It is very questionable if ATM will ever take over the Internet completely, neither is it obvious that this is desirable. The next version of the Internet Protocol that is currently under development will not only address the size of the address field, but also try to deliver the quality of service needed. The resource reservation protocol is the attempt of the Internet community to solve the problem of lacks of bandwidth guarantees in the IP protocol. As with ATM, it will take a long time to get the new protocols to a standard where they can be deployed in an operational environment. The market will decide in the end which way the Internet will go.
Fast availability is certainly a key issue here.
Currently the benefit of ATM for Internet service providers comes with the flexible bandwidth assignment possibilities. As the price for ATM services in Europe is still very high, ATM is only being deployed where there is a need for bandwidths that cannot be obtained otherwise. The traffic classes available today do not offer specific benefits to the Internet provider. As to the future, the market will decide what role ATM will play on the Internet. This depends on what PNOs are going to offer and to what prices, and if there is a general need for the services from the Internet perspective.