0s, when telecom was dominated by regulated, monopolistic carriers who derived the bulk of the revenues and profits from legacy services. Compounding the problem, Telcordia has a monopoly position as exemplified in the Operations Systems Modification of Intelligent Network Elements (OSMINE) process. ILECs will only buy from telecom equipment suppliers with element management systems that conform to Next-Generation SONET and Optical Architectures OSMINE. This series of tests can cost a vendor over $10M, and many startups simply cannot afford it. The result? Traditional vendors have regained the edge in building the public infrastructure. Breakthroughs in technology are taking a back seat to continuity of vendor relationships and operational procedures." 3. R. A. Barry, "Intelligent Optical Networking Year 2001: A Practical Perspective," NGN Proceedings, 2001. 4. The latter case is currently less popular than the former. 5. Nortel Networks, Vertical Systems Group, Dain Rauscher Wessel (DRW) estimates. 6. Jon Cordova, "A Trend That Won't End," in "The Analyst's Corner," Primedia Business Magazine and Media, September 28, 2001, http:// industryclick.com/newsarticle.asp?Newsarticleid=236185&SiteID=3. 7. For data applications, this may actually be too long. 8. Venture capitalists need to be extremely careful with carriers offering $1,000 a month for broadband services. In our opinion, these prices are completely unsustainable and can only result in one of two outcomes within the span of two to three years: a merger/acquisition by another carrier that eventually will raise prices or a course exemplified by the DLECs/CLECs/RLECs/web hosting companies-an eventual meltdown. 9. Nortel White Paper, "An Optical Ethernet Business Case for Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers-A Nortel Networks Business Case," Publication 56049.25-09-01, September 2001. 10. The following quote (Nortel White Paper, "A Layered Architecture for Metro Optical Networks," 56018.25/08-00, August 2000) supports the following thesis: "While the economic val