TECHNOLOGY: Heavyweights aim to improve multi-vendor interoperability

PHILADELPHIA – It’s tough running an advanced network when one company’s gear won’t talk to another’s. To help get over that barrier, Comcast – North America’s largest cable operator – announced a new Open Transport Initiative, whose primary objective is to improve the interoperability between optical and IP network layers and compatibility among multiple vendors' equipment within Comcast's network. Comcast will work with Nortel and Cisco as the first vendors in this initiative. The initial phase of OTI will focus on providing operators, such as Comcast, greater network and bandwidth agility. “The OTI plans to first identify and define a...