EVOLUTION TOWARD BROAD-BAND

Broadband technologies promise a new age of video, data, and voice com munication applications. This promise will be fulfilled over a period of time, starting with the deployment of initial broadband technologie s within the current telecommunications framework. The evolution of br oadband technology will gradually lead to fundamental changes in the t elecommunications infrastructure-changes needed to provide the service s required for delivery of tomorrow's information technology. This pap er discusses the evolution of broadband in the telecommunications netw ork, some of the forces behind that evolution, and the importance of c onsidering long-term evolutionary directions when establishing the ini tial stages of broadband equipment and services.