The Impact of the Internet on Telecommunication Architectures

Until the late 1970’s, introducing new services in a telephone network was a slow and difficult process, requiring the modification of switch’s software spread all over the network. Customers might not have been happy with their dependence on their operator but they had little choice in the matter. The operators may not have been happy with their dependence on their equipment suppliers, but they had no choice. At the same time, the equipment heterogeneity, and the absence of any consistent way to control it, caused a wealth of difficulties for anyone trying to