ATM switching and CPE adaptation in the North Carolina Information Highway

This article describes the approach which has been used to implement a sector of the information highway throughout the state of North Carolina, with specific attention focused on the functionality of the equipment that comprises the North Carolina Information Highway (NCIH). This implementation of this information highway is based on ATM technology, used in both the switching systems of the network and the customer premises equipment (CPE). The large ATM switching systems provide the extensive number of connections that are predicted for the information highway. Multiple services can also be supported on the ATM switches. The information streams for these different services can all be converted into ATM format using the appropriate ATM adaptation layer for transport through the ATM network. By being able to support multiple services, and transport them across common ATM facilities, the ATM switches offer the NCIH great flexibility in the applications that can be provided to the customers. Use of the ATM technology allows the NCIH to provide the backbone for various services. To provide the distance learning service application and other applications on the NCIH, ATM capabilities are also being provided in CPE on a service multiplexer.>