Imagine lying on your couch at home holding your TV’s remote control. Your phone rings and your remote control temporarily becomes your telephone handset, allowing you to answer the call without getting up from the couch.

Picture yourself commuting to work early one morning on the train. Your cell phone is on in front of you, and on it you watch your favorite morning news television program. Imagine leaving your office and commuting home on the train that evening. For this leg of your commute, your cell phone provides your laptop with high-speed Internet connectivity, allowing you to wrap up last-minute issues from work without being late for your son’s basketball game.

These three examples illustrate how the convergence of communications and computer access technologies is emerging as a growing market force sweeping across each of the two industries. This convergence is happening on a large scale within wireline and wireless access infrastructure equipment. Wireless base stations, for example, are no longer being optimized for only voice traffic. Instead, they are getting significant upgrades to handle voice and high-speed data with equal ease, with some areas of the world even starting to roll out wireless video services. And Internet-based digital subscriber line (DSL) networks are converging with television networks to create Internet protocol TV.

This convergence in the infrastructure equipment used in access sections of telecom networks is aided by efficient and flexible network processor technology that allows rich services to be delivered across a variety of access network technologies in a consistent fashion. The pace of convergence in infrastructure equipment is accelerating as the telecommunications and consumer electronics markets continue to evolve and pressure to increase average revenue per user while reducing network operations costs intensifies.

Similarly, Gigabit Ethernet and voice-over-IP technology is helping to converge voice and data networks within businesses. In addition to enabling new converged services to be offered, businesses eliminate the redundancies involved in running multiple networks. Consumers are demanding increased diversity and performance in their broadband access services. With wired and wireless access telecom services being consolidated into more streamlined, versatile networks, equipment manufacturers need solutions that enable them to provide operators with a stream of new revenue-generating services at attractive cost points to consumers.

Converged access solution platforms are serving as a launching pad for building more intelligent networks and services. This includes product families that go beyond stand-alone silicon solutions to include hardware and software development tools, application software and proven reference designs. Given the cost sensitivity inherent in the access market, such platforms reduce product development costs, increase revenue-generating capabilities, and accelerate time-to-market for DSL, 3G wireless, and switch/router telecom equipment.

Network processors that offer high-speed, highly intelligent traffic management capabilities at prices affordable for use in cost-competitive wireline and wireless access equipment are emerging. Traffic management is especially important in inherently bandwidth-constrained access networks as it is key to providing the service guarantees needed to support robust triple-play voice/data/video services.

Network processors can be combined with highly integrated, multifunction link layer processor chips. This combination can significantly lower system line card costs and power consumption, as well as support both 2G and 3G wireless traffic on a single line card. By having the link layer processing in a separate device from the network processor, ultra cost-sensitive access systems (e.g. IP DSLAMs) need not be burdened with the cost of functionality they do not need.

Equipment manufacturers in the access space are increasingly basing their network processor buying decisions on the strength of available application software. However, not all network processor prepackaged application software offerings are created equal. Unless the systems merely implement the functionality that the prepackaged software offers, the initial software will invariably need to be modified. Furthermore, the software will typically be enhanced over the life cycle of the system, which could last seven to 10 years.

There can be significant business and technical obstacles in doing these enhancements cost-effectively that must be evaluated and understood as part of the overall system life cycle. Extensible prepackaged network processor software is needed that can be economically enhanced and maintained over the life of the systems that it is used in.

The converged access space will be a key area of equipment maker and operator investment during the next several months. Market research supports this prediction. Worldwide annual growth in DSL subscribers (which get their services from access networks) approached 60 percent for 2004, according to Point Topic. That works out to more than one new DSL subscriber every second. Total DSL subscribers passed the 100 million market in February 2005, according to Point Topic.

The goal of the DSL Forum is to have 500 million DSL subscribers by 2010 using such services as video on demand, streaming video, Internet Protocol telephony, online gaming and videoconferencing.

The worldwide communications equipment infrastructure chip market amounted to approximately $3.7 billion in 2003, according to International Data Corp.* The market is expected to total $3.9 billion in 2005 and $4.9 billion by 2008, with an annual average growth rate of 7.3 percent between 2003 and 2008.

The mobile wireless infrastructure chip market (which use access networks) amounted to $1 million in 2004 and is expected to grow to $1.6 billion by 2008. The market is expected to grow at a 12.1 percent per year from 2003 through 2008. The access infrastructure market amounted to $386 million in 2004 and is pegged to grow to $485 million by 2008, with an annual growth rate of 5.4 percent.

All of this convergence and market growth in the access arena is not happening by accident; it’s a result of the natural evolution of technology and market forces. As an industry we will need to apply significant focus in this area to deliver on the huge potential that convergence can deliver.

Rob Munoz is systems engineer for Agere Systems.

Visit Agere Systems online.

*Market Study: “Worldwide T/E, SONET/SDH, ATM, Network Processing, Switch Fabric, Communications PLD and Communications Processor Forecast, 2002-2008” By Sean Lavey, Analyst, IDC