The MPLS & Frame Relay Alliance and The ATM Forum will merge into a single organization aimed at advancing the deployment of multi-vendor, multi-service, packet-based networks, associated applications and interworking solutions. The merged organization will have a combined membership of more than 100 companies representing the world's major service providers, equipment vendors, software and silicon suppliers, and enterprise end-users.
The interim board of the merged forum will include representatives from Alcatel, Agilent Technologies, Bell Canada, Ericsson, Harris Corporation, Lucent Technologies, Riverstone Networks, Sprint, Tellabs, and Verizon. The members of each organization will be asked to approve the merger by the end of this quarter. Completion of the merger is expected to take place by the end of this year. The two organizations held a co-located meeting this week in Salt Lake City and will continue to meet jointly and cooperate on market education and awareness activities in the interim.
"The big winner in this merger is the telecommunications industry," said Marlis Humphrey of Harris Corporation, chairman of the board, The ATM Forum. "Service providers will see fresh interworking solutions that result in real OPEX reductions while creating new and sustainable revenue-generating services. Equipment vendors will benefit from our amalgamated approach to multi-technology solutions without the cost of joining multiple organizations."
"The unification of the MPLS & Frame Relay Alliance and The ATM Forum will provide a huge boost to the multi-service interworking goals shared by both organizations," said Andrew G. Malis of Tellabs, president and chairman of the board of the MPLS & Frame Relay Alliance. "This merger is the culmination of a strongly coordinated effort over the past two years to closely align work items and allows us to become truly multi-protocol."http://www.atmforum.com/http://www.mplsforum.org/
- In 2003, The Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) Forum merged with the Frame Relay Forum (FRF). The MPLS Forum was formed in March 2000. The Frame Relay Forum was incorporated in May 1991.
- The ATM Forum was founded in 1991 and has developed over 200 interoperability specifications.
