本報告已在2011年07月19日停止出版。
Background, Scope & Objectives
Background
OSS systems are an important ingredient of success for telecom carriers worldwide, but they are especially critical as the large U.S. wireline carriers roll out sophisticated next generation systems such as triple-play.
To better understand how carriers are upgrading their OSS infrastructure for next generation networks is the purpose of this research report. The report addresses a number of critical issues:
COTS vs. In-House Build
While the general industry trend is for service providers to rely on Commercial Off-The- Shelf (COTS) products, very large carriers such as Verizon and AT&T are steadily moving towards in-house developed systems. In this report we show the rationale behind these decisions.
Revolution vs. Evolution of OSS
Another key issue is how the major US service providers will migrate or retire their legacy systems as the next generation services world approaches. Will large carriers completely revolutionize their OSS systems to accommodate next generation networks as British Telecom now plans or will they evolve their systems by leveraging the current systems.
Next Generation Network and OSS Plans of Specific Carriers
We examined the network infrastructures and OSS plans of four carriers in this study: AT&T, BellSouth, SBC Communications, and Verizon.
OSS Readiness Assessment for Next Generation Networks
Here we assess the plans of the large wireline carriers and point to specific OSS and related challenges that need to be addressed before NGN or triple play services can be delivered with the kind of robustness the U.S. market expects of its incumbent carriers.
Vendor Profiles
Finally, we take an in-depth look at the offerings of key OSS and service delivery vendors addressing the U.S. NGN and triple play market.
Scope & Organization
The scope of the research is to provide subscribers with information regarding US major service providers plans for Next Generation OSS systems. Target carriers include: AT&T,Verizon, SBC, and BellSouth. This research is organized into three sections. In the first section, we analyze Next Generation Network trends for large U.S. wireline carriers. Following that, we take a close look at the services planned and OSS systems to be employed by the target carriers. In the final section, we examine the factors that cause large U.S. wireline carriers to either Buy or Build their OSS infrastructure.
Executive Summary
Introduction
I. NGN Plans of Large U.S. Wireline Carriers
- 1. THE HISTORY OF TELECOM REVOLUTIONS
- A) BTS 21 CN PLAN
- B) SPRINT ION
- C) U.S. CARRIERS APPROACH TO REVOLUTION VS. EVOLUTION
- 2. THE LIMITATIONS OF IP MPLS FOR LARGE CARRIERS
- A) IP VERSION COMPATIBILITY
- B) MANAGEMENT COSTS
- C) THE COST OF PUTTING ATM OVER MPLS
- D) ENTERPRISE CUSTOMERS ISSUES WITH IP QOS
- 3. LARGE U.S. WIRELINE CARRIERS AND THE CORPORATE DATA SERVICE MARKET
- A) THE ROLE OF FRAME RELAY AND ATM
- B) IXC VS. RBOC APPROACH
- 4. U.S. WIRELINE ECONOMIC TROUBLES SLOW IP MPLS MIGRATION
- A) IMPACT OF TELECOM RECESSION ON U.S. WIRELINE CARRIERS
- B) HISTORY OF MPLS MIGRATION AND EQUIPMENT PURCHASES
- 5. ANALYSIS OF IP MPLS ADOPTION
- 6. NETWORK EQUIPMENT VENDOR OSS FOR MPLS
- A) CISCO INTERNET SOLUTION
- B) ALCATELS TURNKEY IP/MPLS SOLUTION
II. OSS BUILD STRATEGY
- 1. COTS VS. IN-HOUSE BUILD
- 2. EVOLUTION VS. REVOLUTION: FINAL ANALYSIS
III. AT&T NEXT GENERATION NETWORK PROFILE
- 1. COMPANY PROFILE
- A) CISCO INTERNET SOLUTION
- 2. SYSTEMS AND SUPPLIERS UTILIZED
- A) SUPPLIER AND PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
- B) NETWORK ARCHITECTURE
- C) COMPARISON TO PREVIOUS METHOD
- D) ANTICIPATED BENEFITS/PAYBACK PERIOD
- 3. MAJOR IMPLEMENTATION PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED
- 4. BENEFITS ACHIEVED
- A) ANTICIPATION VS. ACTUAL
- B) FUTURE ANTICIPATION
IV. VERIZON NEXT GENERATION NETWORK PROFILE
- 1. COMPANY PROFILE
- A) COMPANY DESCRIPTION AND SITUATION
- 2. SYSTEMS AND SUPPLIERS UTILIZED
- A) SUPPLIER AND PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
- B) NETWORK ARCHITECTURE
- C) COMPARISON TO PREVIOUS METHOD
- 3. MAJOR IMPLEMENTATION PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED
