Memberships

Convergent Networks actively participates in industry organizations that create awareness, promote multi-vendor interoperability through standards and open interfaces, and support a communications market that is open to full and fair competition. In support of these objectives, Convergent Networks belongs to the following organizations:

• Association of Communications Enterprises (ASCENT)
  www.ascent.org
  ASCENT is the preeminent trade organization representing the interests of the communications industry. Members include companies, individuals and other associations involved in all aspects of communications services around the globe. The association works with the industry, legislators, regulators and the public in an effort to open all communications markets to full and fair competition.
• Association for Local Telecommunications Services (ALTS)
  www.alts.org
  ALTS is the trade association that represents the builders of high-speed local communications - CLECs that are "facilities-based." ALTS was founded to harness the shared energy and vitality of the new local competitors - and to help ensure regulations for robust competition, spawned by the 1996 Act, are implemented and enforced. ALTS produces important industry events, products and services to help CLECs WIN in the marketplace.
• ATM Forum
  www.atmforum.com
  The ATM Forum is an international non-profit organization formed with the objective of accelerating the use of ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) products and services through a rapid convergence of interoperability specifications. In addition, the Forum promotes industry cooperation and awareness. The ATM Forum consists of a worldwide Technical Committee, three Marketing Committees for North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific as well as the User Committee, through which ATM end-users participate.
• CableLabs
  www.cablelabs.com
  Founded in 1988 by members of the cable television industry, Cable Television Laboratories, Inc. (CableLabs®) is a nonprofit research and development consortium that is dedicated to pursuing new cable telecommunications technologies and to helping its cable operator members integrate those technical advancements into their business objectives.
• International Softswitch Consortium (ISC)
  www.softswitch.org
  Founded in May 1999, the Softswitch Consortium is the international organization for global cooperation and coordination of internetworking technologies in the field of Internet-based real-time interactive communications and related applications. Many applications emulate circuit switching in software, hence the name "softswitch." The Consortium is a non-profit corporation with open membership committed to advancing IP distributed network architecture standards that enable and expedite application development. More than 50 companies from around the world participate as members of the organization.
• Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE)
  www.scte.org
  The Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers is a nonprofit professional association dedicated to advancing the careers and serving the industry of telecommunications professionals by providing technical training, certification and standards. Since 1969, SCTE has continually expanded its resources and services to meet the changing needs of its members in a rapidly evolving industry. Today, more than 16,000 engineers, technical professionals, installers, and managers depend upon SCTE to deliver the tools they need to maintain their competitive edge. As the only cable telecommunications organization accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to develop technical standards, SCTE provides a neutral forum for professionals to collaborate on standards that lead the way to global compatibility.
• Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA)
  www.tiaonline.org
  TIA is a full-service national trade organization with membership of 1000 large and small companies that provide communications and information technology products, materials, systems, distribution services and professional services in the United States and around the world. The association's member companies manufacture or supply virtually all of the products used in global communication networks. TIA represents the telecommunications industry with its subsidiary, the MultiMedia Telecommunications Association (MMTA), in conjunction with the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA).
• United States Telecom Association (USTA)
  www.usta.org
  USTA's mission is to promote the general welfare of the telephone industry, to collect and disseminate industry information and to provide a forum for the discussion and resolution of issues of mutual concern. USTA has been serving its member companies for more than a century. Over that time telecommunications technology and regulation have undergone tremendous change. With the introduction of competition into the local loop and emerging technologies that build and maintain the international information infrastructure, the telephone industry faces challenges and opportunities virtually unimaginable just a decade ago. For over a century, USTA has represented the interests of service providers in the dynamic telecommunications industry. Today, USTA is the nation's premier trade association representing the converged telecom industry, serving more than 1,200 telecom companies worldwide that provide local exchange, long distance, wireless, Internet and cable services.