This is one “maybe” supporters of Provider Backbone Transport (PBT) have been dreading hearing. Light Reading Europe is reporting BT Group has decided PBT isn’t robust enough for its customer needs and is looking hard at Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) for its Ethernet services strategy. And while the decision apparently isn’t an absolute—PBT will continue to get a tickle now and again—it’s pretty obvious BT is moving on.
PBT previously was the lynchpin of BT's next-generation network (NGN) Ethernet strategy. However, BT's customers want multipoint connectivity and that's what MPLS does better. While PBT has an edge in some point-to-point scenarios and will still be used for some services such as data center connectivity, customers increasingly want MPLS for content distribution and corporate VPNs.
For more:
- See the story at Light Reading Europe