A very few months there is a train crash somewhere that could have been averted. Manual errors, communication breakdowns, sluggish response to an emergency situation...the reasons given are many. Now imagine a time where rail tracks would be able to communicate their status to the stations and trains in a 10-mile radius. And if a few fish plates have gone missing, trains just get re-routed, or warned well in time, or stopped at a safe enough station. This maybe imagination today but is a possible reality tomorrow.

Today, we use landlines to make calls. We connect to the Internet using them. When we step out, our cellphone fills in. Look at the number of technologies we know we are using everyday...the PSTN for voice, the digital network for Net, GSM for our mobile calls, and GPRS for our Net connectivity on the move. And for data, we use Wi-Fi to keep our laptops connected. Zap them all...pfffft! One handset for calls-landline or mobile. The same one for high-speed Internet. And if we are in a place where GSM has no reach, we use Wi-Fi to make calls. And the best part-we don't have to worry about these myriad technologies, setting up, or logging in. Is that possible?

Imagine you are exploring a website-maybe for a new car, or a university where your child wants to study, or to buy stuff online. If you can't find the info you are looking for, you normally leave a note at the site or look for their contact numbers. Instead, you click on a link, which starts a call and routes you to a call center representative, who answers your queries. One interface enables it all-browse, call, route, talk. And at the other end, the call center staff needn't even be at a call center. She could be taking the call at her home. And the call center's system has, in the span of a blink, figured out which rep is free to take your call and routes it to her number. Sounds a bit mind-boggling. But again, a distinct possibility soon.

When next generation networks come into full-fledged play, it is all possible. And much more, which we cannot even think of right now. Next generation networks is a rather boring name for technologies that strike at the root of present day communication networks. They will move from being circuit switched to becoming packet switched, and IP-based. Which means more intelligence is packed on to newer technologies. On one platform, running a multitude of technologies seamlessly, which enable the creation and smooth delivery of numerous new services.

NGNs are slowly evolving all over the world. Companies are laying down the rules, protocols and products. Other stakeholders are figuring out the policy issues, spectrum logistics and market dynamics. And since a whole new way of thinking has to emerge for a brand new foundation, one should be prepared for a lot of fretting and fuming before coming to decisions. But work is on. In India too. TRAI's recommendations on NGNs has been around for a while for us to mull over. What paths to take, which are the better revenue directions to opt for, what old policies to shed, and how to level the ground for the players...there's loads of work ahead.

It will take a few years to shaping up, and huge investments. For instance, BT's investment in its NGN effort, the 21CN, is to the tune of £10 bn. And there are many others seeking to ride the wave of new opportunities NGNs will usher in. There will be teething troubles, quite painful ones, one suspects.

But in the pursuit of intelligent networks and wise applications this is a great time to start the ground work.

Shyam Malhotra
editor-in-chief VOICE&DATA
shyamm@cybermedia.co.in

Page(s)   1