Neural networks in teletraffic control: pro et contra?

The Internet has experienced a fascinating evolution in the recent past. Many different multimedia services, demanding quality of service guarantees, became the driving force in the development of the asynchronous transfer mode (ATM). These techniques have already changed the traffic type. According to the ubiquitous variable bit rates the traffic appeared to be fractal. As a consequence of multiplexing of different traffic streams, a multifractal phenomenon arises. This paper explains the complex nature of modern teletraffic. Bearing in mind the high variability of their performances, neural networks seem to be a promising solution in some applications. The arguments for and against the neural network control of teletraffic are briefly discussed.