Open Standard Initiatives For Service Delivery Platforms

BY TRACY VENTERS

IN SEARCH OF THE HOLY GRAIL OF SERVICE DELIVERY
"Faster, Better, Cheaper: Pick only two," the old saying goes. Unfortunately, for service providers today, "only two" is not an option. In fact, when it comes to services, service providers need four out of four: More, Faster, Better, Cheaper. While competition for the almighty telecom dollar continues to increase, prices for individual services continue to decline. Now more than ever, service providers need to be able to roll out more, interesting and valuable services, faster and at a lower cost.

One area that opens the possibility for increased average revenue per user (ARPU) is the delivery of content such as pictures and games over wireless networks to mobile handsets. Another way to increase ARPU is through added customization of existing services such as allowing subscribers to provision follow-me services over a user-friendly Web interface, or use the Web to enter a unique text display to be delivered in lieu of a particular caller id. Additionally, service providers can boost their revenues with services that may be short-lived such as providing scores and highlights during a sporting event such as the Olympics. There are many possibilities, however, service providers cannot ignore the fact that while some services will be a big hit with consumers, many more will flop. What service providers need is a way to roll out more services, faster, better and cheaper with limited investment in the underlying platforms.

The good news is that there are several initiatives well underway that promise to enable the opening up of the telecom value chain, similar to the way the revolution in the computer industry in the 1980s paved the way for thousands of new, off-the-shelf applications. A common objective among these initiatives is to create a framework that addresses the challenges not solved in earlier attempts the industry made in search of streamlined and integrated service creation for telecom networks. Some of these challenges include integrating back-office and business functions with services spanning a heterogeneous network consisting of wireline, wireless, circuit and packet-based network elements, providing Web-enabled customer access and allowing carriers to enable third-party content and services over their networks. The industry is clearly endorsing the need for standards-based service delivery platforms (SDPs) that meet these objectives, as evidenced by the growing number of service providers and vendors joining the consortiums aimed at specifying open telephony standards and, more importantly, adopting the standards in their platforms and applications. A few of the most promising initiatives are highlighted in the sections below.

OSA/PARLAY
OSA/Parlay is a set of standard Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) designed to provide application developers with a high-level, standard interface to the functions provided by telecom networks. The goal of the Parlay specifications is to foster development of applications among enterprise and other third parties that take advantage of the resources provided by a network without the developer needing to know the low-level details. The application developer accesses the function provided by the network through the Parlay interface, which is implemented on a Parlay gateway. Not only does the Parlay gateway shield the programmer from the network details, it also protects the network from hazardous programming by the developer.

The Parlay gateway provides a common interface that mediates access to the core network. This enables development of off-the-shelf applications such as managing and charging for third-party content, routing applications, location-based services and blocking and screening services.

Parlay APIs are technology-independent and network-independent. Network-independent means that Parlay applications can be portable across multiple types of networks: Wireline, wireless or packet-based. Technology-independent means that Parlay does not specify anything about how the APIs are implemented, such as the programming language, messaging medium or operating system.

JAIN
The objectives of the Java for Integrated Networks (JAIN) initiative are similar to those of OSA/Parlay: To simplify development of telecom applications and allow applications to be written that are portable across any type of network including wireline, wireless and packet. JAIN opens the opportunity to develop applications for telecom networks up to the large community of JAVA developers out there versus the rather limited community of developers skilled in the complex, often proprietary, telecom protocols.

The JAIN initiative consists of two areas of API specification: The Protocol API Specifications specify interfaces to wireline, wireless and IP signaling protocols, and the Application API Specifications address the APIs for creating Java services that used the network protocols. These APIs cover areas such as call control, secure network access, service creation and service execution. 

Although the goals of the JAIN and Parlay initiatives overlap (as well as some of the APIs), the initiatives are quite complementary, and in fact the two groups are collaborating. Since Parlay does not specify the technology or the implementation below the service level APIs, JAIN can be used to implement the Parlay APIs.  

OSS/J
The OSS through Java (OSS/J) initiative defines and implements an open, standard set of Java-based APIs for operations support systems ( OSS ). The overall goal is to foster a plug-and-play OSS market and produce end-to-end OSS solutions that support automated flow-through service fulfillment, service assurance and billing. OSS/J does not define another generic OSS integration framework, instead the initiative leverages existing Java-based component and container architectures and defines APIs that can sit on top of new or existing OSS applications. OSS/J has been mapped to the TeleManagement Forum�s Next Generation OSS (NGOSS) Roadmap specification. In this aspect, OSS/J is a technical realization of the thousands of hours the TM Forum has put into developing the technology-independent framework.  

INHIBITORS TO DEPLOYMENT
Despite the progress made toward defining and implementing carrier-grade telecom SDPs based on open standards, there remain issues that can inhibit deployment of these systems into service provider networks.

First, the SDP must be integrated with existing network infrastructure. This is not always straightforward, even for platforms that already support �standard� protocols such as TCAP or SIP. There are numerous flavors of these signaling standards and integration is seldom automatic. The good news is integration with a standards-based SDP need only be done once; additional infrastructure can be added and new services deployed without reintegration to the core network. Second, the SDP must be integrated with existing business and operational support systems. Again, this can be a one-time task. Third, few network operators today have the luxury of being able to invest in projects based on their strategic value alone. That is, they usually look to deploy a next-generation SDP in conjunction with a project such as implementing a new application or service with a definable return on investment (ROI).

Many service providers today have already implemented a standards-based next-generation SDP. Usually service providers do this by partnering with a systems integrator with specialized expertise in open telecom standards. The systems integrator can develop the protocol and resource adaptors needed to integrate existing network and back-office resources to the SDP. In addition, an experienced integrator can offer other services such as development of the business case and custom service creation to deliver a bundled solution that meets the service provider�s short-term ROI requirements while strategically positioning them to add future services faster, and at a much lower cost.

Tracy Venters is VP of marketing at tekVizion. tekVizion designs and delivers converged solutions for service providers that transparently integrate legacy telecom assets with next generation products. tekVizion uses its seasoned telecom expertise, real-world multi-vendor integration and test experience, and focused business consulting services to deliver profitable and sustainable service offerings for the communications service provider market. tekVizion�s approach of being an advocate for service providers, entering into strategic partnerships with leading carriers and major equipment vendors, have resulted in the company being consistently profitable. More information can be found at www.tekvizion.com.