High speed optical MAN integrating voice, video and data switching

The current status of metropolitan area networks (MANs) is reviewed, and future prospects are assessed. The technical changes, the MAN traffic, the market, and tomorrow´s optical networks are considered together with medium-term and a long-term scenarios. As long as an effective IBCN (integrated broadband communications network) will not be available, broadband private MANs are expected to be widely diffused. This diffusion is closely connected to the availability of cost-effective, high-speed links suitable for PABX (private automatic branch exchange) and LAN (local area network) interconnection