Infrastructure

About Infrastructure

IP, Ethernet, Category 5 cable and optical fibre ( "the plain old LAN/WAN") are all part of the information highway - itself expected to last forever and support all telecommunications, past, current and future.

Network integration within premises (LAN) and network convergence between premises (WAN) presents challenges for our infrastructures since:

network integration has led the physical and networking infrastructure (via wired or wireless distribution) to become the commodity carrier of data, voice and video (i.e. ICT service) solutions - meeting the increasing demands of changing working practices and leading, as demand for "User Presence" and "Mobility" increases by the day, to the development of Unified Communications concepts
non-elastic/contention-intolerant services require the infrastructure to provide many additional features ranging from Access Security, Quality of Service, Application Prioritisation, Contention Management, Capacity Management and, above all, the ability to manage costs (tariffs, port allocation, IPT/video bandwidth and backbone capacity
it is vital to examine the key design and management requirements for telecommunications using broadband, wireless and LAN/WAN Infrastructures and associated standards
the development of "adequate" implementation specifications is critical to ensure that infrastructures are able to meet current and future demands

Infrastructure Forum Mission

to provide "Users" (or their Design Authorities) with an independent, agnostic, source of advice and guidance at key stages within the infrastructure/network design process
to promote integration and harmonisation of network equipment suppliers and physical infrastructure standards bodies
to fully contribute to, and leverage, infrastructure standards to meet the challenges of service and application delivery by:
representing CMA and its membership in the development and implementation of Infrastructure standards at national, European and international level;
actively engaging with key industry groups including the Telecommunication Industry Advisory Board (TIA-B) and its co-hosts (FIA and ECA-ITEC) to allow CMA contributions to TIA-B projects that will directly impact CMA members in the design, implementation and support of telecommunication systems.