5:20 PM -- It's only an opinion poll, but based on the results, it looks as if MPLS Transport Profile (MPLS-TP) could end up with a bigger role in the network than Provider Backbone Bridging - Traffic Engineering (PBB-TE).

The audience poll was taken during a connection-oriented Ethernet (COE) session at the Light Reading virtual tradeshow, Packet-Optical Transport Evolution, which happened today. Here's the tally:

Table 1: What's COE Look Like in Five Years?

Panelists Nick Cadwgan, product line management director of Gridpoint Systems Inc. , and Lars Pederson, CTO of Tpack A/S , noted that they expect many operators to use both technologies, fitting each to the appropriate networks that are already in place. Other interpretations are welcome, of course.

— Craig Matsumoto, West Coast Editor, Light Reading