Experiences with federal government installations in western Washington

Federal government agencies have devoted considerable effort to the investigation and deployment of asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) technology over the past few years. ATM deployment has tended to follow a pattern which first impacts at the base or campus level and then progresses to high speed wide area network connectivity between chose bases. This integration of private and public ATM capabilities has been particularly evident as we have moved from 1996 into 1997. The Puget Sound region of western Washington has seen considerable activity during this time frame due to the combined efforts of US WEST and a number of major military installations in this area. This paper discusses the impact of ATM from the combined perspective of these large federal government users and US WEST, a primary provider of public ATM WAN services. The paper begins with an overview of preliminary developments which set the stage during the 1992-95 time frame and then continues with a discussion of economic and technical aspects of activities which are occurring during the 1996-98 time frame