Broadband networking in a national security and emergency preparedness (NS/EP) environment

Private and public switched networks (PSN) are evolving towards broadband technology solutions that will support the increasing end-user demands for higher capacity and advanced services. National security and emergency preparedness (NS/EP) telecommunications rely primarily on the PSN due to its robustness and nationwide universal access. Therefore, NS/EP user requirements will reflect the evolution of the PSN and the advancements in information transfer technologies. Local and long-haul service providers have committed to and are currently focused on the insertion of broadband technologies. These technologies include emerging transmission hierarchies such as synchronous optical network (SONET) and advanced switching technologies such as frame relay, switched multimegabit data service (SMDS), asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), and broadband integrated services digital network (B-ISDN). As public and private network designers adopt these broadband technologies, NS/EP users must consider the impacts to their own network operations and missions. Broadband technologies create significant opportunities as well as concerns for NS/EP telecommunication users.<>