If you are reading this letter, you already know the information I am about to reiterate: the telecommunications space was clearly once the realm of the massive incumbents. No longer is the field so uniform. The cablecos are certainly having a bit of good luck when it comes to capturing market share, and, in addition, the RBOCs must contend with content and device providers, entertainment companies, MVNOs, VNOs, remaining CLECs, and myriad other players all competing for a piece of the pie that, while larger, is fraught with expectations and conditions. It's no gentle landscape, no easy habitat.

Where is it headed? Can we get any sense of the winners and losers in the constant battle for market share? What will competition do to churn? Or ARPU? Will price be the sole differentiator? What level of QoS will be expected? These are all questions that cannot be easily answered from our current standpoint. It's a shifting market. One that we must get comfortable with, because the ride is far from over.

In this issue of Pipeline, we analyze bits of the shifting market, and try to get an understanding of some of the changes that are here or on the way, and what can be done to meet those challenges head-on in order to remain competitive. We join Joseph Kestel and Craig Clausen of NPRG as they examine the emerging battlefronts in the realm of telecom competition. We hear what Barbara Lancaster and Wedge Greene of LTC, International have to say about the latest Comptel event and the trends it revealed. We gather insight from thought leaders at DIGITALK, TTI Telecom, and Ipanema Technologies as they examine the shifts in the market and how we can all use them to