Asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) and Internet protocol (IP)‐based networks have enabled the introduction of a multitude of computing and communications applications and revolutionized the data services market. Rapid acceptance of Internet applications by users has demonstrated the potential for explosive service growth in data networking. However, voice services still generate most of the revenues for telecommunications service providers. The next challenge for these providers and their vendors, therefore, is to incorporate an integrated network that will implement the traffic characteristics and demands associated with the different service types to provide cost‐effective and efficient voice and data services. We analyzed such multiservice network architectures and designed backbone wide area networks (WANs) based on ATM and Internet protocols to handle the varying demands of both voice‐only and multiservice traffic. This paper describes our design methodology, our network architecture considerations, and our results obtained from several specific network studies that drive equipment and facility capacity requirements.

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