GMPLS protocols extend MPLS signaling, routing, and control to support transport layer network elements. This new software protocol technology innovation was inspired in large part due to the advances of tunable lasers and lambda switching. First envisioned at the height of telecom exuberance, GMPLS was portrayed as the ultimate unification and convergence technology. GMPLS’s promise was that it would revolutionize carrier network design, simplify operations, and provide new on-demand optical services. Now several years later, enthusiasm for GMPLS has tempered, benefits have been difficult to quantify, and original deployment schedules have been deferred in some cases indefinitely. Much of the struggle to introduce this new technology has been in reaction to market forces. Nonetheless other complications have also prevented GMPLS technology introduction. In this presentation, we will discuss GMPLS and its barriers to market, where GMPLS technology and standards stand today, and which attributes of GMPLS might survive the transition from innovation, to lab trials, and then to production.