Operational Support Systems: An Operator's Perspective

For software and hardware vendors, 3rd party OSS systems represents an extraordinary business opportunity for those capable of filling the operators needs. It is expected that between US$5-$8 billion dollars will be spent by telecom operators in the next 5 years on OSS systems and the related systems integration support.

This report will help you take advantage of this opportunity through understanding your clients needs, problems and concerns, know your competition, their pricing and keep current with new developments and future trends.

This report is the most comprehensive and insightful study published to date on Operational Support Systems, including 67 vendor offerings analyzed and 223 OSS systems described, user experience with OSS: 15 major telecom operators, Wireless &Wireline, pricing trends and Pricing for Applications, and conceptual and Technical OSS Advances Forecast.

Highlights of this report include user experiences with OSS and 15 major wireline and wireless telecom operator's experience analyzed: the OSS system utilized, problems encountered, lessons learned, future plans, and benefits and savings achieved.

1. The Project ESS Multiclient Research Program


2. Industry Changes Since the Last Project ESS OSS Study in 1988


3. Framework of OSS Classification Use in Update 36


4. Summary of Main Findings

1. Introduction to Part II



2. Customer Care & billing






A. Service Order Origination/ Processing




1. Definition of Functions


2. Typical / Existing Procedures


3. Levels of Automation Achieved


4. Savings / Benefits Achievable


5. Equipment Software / Suppliers


6. Implementation Costs Incurred


7. Implementation Problems Encountered


8. Cost / Benefit Conclusions








Note: Each application treated in Part II is discussed according to the same general outline (1 - 8) as used in Chapter 2.





B. Customer Contact / Trouble Management / Repair Center


C. Service Activation / Provisioning


D. Automated Repair Center / Trouble Tracking


E. Credit Authorization & Verification


F. Billing Inquiry Handling




3. Directory Services






A. White Pages


B. Directory Preparation


C. Directory Assistance


D. Intercept Service Systems


E. Yellow Pages Preparation




4. Fraud Detection






A. Real-Time Fraud Detection


B. Post Analysis




5. Marketing & Sales Support






A. Traffic Data Warehousing


B. Identification of Jeopardy Customer


C. Prospect Identification for New Services


D. Sales Call Scheduling




6. Network Element Management






A. Switch Management


B. Transport Management


C. Private Dedicated Lines


D. Access Systems


E. Customer Management & Administration of Private Network




7. Network Management






A. Network Configuration


B. Network Surveillance & Monitoring


C. Switched Network Performance


D. Transport Network Restoration


E. Trouble Ticketing & Tracking




8. Provisioning






A. Graphic Outside Plant Records


B. Provisioning Subscriber Plant Assignment & Administration


C. Service Order to Switch Translation System


D. Trunk & Special Service Provisioning & Management


E. Inventory Records


F. Creation Environment




9. Service Management






A. End-to-End Monitoring


B. Other




10. Traffic Management






A. Traffic Data Handling


B. Billing Data Handling




11. Work Force Management






A. Craft Dispatch


B. Operating Scheduling


C. Craft Access




12. Matrix of Supplier Products vs. OSS Applications

1. Introduction to Part III


2. Evolution Towards the Future Operational Support System Environment






A. Background - Why Do We Need a Comprehensive New Environment for Future OSS's?


B. The Emerging Structure


C. Standard-Setting Activities


D. Overview of the TMN Concept


E. The Significance of TMN & Its Likely Evolution


F. The Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)


G. The OSI Management Model


H. TINA Directions




3. Trends in Software Technology






A. Introduction


B. Object-Oriented Program Structures


C. DCE - OSF's Distributed Computing Environment


D. CORBA - The Common Object Request Broker Architecture




4. Expert Systems, Model-Based Reasoning Techniques and Related Concepts






A. Introduction


B. Knowledge-Based Systems - The Basics


C. Assistant Versus Autonomous Mode Systems


D. Applying Autonomous Mode Systems to Telecommunications Network Management Tasks


E. Examples of Early Implementation




5. Data Warehousing Technologies






A. Introduction


B. Configurations for Data Warehouse Systems


C. Making the Most of Warehoused Data




6. Speech-Processing Technology






A. Introduction


B. Speech Synthesis


C. Speech Recognition Systems


D. Actual or Potential Use for Speech Processing Technology in Operations Support Systems




7. Self-Healing Network Approaches






A. Introduction


B. Local, Decentralized Restoration


C. Other Forms of Automatic Distributed Restoration


D. Centralized Automatic Network Restoration




8. Impact of Advanced Services - ISDN, IN, Broadband & ATM






A. Introduction


B. The Impact of ISDN


C. Impact of Intelligent Network Services


D. Broadband and ATM Services




9. The "Buy Now" vs. "Wait for New Generation Systems" Decision






A. Introduction


B. Summary and Conclusions




10. Customer Access to Operations Support Systems






A. Introduction


B. Customer Access for Large Customer Organizations


C. Access to Operations Support Systems for Residential and Small Business Subscribers


D. Expected Trends for Customer Access to Operations Support Systems




11. Security Approaches for OSS Systems






A. Introduction


B. General Security Approaches for OSS Assistance


C. Security and Access Control in Distributed Computer Environment


D. Security Approaches in CORBA




12. OSS Access for Competitive Carriers






A. Background


B. What is Needed to Achieve the Required Capabilities


C. Implementation Approaches for OSS Interconnections


D. Conclusions on 3rd Party Gateway Services

1. Introduction to Part IV


2. Pricing Structure Alternatives






A. Overview


B. Rationale for Size-Related Pricing


C. Pricing of Software - General


D. Hardware Pricing


E. Elements of Overall Turnkey Pricing




3. Pricing by Application






A. Software License Prices


B. Hardware Purchase Prices


C. Annual Maintenance Prices




4. OSS Pricing Trends






A. 10-Year Outlook - General


B. Impact of Application Integration Developments


C. Impact of Intelligent Network Facilities


D. Impact of Broadband Services & ATM




5. Cost-Based Pricing Forecast






A. General


B. Automated Repair Center


C. Transmission System Surveillance




6. Forecasts of Future Pricing Developments






A. OSS Market Becoming Structured


B. Prices Declining for Stand-alone Systems


C. Artificial Intelligence Offers Substantial Enhancements at Little Cost


D. Productivity of Software Development Increasing


E. Price Spread Between Large & Small Administrations Narrowing

1. Introduction to Part V


2. General Conclusions & Recommendations






A. Sources of Productivity Increases


B. Primary Rationale for Operational Support Systems


C. Objective Productivity Measures Prove Benefits of OSS Usage


D. External Procurement Proves Viable


E. Outsourcing vs. Internal Implementation




3. Prioritization & Sequencing of Application Development


4. Organization & Training Implications






A. Computer Service Organization Role / Structure


B. Overall Organization Trends


C. Development Team Composition


D. Training Implications




5. Implementation Strategy


6. Price & Price Justification


7. Internal Development versus External Procurement


8. Evaluation Criteria for OSS Software Sources


9. Recommendations for Developing Countries


10. Recommendations to Industrialized Countries


11. Benefits / Savings by Application - Summary

1. Introduction to Part VI


2. Ameritech






A. Company Background


B. History of OSS Implementation


C. Implementation / Conversion Problems Encountered


D. Benefits / Savings Achieved


E. Lessons Learned