The Switch is On

Sprint goes green with its packet-switched network for local phone traffic, the first carrier to try such a thing. Though the upgrade will take years, the move to more efficient, Net-like packet transmission is a step towards burying the cramped, messy circuit-switched network and its 19th century roots.

Comments

[The Mountain Goat]

For years I've been an investor in Voice-over IP, sending voice over internet packets, much as we send data. Since the speed of sound is so much slower that the speed of light, a fast enough electronic technology should allow the packets of speech to be broken up, sent at the speed of light, reassembled, and delivered at a speed that still exceeds the speed of sound. The listener should not notice.

What does this mean for telephony? I use Sprint for my DSL connection. I also use Sprint for my local phone service. This should lead to unlimited long distance being bundled with the DSL connection, and the ISP charging flat rate long distance. It doesn't look good for AT&T.

[Arnold Kling]

Doesn't this conversion seem too slow? Won't packet-based networks become dominant somewhat sooner?

[Warren]

What makes this "green"?

[Router]

Traffic light -- as in "local phone TRAFFIC." Red light, green light. Get it? (Duh.)