quickly departing from an era in which we try to force data to run over a network that was largely built for voice. ...