Provider backbone transport technology was already one of the hottest telecom topics of the last year or so, but BT's recent de-emphasis [1] of PBT and Verizon's shunning of the technology has made it seem even more controversial than it already was. Meanwhile, a number of vendors are still betting on PBT, also known by its standard moniker, provider backbone bridging-transport engineering. Many of those vendors will have PBT solutions on display at NXTcomm, and you can expect some of their new pitches to include talk of which deployment scenarios are most appropriate for PBT--and which ones are not.
Adam Dunsky, co-founder of connection-oriented Ethernet technology vendor Ethos Networks told FierceTelecom this week that PBT probably was over-hyped as a solution all Ethernet challenges, including those in the network core, where MPLS might often be more appropriate. He said that now the opposite may be happening, with some harsh negative reactions to PBT since former PBT champion BT is downplaying of the technology.
Links:
[1] http://www.fiercetelecom.com/story/mpls-records-win-over-pbt-bt-group-decision/2008-05-29