IP over Ethernet via fiber

IP over Ethernet via fiber will provide the ability to deliver the converged services of video, voice and data. It will enable a seamless transition of services between local area networks (LANs), metropolitan area networks (MANs), wide area networks (WANs), and first-mile access networks. Today LANs are the equivalent of giant bandwidth silos, but when communication needs to extend beyond the LAN boundary, transmission is often reduced to T1 level speeds or worse. This bottleneck will dissipate, and the distinction between WANs and MANs will become more blurred, as Ethernet becomes prevalent in these two markets. The paper considers access, capacity, IP telephony, multimedia and extranets.