This is done by developing a new set of signalling and control-plane protocols, which should make it possible to perform traffic engineering over an IP-based network.

Traffic engineering is the process of ensuring that data travelling across a network makes the best use of the bandwidth and other network resources.

IP alone simply looks for the least expensive path across the network, resulting in much of the data flowing over the same connections and slowing the process.

However, traffic engineering already was an inherent feature of ATM, Mr Rhodes said.

Consequently, the International Telecoms Federation (ITF) was working to develop the MPLS standard.

'We're building a solution that takes into account the best bits of ATM and the best bits of IP,' Mr Rhodes said.

As part of this blending, the ITF was using existing ATM standards, so Internet providers could use existing ATM equipment with the new standard. Many ISPs did not realise this, he said.

'They seem to perceive that there is a decision to be made, whether MPLS is the correct technology for their backbone or whether it's going to be ATM,' he said.

He suggested the indecision was caused by major router vendors, which were not so strong in the ATM field, encouraging customers to wait for MPLS.

As a result, many ISPs were waiting for the MPLS standard to be set before making a decision.

However, if an ISP deployed an ATM network today, it would be able to run MPLS on it later, when the standard was set, he said.

'By deploying ATM in the core today, they can use traffic engineering today, and they can be assured that whatever happens in the MPLS world, it will be compatible with their ATM network.' 'There are immediate upfront benefits of being able to perform traffic engineering, and there is the certainty that their ATM core infrastructure will be compatible with any MPLS developments.'