way from single or multiple T1s to OC3/STM1 or greater. In some areas, dark fiber may be available and has been known to be very attractive and cost effective. The down side, and many times the show-stopper, is network man- agement, which is expensive in terms of capital and operating cost. WIDE AREA NETWORK WAN architecture is almost a duplicate of MAN architecture. The network equipment must connect to a local access facility, which connects CPE edge routers to network backbone routers. In general, common sense consideration based on physical geography can easily determine direction for a preliminary study. If for example, the customer sites are national in scope, then competing national, Tier 1 service providers works. On the other hand, if the sites are all local or state-based, local service providers-ISP, CLEC, or ILEC-can compete. Once a direction is set and a short list of suppliers is developed, final selection criteria will gravitate around capabilities, connectivity, and operational reputation. CONTENT TRANSPORT NETWORK ELEMENTS The approach to defining a content transport network is based on one of three conditions. Either the network exists and is not defined to PRACTICAL IP AND TELECOM FOR BROADCAST ENGINEERING AND OPERATIONS suit the owner, or the network doesn't exist and the objective is to design, install, and operate one from scratch. The third situation is somewhere in between and the network will be replaced, downsized or upgraded to include more functions, capabilities and/or service sites. Ultimately, the content transport network contains approxi- mately three or four basic elements: equipment used to make up the interface between the broadcast facility and the network, network access and transport facilities, and if the network is highly integrated with the broadcast operation, that is it becomes an operational func- tion to change the configuration of the network, network manage- ment becomes the fourth element. NETWORK TECHNOLOGY AND METHODOLOGY Evolution or progression of any given tec