HR Sets Course to Convergence

Niel Ransom -- CTO, Alcatel

Mike Volpi -- Senior VP, Routing Technology Group, Cisco

Bill O'Shea -- CTO, Lucent

John Cunliffe -- VP Network Strategy, Marconi

Greg Mumford -- CTO, Nortel

Perry Kamel -- Senior VP, NGN Business Unit, Siemens ICN

Investors that need insight into which equipment vendors will emerge to dominate the multiservice market

Carriers that need to put their suppliers through a health check and examine their own visions of the future

Incumbent equipment manufacturers that need to see how their strategies measure up against their opponents

Startup equipment manufacturers that need to know what the incumbents are planning, to position themselves for acquisition and/or partnership

Communications chip manufacturers that need to anticipate future demand for their wares

IP/MPLS is the DNA of tomorrow's telecom.

Transport and packet networks will remain distinct layers for the coming decade.

Carriers are focused on the cost of change.

Vendors are split over ATM's role in the migration to converged networks.

Lucent is abandoning its own convergence products and re-inventing itself as a service organization.

Packet voice transport is happening slowly, posing a challenge for Siemens.

Cisco defined the convergence market and still leads it -- but its position is not unassailable.