2:20 PM -- Does the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. (IEEE) realize what a great sense of timing it has? It announced this week it's due to ratify controversial Ethernet transport technology Provider Backbone Bridging - Traffic Engineering (PBB-TE) as a standard soon -– and that's a move that will add extra spice to the upcoming Ethernet Expo: Europe 2009 event in London (May 13 & 14). (See IEEE to Rubber-Stamp PBB-TE and Ethernet Expo Europe Nears.)

PBB-TE, or PBT (Provider Backbone Transport) as it was known when it was still in nappies/diapers, is one of the topics up for debate on the second day of the conference, and will, as usual, no doubt generate some heated exchanges between its supporters and those from the rival MPLS-TP (Transport Profile) camp. (See A Guide to PBT/PBB-TE.)

Connection-oriented Ethernet transport is far from the only topic on the agenda. This year's event, which includes keynote speeches by executives from BT Group plc (NYSE: BT; London: BTA), Colt Technology Services Group Ltd , Interoute Communications Ltd. , Global Cloud Xchange , and the MEF , also features the industry's first ever public demonstration of globally interconnected Carrier Ethernet services. (See LR, Iometrix Demo Ethernet Interconnect.)

COLT, Tata Communications Ltd. , and Virgin Media Business Ltd. will be working with Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU), ANDA Networks Inc. , Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO), Creanord Ltd. , Matisse Networks , Omnitron Systems Technology Inc. , and Spirent Communications plc on the demo, which is being overseen and managed by Bob "That's My Middle Name" Mandeville and his team from network testing specialist Iometrix Inc.

Other subjects covered during the two-day fun-fest include wireless backhaul, enterprise Ethernet issues (including a roundtable discussion that features users from major banking, media, and local government organizations), and packet-optical convergence, to name but a few.

EuroBlog will be there to poke around the show floor, check out the coffee facilities, and lead an end-of-day conga to the nearest bar.

Cheers!

— Ray Le Maistre, Chief Vino Tinto Taster, Light Reading

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Interested in learning more on this topic? Then come to Ethernet Expo: Europe 2009, a conference and exposition showcasing the latest trends in the Carrier Ethernet market in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. To be staged in London, May 13 & 14, admission is free for attendees meeting our prequalification criteria. For more information, or to register, click here.

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