The provision and evolution of connectionless data services in the public network

The use of connectionless services within the data communications community has been commonplace for many years. Most of the current local area networks in use today offer a connectionless service since the characteristics of such a service can best meet the requirements of data applications and equipment. Traditionally, the public telecommunications network has been based on connection-oriented techniques such as X.25, frame relay, dial-up connections, etc. This has meant that there is a fundamental difference between local data communications, based on a connectionless service, and wide area communication based on connection-oriented techniques. Current and emerging public networks are intended to bridge the gap between the local and wide area networks by offering a connectionless data service directly. The paper describes the characteristics of the two types of service, the applications suited to each, networks to support the connectionless service, and the long-term evolution path for the provision of the service