delay. They therefore play havoc with any type of traffic that is delay sensitive, such as voice, video, and multimedia. So when we say we want to build low-latency net- works for the future, we mean networks that impose no delays that result from congestion points. (See Chapter 10.) Another characteristic of the new public network is that, in contrast to today's world, where we have separate platforms for each of the traffic types, the platforms need to be multiservice-they have to accommodate voice, data, and video streams, as well as any streams invented in the future. (See Chapter 10.) The new public network should also be agnostic. That is, it should not follow only one protocol, but it should understand that the universe truly is multiprotocol. The best way to create an agnostic network is to have a box that enables interfaces for the most prevalent of the data protocols. However, the reality is that while such a box may be highly desirable, it is an expensive proposition to create such a utopian device. Given the popularity and pervasiveness of IP, it is difficult to make a busi- ness case for addressing a smaller population of older protocols. (See Chapter 10.) The new public network also needs to include a new generation of telephony services, one that makes use of packet-switching technologies to derive transmis- sion efficiencies, while also allowing voice to be bundled with more standard data applications, to provide for more robust environments. (See Chapter 9.) Quality of service (QoS) guarantees are an absolute prerequisite for the new public network. The network must be able to distinguish between the various traf- fic types SO that it can apply the appropriate network resources and ensure that the latency requirements are being met, that the loss requirements are being met, and that the bandwidth required is being allocated. (See Chapter 10.) What This Book Covers Finally, encryption and security services are necessary in telecommunications devices and networks. Once upon a time, this was a separ