ATM and frame relay spending to remain flat

IDC annual US WAN Manager Survey interviewed 400 US companies about their current wide area network (WAN) configuration and future plans for that network. Fewer companies than last year have flat budgets for network services, and more companies are increasing their spending than last year. Most companies will have flat WAN services budgets in 2004 (56.6% of private line end users, 47.4% of frame relay customers, and 42.8% of ATM customers). The better news is that 54.8% of ATM users and 32.4% of frame relay users said they will spend more on those services in 2004 than in 2003. Cost reductions/budget availability topped the list of network expenditure drivers, followed by business expansion and reliability/quality of service