Instructor Note: Red font color or gray highlights indicate text that appears in the instructor copy only. Optional activities are designed to enhance understanding and/or to provide additional practice.
Part 1: Survey Your Understanding of Convergence
Part 2: Research ISPs Offering Converged Services
Part 3: Research Local ISPs Offering Converged Services
Part 4: Select Best Local ISP Converged Service
Part 5: Research Local Company or Public Institution Using Convergence Technologies
Convergence in the context of networking is a term used to describe the process of combining voice, video, and data communications over a common network infrastructure. Technology advances have made convergence readily available to large, medium, and small businesses, as well as for the home consumer. In this lab, you will research the converged services available to you.
Device with Internet access
Instructor Note: In Part 1, the instructor may wish to lead a discussion with students on their understanding of convergence, its definition, and the possible technologies used. This lab may be assigned as homework.
Write a definition of convergence and list at least two examples.
Convergence – Converged networks are capable of delivering voice, video streams, text, and graphics between many different types of devices over the same communication channel and network structure. On a converged network, there are still many points of contact and many specialized devices, such as personal computers, phones, TVs, and tablet computers, but there is one common network infrastructure. An example of a converged network at home is a Triple Play service from Charter.com. Voice, Video (TV), and phone are bundled together and come into the home on one cable, typically hybrid fiber coax.
In Part 2, you will research and find two or three ISPs who offer converged services for the home, regardless of geographical location.
List some of the ISPs that you found in your search.
Comcast
Charter
AT&T
| Internet Service Provider | Product Name of Converged Service |
|---|---|
| Comcast | Xfinity Triple Play |
| Time Warner Cable | TV, Internet, and Phone |
| AT&T | AT&T U-Verse |
In Part 3, you will research and find two or three local ISPs who offer converged services for the home in your geographic area.
List at least two of the ISPs that you found in your search.
Answers will vary based on geographic location.
| Internet Service Provider | Product Name of Converged Service | Cost per Month | Download Speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Comcast | Xfinity Triple Play | $89.99 | Varies 10 to 16 Mbps |
| Time Warner Cable | TV, Internet, and Phone | $99.99 | 10 Mbps |
| AT&T | U-Verse | $59.00 | 3 Mbps |
Select your top choice from the list of local ISPs that you selected and provide reasons why you chose that particular one.
Answers will vary and will typically be based on price per month and relative priority of Internet speeds versus number of TV channels offered in the basic packages. Student may choose Comcast for higher download speeds for Internet. Emphasize to students that home users’ priorities can affect their choice of service. For example, users who stream movies exclusively may want higher download speeds versus a user who mainly does casual surfing of the Internet and checks email.
In Part 5, you will research and locate a company in your area that currently uses convergence technologies in their business.
In the following table, list the company, industry, and convergence technologies used.
| Name of Company | Industry | Convergence Technologies |
|---|---|---|
| Cisco Systems, Inc. | Information Technology | Phone, Video, Data |
| Woodward, Inc. | Aerospace | Phone, Video, Data |
1. Identify at least two advantages of using convergence technologies?
Blending voice, video, and data signals onto one communication infrastructure allows companies to better manage the technology because the network will use a common set of rules and standards. The need for separate distribution equipment to offer voice and data will no longer be necessary.
2. Identify at least two disadvantages of using convergence technologies?
Until the technologies fully mature, configuration and management of voice, video, and data flowing on one channel can be a challenge. Giving voice precedence over data using Quality of Service (QoS) technologies can be quite complex for companies that do not have trained IT personnel on staff.