Towards an integrated access network

The variety of telecommunication services offered to BT customers has increased dramatically with corresponding increases being demanded in both service provision and quality. Many business customers depend on the efficiency of their telecommunication links and often service outages of only a few seconds can have disastrous consequences. They require resilient integrated packages of services which can be managed and altered rapidly. BT is responding to these challenges by making major investments in its network and, in particular the Access Network, which is being transformed from a traditionally passive copper exchange connection into a flexible managed broadband access to a host of service platforms. The application of new technology together with an integrated network management approach is the key to this transformation. The authors discuss customer/network drivers, the transport systems, point-to-point fibre, passive optical networks, HDSL, radio systems, multiservice access equipment and management systems