Protocols in Next Generation Networks

This chapter focuses on Next Generation Networks (NGN), how protocols employed in different segments of the telecommunication infrastructure interwork to guarantee the quality for different service types. After the interpretation of the definition and concept of NGN, the general architecture of NGN is presented with regard to the heterogeneous demands of services. The protocols used in different sections of the end-to-end communication relation are introduced from the point of view of service and transport functions of NGN. The main focus of the chapter is on the fixed access solutions and Ethernet based multi-service access and regional networks, but configuration and streaming protocols are covered as well.