That’s the good news. The bad (or, better said, challenging) news is that service providers must necessarily operate multiple networks to ensure that their customers have access to all of these service modalities.

Multiple networks translates into multiple CAPEX and OPEX budgets, multiple engineering, design, construction, maintenance and support organizations, and a complex organizational structure that makes it difficult to respond to the changes of a dynamic market in a timely fashion.

In response to this spider web of organizational and technological complexity is the industry phenomenon known as convergence. Originally defined simply (and ambiguously) as the ability to transport all services over a common network infrastructure, today convergence has been defined as more closely focused on IP as the network protocol and on broadband as the access modality. In response to this more finely honed definition and to the increasingly diverse nature of traffic generated and consumed by the user, a device is born: The Multiservice Business Gateway (MSBG).

The MSBG: A Definition
It comes as no surprise that the typical enterprise, whether large or small, relies on a plethora of devices to gain access to voice and data resources. Large business, SMBs, and Remote or Branch Offices (ROBO) often deal with disparate access appliances to ensure access to their communications capabilities.