The reality of communications in a normal civilised society is that the network is a commodity, or rather, it should be and we should not even know it is there. The network should be like the telephone system, you do not ever stop to wonder how (and in South Africa, if) a call is being transmitted and what protocol is used or if it is going over a cable or a wireless connection.

Of course South Africa has a legacy of 'not-quite-first-world' mixed with first-world telecommunications to deal with, but that will not stop communications technologies from becoming more ubiquitous and invisible as first business and then private communications evolve.

As most people know, the electronic age has spawned a work culture of cramming more information into a day in the hopes of driving productivity. How many people with a laptop or some form of mobile device are expected to check their e-mail after hours and on the weekend? Not every now and then, but regularly, as in every day.

Paul Luff, country manager at SMC Networks South Africa believes the networking infrastructure of the future will differ vastly from the relatively typical setup that characterises the modern workplace: which is essentially wired infrastructure incorporating a wireless component and a router of sorts to communicate with the outside world.



"One of the more obvious distinguishing features of future networks will be adaptability and flexibility," explains Luff. "They will differ significantly from business to business. In other words the physical layout of the network will differ according to business requirements, operations and what has been earmarked as critical focal points. It is unlikely that cable will disappear from the networking arena in the foreseeable future, but could become obsolete in the long term."

Pierre Holtzhausen, networking specialist at Drive Control Corporation says the new world of information on demand has "driven the requirement for a network that will enable more information to be delivered through an 'always connected' state, ensuring employees are always reachable and can use their time most productively. This network is known as a next-generation network (NGN).



"For example, representatives no longer need to commute back to an office to process orders, check stock availability and the status of a customer account. This is done while in front of the customer, significantly reducing redundant time such as travel."

The critical difference in the NGN is mobility without losing connectivity. Holtzhausen explains that companies will be able to choose their preferred method of contact, for example, voice (landline, cellphone), e-mail, SMS, VoIP (including Skype), and so forth.

Nortel is a leader in the field as far as integrating wired and wireless connectivity and claims to have saved 70% of its IT costs by implementing a Virtual Enterprise. It also boasts of reducing the costs of order processing by over two-thirds and cutting order times from weeks to between 24 and 48 hours on all its products. (See report on 'Reduced IT budget by 70%').

The NGN makes use of multiple protocols and intelligently identify and connect objects and individuals regardless of the network infrastructure. In the local scenario, it offers a choice of communication paths that include fixed line and radio frequency (RF) technologies such as 3G, HSDPA, WiFi, WiMax and Bluetooth.

In business terminology, Holtzhausen says this means an NGN delivers least cost routing for businesses in a telecommunication context. "The network's ability to convert to different protocols and methods of transmission of information, whether it be voice or data, allows companies to leverage this benefit. For example, an NGN will be able to convert analog voice to GSM by creating a new level of interoperability between the various communication layers within the network. This results in a less costly call thus saving the company money."

The NGN will drive down the costs of communications and provide a new level of redundancy while driving competition the cost of services decreases. The functionality an NGN offers is already in use in many companies that have taken advantage of the benefits convergence offers. Quality of Service (QoS), for example, a technology that prioritises certain types of data being transported over a network (such as voice), is already a standard feature of enterprise networks.

Mike van den Bergh, Gateway Communications COO, a company that transports about 20% of Africa's voice communications over its IP network, with interconnect agreements to over 150 carriers worldwide, says Gateway's next-generation network (NGN) allows it to ensure efficient, high-quality voice communications with add-on services traditional telecoms suppliers can never offer.

Apart from routing voice via the shortest path - one of the standard benefits of all IP networks - van den Bergh says the NGN allows Gateway to transport over 145 million minutes of traffic per month with a 0,0001% accuracy ratio. Because the network is IP-based, the company is able to monitor all its traffic in realtime, allowing Gateway to always be aware of the quality of the services it provides and their profitability.

Should any route or service fall below acceptable levels, the company can immediately rectify the situation to ensure its users do not end up without a communications service. The traditional telecoms companies are only able to fix problems after the fact - in certain companies, long after the fact.

Bradley Love, MD, Network Platforms, says that there will be a marked increase in IP Internet Protocol (IP) traffic, which will have a direct impact on users' ability to access information and communicate successfully. Love believes that these developments will push routers, and networking technology as a whole, centre-stage.



"Routers will be a critical part of tomorrow's Internet and service provider private IP-networks because of their ability to offer comprehensive IP-packet processing and management, and to smoothly connect between the LAN (local area network) and WAN (wide area network)," says Love.

Ultimately, IP will be everywhere. As new IP services evolve, key applications will require realtime communications and users will want to connect and interact with others using the same power and connectivity they experience at work. "A user's location means nothing in the IP space," comments Love, "Telecommuting will pick up the pace as the widespread use of IP addresses will allow people to connect to networks anywhere in the world."

As a result of this trend, users must consider their backbone and ensure that they are adequately set-up to take advantage of tomorrow's technology. One way in which this can be done is through load-balancing. A top priority for any multifaceted network, load-balancing is about distributing, processing and communicating activity evenly across a computer network so that no single device is overwhelmed.

Many companies will already recognise many of the features of NGN (such as QoS) because these have already been implemented in certain instances today - to improve the transmission of voice over IP, for example. The networked world of tomorrow will have more features like this as standard that will allow seamless connectivity for those needing or wanting it. The real silver bullet of the NGN will be the invisibility of these features as users obliviously sign in and use their business applications (and eventually their personal applications) from whatever device is convenient. With effort one can already do that today, however, the NGN will make it seamless while also taking care of current hassles such as authentication, security and even data prioritisation.



African railway goes wireless

The Algerian Railways operator SNTF (Société Nationale des Transports Ferroviaires) has selected Nortel for the first phase of SNTF's national GSM-R project to provide a new wireless communication system. It aims to enhance emergency procedures, improve operational efficiency, increase safety and reduce the overall cost of operations.

Nortel will deploy a GSM for Railways (GSM-R) network that will make SNTF the first African railway operator to adopt the new global GSM-R standard. The new system will allow train drivers, station controllers and other railway employees to communicate with each other instantly, either individually or as separate groups. In the first phase, the network will be deployed along the El Gourzi - Touggourt line in Eastern Algeria.

Nortel will provide design and engineering services for SNTF's GSM-R network from the Nortel Global Services portfolio. Its local channel partner, SNEF Algeria, will supply construction, installation and commissioning support. With this new contract win, Nortel is the first supplier deploying GSM-R networks in the three continents of Europe, Asia and Africa. These include national deployments in France for RFF, in Great Britain for Network Rail, and in Germany for Deutsche Bahn.

Nortel has also supplied the high-speed line between Rome and Naples, for SIRTI. Nortel is also deploying a GSM-R network for the world's highest rail line, the Tibet-Qinghai high-speed line in China.