Sources close to the organisations say the vote is likely to be in favour of the amalgamation, creating the MPLS, Frame Relay and ATM (MFA) Forum. The two organisations have been co-locating their meetings for some time now, and a draft version of the by-laws of the MFA Forum has been drawn up.

The merger is both a logical one, in terms of the growing overlap of organisational remit, and a practical one given the current state of the networking industry. "It's not just because it makes sense. With the state of this industry right now, companies can't afford to keep sending people out to all the different meetings" observes Dr Yaakov Stein, chief scientist at RAD Data Communications, a vendor belonging to both organisations.

In some quarters the move is being seen as something of a waning of the star of the ATM lobby. Of the 10 members of the MFA board, the current expectation is that only one will be drafted from the former ATM Forum, although there are presently several board members in common across the two organisations. The ATM Forum could not be reached for comment.

The MPLS and Frame Relay Alliance was formed by the merger of the Frame Relay Forum and MultiProtocol Label Switching Forum in early 2003.
John Williamson