Structures of NASICON glasses of the general formula AB 2 (PO 4) 3 , where A = Li, Na or K and B = Fe, Ga, Ti, V or Nb, have been investigated using vibrational (IR and Raman) spectroscopies. Phosphate species appear to establish an equilibrium via a disproportionation reaction involving a dynamical bond-switching mechanism where both charge and bonds are conserved. B ions in the system acquire different coordinations to oxygens. Alkali ions cause absorptions due to cage vibrations. All the observed spectroscopic features are consistent with speciation involving disproportionation reactions. Keywords. NASICON glasses; dynamical bond-switching mechanism; disproportionation reactions. share corners with PO 4 tetrahedra. NASICONs possess 'open' structures in which alkali ions can move with significantly reduced activation barriers and hence the potential for applications as fast ion conductors. Since the B site can be substituted by a variety of transition and non-transition metals (and their combinations) with appropriate charge compensation in the structure by additional alkali ions, NASICONs constitute a very versatile class of materials 3-5. NASICONs by virtue of their complex chemistry have a built-in propensity to form good glasses, (especially when the material is a phosphate). Higher valent elements such as vanadium (V) or niobium (Nb) increase the covalency of the B-O linkage and facilitate the formation of glasses. A number of NASICON glasses have been investigated 6-9 in this laboratory. It has been found that contrary to expectations, the molar volumes of glasses with NASICON chemistry are sensitive to the size of the alkali ion to a much greater extent than their crystalline counterparts. Indeed, in the absence of the requirement of crystalline periodicity, the network structure collapses around the alkali ions, eliminating the 'openness' of the structure, and the observed conductivities are rather low. Additionally, the coordination numbers of the B ions also vary, facilitating the formation of different types of phosphate species, which have been identified 10 by 31 P MAS NMR.