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The telecom Reform Act is going to end the distinction between
local and long distance—someday, maybe. Sprint isn't waiting. Its
ION (Integrated On-demand Network) service lets customers ship data,
voice, and video across the wide area and the local loop, without
dealing with multiple carriers and
multiple bills. Better yet, it
allows all these apps to travel over a single access line to a branch
office or telecommuter, while using ATM service classes to keep
quality from taking a hit. And net managers can provision additional
bandwidth on the fly from any office.
As intriguing as it sounds, corporate networkers should proceed
cautiously. For now, coverage is limited. And Sprint Corp. (Kansas
City, Mo.) hasn't set pricing or determined performance
guarantees—two key areas for business customers.
The Business End
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MORE INFO
Product Summary
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To let customers run ATM or other ATM-driven services to the
desktop, Sprint has tapped the expertise of various vendors. Cisco
Systems Inc. (San Jose, Calif.) has contri
buted a device known as a
business hub. It sits at the corporate site, connecting to edge
equipment like FRADs (frame relay access devices), routers, and PBXs.
It also hooks up to Sprint's broadband metropolitan-area network
(BMAN), a local fiber net that runs at up to 100 Mbit/s, or to DSL
(digital subscriber line) services. Customers served by Sprint's BMAN
will also get the benefit of Sprint's Sonet (synchronous optical
network) rings for redundancy. BMAN or DSL, in turn, link to a POP
(point of presence) on Sprint's ATM backbone. The POP hooks customers
up to any of Sprint's nationwide services, including ATM, frame relay,
IP, or circuit-switched voice. Because they are layered on top of
Sprint's ATM net, QOS still applies. When the traffic goes on to the
public Internet, however, the QOS ends.
But connecting to a fat pipe is only part of the story. ION also
furnishes QOS (quality of service), thanks to so-called provider agent
software from Bell Communications Research Inc. (Bellcore, Morristown,
N.J.). The provider agent is built into the business hub. Net managers
use it set CIRs (committed information rates) for different apps right
from their Web browsers, or go with Sprint's default values. When an
end-user launches an app—whether it's voice, Internet access, or
videoconferencing—the agent tells the POP what CIR to use (
see
the figure
). The POP then sets up a PVC (permanent virtual circuit) on
the local loop with the appropriate service class—CBR (constant
bit rate) for voice and VBR (variable bit rate) or UBR (unspecified
bit rate) for data. It also carries the CIR values end to end, as long
as traffic stays on Sprint's network.
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Strong Yet Sensitive
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For now, the carrier is relying on permanent connections. At some
poi
nt, Sprint says it will add SVCs (switched virtual circuits), which
will let companies save money by opening up bandwidth only when it's
needed.
These kinds of features have already made a big impression on some
corporate users. "The opportunity to take voice, data traffic for
electronic ordering, and Internet traffic and put them onto one big
highway is very exciting," says James Miller, chief information
officer at Hallmark Cards Inc. (Kansas City, Mo.), an ION beta tester.
Hallmark is replacing existing voice, fax, and data lines at retail
stores with ION, a move that Miller projects will cut costs in
half.
Nice Price?
ION could indeed be a great deal, but until the carrier nails down
prices, it's hard to tell. For now, Sprint says monthly rates will be
roughly the same as what an average business pays for all its voice
and data services and that the business hub will cost about $200. That
could add up to substantial savings once lower maintenance and IT
staff costs are included.
The carrier may make out even better. It
indicates ION will lower its operating costs by a hefty 70
percent—but won't say how much of these savings would be passed
on to customers.
Another important item that's still up in the air: geographic
coverage. Right now, Sprint's 100-Mbit/s BMAN is limited to 36 major
markets, though the carrier promises BMAN in 24 more markets by next
year. Sprint offers businesses outside those areas a much slower
last-mile connection: RADSL (rate-adaptive digital subscriber line) or
ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber line) over copper, which top out
at just 8 Mbit/s and 12 Mbit/s, respectively.
Even getting that copper access line depends on whether Sprint can
lease one from local Bell companies. The carrier does say it's reached
interconnection agreements with four local carriers. But that leaves
lots of territory still uncovered. "I'm doubtful about just how many
customers Sprint will be able to serve outside regions where they have
local fiber," says John
Griffin, vice president and general manager
for the local loop transport division at ADC Telecommunications Inc.
(Richardson, Texas), a manufacturer of DSL gear.
Finally, there's the question of service-level agreements
guaranteeing metrics like throughput, packet loss, and network uptime.
Sprint promises to offer them in the future. The service itself will
be available by the end of 1998, initially in Atlanta, Chicago,
Dallas, Denver, Houston, Kansas City, and New York, with other cities
on the way.
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