Growth
continues in MTU/MDUs (a mix of VDSL and copper Ethernet).
According to a worldwide Service Provider study (Service Provider Plans for IP, MPLS,
and ATM: North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific 2005), all types of data traffic grew
between 2004 and 2006, but IP and metro Ethernet growth was the strongest, especially
by 2006 when Ethernet grew an average of 162 percent. The movement from
legacy protocols to IP/MPLS and metro Ethernet continues, as shown in Figure 3.5.
Frame Relay growth was small and declining such that it showed an absolute decline
in traffic volume, not just a decline in growth in 2006. ATM was also winding down,
but at a slower rate.
Figure 3.5 Traffic growth by protocol
??’20%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
120%
140%
160%
180%
Frame relay ATM IP/MPLS Layer 2
Metro
Ethernet
Protocols
Average Percent
55%
119%
162%
84%
69%
102%
19% 14%
5% 7% 3%
12%
2004 2005 2006
120 Chapter 3
As expected, incumbents showed stronger growth for ATM traffic than competitive
carriers. Frame Relay was declining among European respondents while still gaining in
North America. IP was growing faster in North America than in Europe or Asia Pacific.
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