Sprint's New ION products

Wed Jun 3 16:27:25 UTC 1998

> Date:          Wed, 03 Jun 1998 10:46:32 -0500
> From:          kbrown at primelink.com
> Subject:       Sprint's New ION products
> To:            nanog at merit.edu

> I'm pretty sure I'm not the first to read about this in our local paper,
> but Sprint announced their new strategy for integrating voice, data, video
> over "standard phone lines."  They are calling this the Integrated On-Demand
> Network or ION for short. It sounds an awful lot like ISDN services from
> perhaps an ESS switch (8 viable bonded channels max) versus the DMS100 (2
> bonded channels max).

Naw.  It sounds like XDSL (maybe with a POTS filter).  Colocation with LECS
(AT&T is proposing this after sueing Qwest for doing the same thing) and using
the LEC copper.  Voice and data switching in the colo pulling the stuff off
the copper pair to the customer.  Buy local telephone service from the LEC and
do data and LD themselves.
> 
> Our local Sprint outlet, to whom I am contracted to administer several
> pieces of their local dial in access project has just about finished
> installed the DMS100 switch (yep...we don't have ISDN yet around here).
> According to the Sprint Internal press release "Sprint today"  they intend to
> completely change their local technologies (scrap the old, in with the new)
> instead of upgrading their existing network like other carriers.
> 
> Announced also was the fact that Cisco Systems has been
> designing/testing/developing the hardware to make this project work, with
> BellCore doing the software for the project.  Rollout to major business is
> expected to happen in large markets sometime yet this year with residential
> offerings happening sometime in 1999.
> 
> Has anyone heard any additional information or have any more insight into this
> announcement?  I am curious how this might affect the remainder of the
> industry.
> 
> Kevin Brown
> Huber & Associates, Inc.
> Networking Technologies
> kbrown at primelink.com
> http://www.primelink.com/haa/lanwan
> 
> 

Dave Nordlund               d-nordlund at ukans.edu
University of Kansas        785/864-0450
Computing Services          FAX 913/864-0485
Lawrence, KS  66045         KANREN