The integration of ATM, SDH and PON technology in the access network

ATM has been presented as the new network paradigm that will integrate all present day and future broadband services. The author attempts to show that in fact it is the managed transmission network which is the new paradigm and that this has been implemented in SDH as well as ATM and can be extended into PON systems. The author also attempts to show that ATM is unsuited to current narrowband and wideband services, but that a PON based access system can be optimised for current services while still capable of providing ATM services on an evolutionary basis