Convergence Futures - 8 : It's all going IP
So, what's all this IP hype about anyway? What's so good about it? If we're already using IP for the Internet, what else needs to be converged to IP? What are they using if they're not using IP? Basically, how is IP tied to convergence?
These are all questions you're probably asking yourself right now (well, that and "when's lunch?"). We've already talked about voice over IP, so you know what that is, and we've defined the Internet Protocol, so you know what that is as well. But it's not just about a PBX evolving into an IP-PBX, or a VPN turning into an IP-VPN, it's about every computer-related device out there evolving into an IP-aware device so that there will only be one unifying agent to work with: IP.
What does this mean? It means that all traffic - whether it's voice, video or data - will traverse an IP network some time in the future, no matter what the underlying architecture may be: frame relay, ATM, leased lines, etc. It's no longer a matter of "if," but "when" this will happen.
Shouldn't it make sense to manage everything from one common agent? What if each state in America had different traffic light signals? Some states might select red to stop, other might choose purple, and others might choose yellow. If this were the case, good luck with your interstate travel plans. But this doesn't happen, since everywhere you go green means go and red means stop. This same type convergence is happening with IP. IP is the future.
With this said, the public Internet is being molded into one huge convergence machine with IP as the common standard. To make this happen, backbone bandwidth will increase, along with access speeds, due to the deployment of connectivity solutions such as SONET and ISDN, cable modems, and DSL. And as this backbone bandwidth increases, it is likely that users accessing the Internet may be required to pay for the level of service they are seeking in a more tiered structure than we see now.