Speaking at Networld + Interop 2001, the president and CEO of US data communications developer, Extreme Networks, predicted that bandwidth would soon be relegated to "commodity" status, and would soon be given out by the "slice" by customer-hungry ISPs, "like AOL CDs".
"Free bandwidth? That's a good one. But it's one I agree with," he said.
Until then, successful Internet service providers would charge for frequency of high-speed access, rather than in blanket monthly installments, because "customers only want to pay for a premium service when they use it", he said.
Stitt said changing attitudes toward broadband applications would see a decrease in voice data as the "killer app" on networks. Higher speeds would see companies relying on broadband-enabled networks for transmission of crucial data.
"Voice is a falling player," he said.
He said currently 50 percent of network traffic currently stemmed from voice data transmission, "but it's headed south fast". He believes voice will soon account for only 20 percent of network traffic.
"It will not be an emerging technology forever," he said. Stitt claims a successful ethernet implementation can speed up a company network by some 700 percent for around five times the cost of existing network standards.
