Asynchronous Transfer Mode, or ATM, is a relatively new high-speed transfer technology. ATM is a physical-layer
protocol in which a standard 53-
byte packet (known as a
cell!) is used to
simultaneously transmit voice/
data over the same cable. The cells contain ident(ification) information, which allows an ATM-switch to separate data types and re-assemble them in the right order.
(so sue me, I know about data communications/computers, but not about Olympic mascots!!)