Broadband switching equipment-Vendor offerings versus market need

The author considers market needs and requirements regarding broadband services. The likely first applications for such services, of which an interconnection service for LANs (local area networks) is perhaps the most pervasive one, are examined. A rough estimate of the US market for such service is provided. SMDS (or CBDS), one form of such service, may initially be offered using the DQDB type of equipment, but an ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) capable switching system will be the better approach since it offers more flexibility and can easily support many diverse applications. The author then addresses the question of how far present and announced vendor offerings fulfill this market need and comes to the conclusion that some criteria are being met while others are not, and some are not yet recognized at all