Two consultants at Bellcore, the Baby Bell research arm currently being acquired by Science Applications International Corp, have issued a white paper proposing five network-based methods of reducing congestion over the internet. They reject methods which call for the siphoning off of Internet traffic onto a whole new class of systems in favor of a packet-switched network approach using intelligence already embedded in today’s networks. Asymmetric digital subscriber loop systems and cable modems offer the best long term solutions known today. But using pre-existing overlays of Signal System Seven and intelligent network capabilities to detect and re-route Internet traffic onto packet switched networks can be used as a stop gap. The two researchers, Amir Atai and James Gordon, are members of Bellcore’s network performance unit.
