Many local and state governments are asked to both improve the services they offer to their citizens and at the same time make significant productivity gains. This translates in sustained pressure to find innovative ways to modernize their information and communications technology. Replacing their multiple legacy circuit based networks with an Internet Protocol/Multi-Protocol Label Switching (IP/MPLS) network able to support voice, data and video applications on a single network is at the heart of this evolution.

But IP/MPLS can offer even more than voice, data and video convergence. One of its advantages is the ease with which the network can be securely shared by multiple government entities and public service providers. Recognizing the potential benefits network sharing offers, Alcatel-Lucent Bell Labs conducted an extensive analysis of possible sharing scenarios to quantify short and long term economic advantages and the impact network sharing will have on service for all public organizations. In this paper, discover what are the many cases where a shared public network makes good business sense, and what can be the financial and services benefits for all parties involved, so that you can make the most of your new IP/MPLS network.