The MPLS & Frame Relay Alliance and The ATM Forum on Thursday announced plans to merge in a deal officials say could help equipment manufacturers develop standards more rapidly for the three technologies and shorten the time telecommunications providers need to market new services.
The groups said in a press release the members of each organization will be asked to approve the merger by the end of the quarter. As of yesterday, the combined organization would have 105 members representing a combination of large service providers, equipment makers and others, such as the University of Minnesota. Some members like Cisco Systems Inc., Deutsche Telekom AG and Nortel Networks Corp. have belonged to both organizations.
Officials said members would pay the combined organization less for dues and other expenses such as travel than if they belonged to three distinct groups promoting the technologies ATM, Frame Relay and MPLS, but they had not developed the fee structure.
The groups have pledged to approve a joint specification within 12 months of the merger that could involve the internetworking of ATM and Frame Relay. MPLS is a developing technology that can allow data packets to travel faster and more efficiently over ATM networks and other infrastructure.
“Internetworking of disparate technologies and carrier networks has been the final frontier for divergent standards bodies. Real world progress has often been hindered by competing standards organizations,” John Mazur, Gartner principal analyst of public network infrastructure, said in the press release the MPLS & Frame Relay Alliance and The ATM Forum issued today. “This combination is a triumph for end users, service providers and vendors alike.”
The interim board of the merged group would include representatives from Alcatel, Agilent Technologies Inc., Bell Canada, Ericsson, Harris Corp., Lucent Technologies Inc., Riverstone Networks Inc., Sprint Corp., Tellabs Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc., the groups said.
