In Brief

Publications Pictures of the Future Fall 2002

Networks of the Future

Within 15 years, a Next Generation Network (NGN) will deliver a spectrum of services based on high-bandwidth (overwhelmingly optical) communication systems that will be as ubiquitous and inexpensive as electricity is today
The NGN will allow speech and moving images to be transmitted affordably and flexibly in real time and with a level of quality currently possible only with dedicated lines. The technology will work by transmitting these real-time-dependent services as prioritized data packets. The NGN will automatically manage itself as well as its data traffic. Siemens is developing technologies in each of these areas
Video over DSL (digital subscriber line) is widely expected to be the next killer application. The technology will allow users to obtain television programs over a telephone line, in addition to Internet, videophone and fax services
Siemens set the current world record of over 7,000 Gbit/s over a single fiber. This was achieved by using 176channels, each of which carried 40 Gbit/s. If an all-optical system could be completed, including fiber to the home, there would be virtually no limit to what could be transmitted
In the future, nearly every object will have its own Internet address and will therefore be capable of communication. To accomplish this, new standards will be necessary. IP Version 6, for instance, envisions something like 100 million addresses per capita worldwide
Changes in Web programming will usher in a semantic Web. Search functions will find information based on meaning. With the help of software agents, the user's experience with the Web will become increasingly personalized. Phones, computers and other appliances will recognize users and automatically connect them to their own databases. Internet service provider interfaces will reflect the individual preferences and interests of users and will automatically expand or contract bandwidth depending on the service(s) the user needs