- 4. BENEFITS ACHIEVED
- A) ANTICIPATION VS. ACTUAL
- B) FUTURE ANTICIPATION
V. AT&T
- 1. OVERVIEW OF COMPANY
- 2. COMPETITIVE CLIMATE
- 3. OVERVIEW OF NEW SERVICES INTRODUCTION OVER IP NW & IP MPLS
- A) IP MPLS INFRASTRUCTURE
- B) THE CALLVANTAGE AND VOICE DNA PLATFORMS
- 4. CONCEPT, ARCHITECTURE & REQUIREMENTS FOR NG OSS FOR IP NW
- A) THE CONCEPT OF ONE AND TARGET ARCHITECTURE
- 1) ZERO TOUCH
- 2) E-ENABLEMENT
- 3) OPEN STANDARDS
- 5. OSS FUNCTION OVERVIEW OF NEXT GENERATION OSS FOR IP NW
- A) ORDERING PLATFORM
- B) FAULT MANAGEMENT
- C) CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT
- D) SERVICE PROVISIONING
- E) NETWORK PROVISIONING
- F) PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT AND INCIDENT MANAGEMENT
- 1) PERFORMANCE SURVEILLANCE
- 2) INCIDENT MANAGEMENT
- 3) TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT
VI. BELLSOUTH
- 1. OVERVIEW OF COMPANY
- 2. COMPETITIVE CLIMATE
- 3. OVERVIEW OF NEW SERVICES INTRODUCTION OVER IP NW & IP MPLS
- A) TECHNOLOGY & VENDOR SELECTIONS
- B) BUSINESS CONSIDERATIONS
- 1) CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS
- 2) LEGACY ALBATROSS
- 3) SLOW CUSTOMER ADOPTION OF NEW SERVICES
- 4) LITTLE SHORT TERM FINANCIAL ADVBANTAGES TO DEPLOYING VOIP
- 5) THE TRANSITION FROM NETWORK TO SERVICE PROVIDER WONT BE EASY
- 4. OSS FUNCTION OVERVIEW OF NEXT GENERATION OSS FOR IP NW
- A) DEALING WITH ITS VERTICAL STACK OSS ? FEDERATED NETWORK INVENTORY
- B) TELCORDIAS NEXT GENERATION FULFILLMENT ARCHITETURE
- 5. COST SAVING DRIVER
- 6. COTS VS. IN-HOUSE BUILD
VII. SBC CORPORATION
- 1. OVERVIEW OF COMPANY
- 2. COMPETITIVE CLIMATE
- 3. OVERVIEW OF NEW SERVICES INTRODUCTION OVER IP NW & IP MPLS
- 4. CONCEPT, ARCHITECTURE & REQUIREMENTS FOR NG OSS FOR IP NW
- A) COTS VS. VENDORS AT SBC
- B) SERVICE ASSURANCE & TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT
- C) PROVISIONING
- D) NETWORK INVENTORY
- 5. SWITCHESDETAILS OF NEXT GEN OSS
- A) OVERALL OBJECTIVES AND GOALS
VIII. SPRINT
- 1. COTS VS. IN-HOUSE BUILD
IX. VERIZON
- 1. OVERVIEW OF COMPANY
- 2. COMPETITIVE CLIMATE
- 3. OVERVIEW OF NEW SERVICES INTRODUCTION OVER IP NW & IP MPLS
- 4. BUILD: NEXT GEN OSS VS. MIXED NEXT GEN OSS & EXISTING OSS
- 5. DETAILS OF NEXT GEN OSS
X. NEXT GENERATION OSS READINESS AT LARGE U.S. WIRELINE CARRIERS
- 1. OSS IMPORTANCE TO TRIPLE PLAY ROLL-OUT
- A) NEED FOR A BETTER-THAN-CABLE USER EXPERIENCE
- 2. CHALLENGES CARRIERS FACE
- A) QUALITY OF SERVICE AND TROUBLE MANAGEMENT
- B) INTERCONNECT ASSURANCE & LOCAL NUMBER PORTABILITY
- C) SERVICE ACTIVATION
- D) PROVISIONING/SERVICE ASSURANCE HANDSHAKE
- E) VIDEO SETTOP MINITORING
- F) NETWORK INVENTORY AND PROVISIONING
- G) CUSTOMER SELF-PROVISIONING
- H) INCOMPATABILITY OF SYSTEMS ? OSS INTEGRATION
- I) TEST ENVIRONMENT FOR OSS
- J) MULTI-VENDOR & MULTI-LAYER NETWORK MANAGEMENT
- K) IP-MPLS RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT MODE
- L) PROJECT MANAGEMENT
- 1) PLANNING
- 2) USER INVOLVEMENT
- 3) TRIPLE PLAY EXPERIENCE OF DEVELOPMENT TEAM
- 4) CARRIER TO VENDOR COMMUNICATION
- 5) AGGRESSIVE DEVELOPMENT SCHEDULE
XI. NG OSS BUY VS. BUILD ANALYSIS
- 1. FACTORS IN THE BUY VS. BUILD STRATEGY
- A) IT CONTROL IN BUSINESS UNITS
- B) IT WEDDED TO LEGACY INFRASTRUCTURE
- C) BIG INTEGRATION PROBLEMS/POOR SOA
- D) IT LACKS EXPERIENCE WITH IP NEXT GENERATION SYSTEMS
- E) COMPANY IS FINANCIALLY STRONGIT ORGANIZATION IS SMALL
- F) CARRIERS CIO LACKS POWER
- G) COMPLEX NG NETWORK ROLLOUT
- H) SUCCESS MANAGING COTS
- I) COMFORTABLE WITH OUTSOURCING
- 2. BUILD VS. BUY SCORESHEET
- This section features a scorecard and accompanying excel spreadsheet showing how large U.S. carriers have made their OSS/BSS buy vs. build decision. Readers can modify the excel sheet to change the factor weights and scores. The analysis shows why some carriers have chosen to adopt a mostly-in-house build strategy for NG OSS while others are committed to COTS
- 3. EVALUATING COTS AND KEEPING CARRIERS HAPPY
- A) HOW AT&T EVALUATES COTS SOLUTIONS
XII. VENDOR PROFILES
- 1. AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES
- 2. ALACATEL
- 3. AMDOCS
- 4. MICROMUSE
- 5. MICROSOFT
- 6. SASKTEL INTERNATIONAL
- 7. SYNDESIS
- 8. TELCORDIA
- 9. UBIQUITY
