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TelecomOSS/BSS:AnOverview
1.IntroductionBeforetheinitial1970s,mostofthesupportactivitiesinatelephonecompanysuchastakingorders,
maintainingnetwork...
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FRIDAY , MARCH 19, 2010

S EAR CH T H I S B LO G

TelecomOSS/BSS:AnOverview

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1.Introduction
Beforetheinitial1970s,mostofthesupportactivitiesinatelephone

ABOU T ME
RAVI SH ARD A

companysuchastakingorders,maintainingnetworkinventory,
provisioningservices(forexample,lineassignmentandtesting),

Mylinkedinprofileis

configuringnetworkcomponents,managingfaultsandcollectingpayments

here.

wereperformedmanually.Itwasrealizedthatmanyoftheseactivities

V I EW MY CO MP LET E

couldbereplacedbycomputers.Inthenextfewyears,anumberof

P R O FI LE

computersystemsandsoftwareapplicationswerecreatedtoautomate
theseactivities.ExamplesincludeTIRKS,RMAS,SES,etc.Thuscamethe
termOperationsSupportSystems(OSS).

BLOG ARCHIVE

2012(1)
OSSarenetworksystemsdealingwiththecommunicationsnetworkand
supportingprocessessuchasmaintainingnetworkinventory,provisioning
services,configuringnetworkcomponents,managingfaults.
BusinessSupportSystems(BSS)isanewertermandtypicallyrefersto

2011(5)
2010(33)
November(2)
October(1)

businesssystemsdealingwithcustomersandsupportprocessessuchas

September(2)

takingorders,processingbills,collectingpayments,salesandmarketing,

August(2)

supportingcustomercareagentsinresponsetoservicerequests,trouble

July(3)

reportingandbillinginquiries,etc.
OSSandBSSsystemstogetherareoftenabbreviatedasBSS/OSSor

June(1)
May(3)

B/OSS.ThetermOSSwashistoricallyusedtoincludebothnetworkand

April(3)

businesssystems.Someindustryanalysts,systemintegratorsandservice

March(7)

providersstillusethetermOSStoincludebothnetworkandbusiness
systems,whichsometimescausesconfusion.

RESTinpracticeand
Richardson'sRESTful
maturity...

ThisarticleprovidesanoverviewofsomeofthecoreareasinOSSand

TelecomOSS/BSS:AnOverview

BSSsuchasOrderFulfillment,ServiceAssuranceandBillingsystems.The
followingBSS/OSSsystemsarecovered:
OrderFulfillmentOrderManagement,ServiceProvisioningand
InventoryManagement
ServiceAssuranceFault&TroubleManagement,Network
PerformanceManagement,Topology&ConfigurationManagement,
Planning&Testing
BillingBillingMediation,Rating,BillingSystems,Interconnection
Billing,RevenueAssurance
Thearticleexplainssomeofthebasicfunctionsofthesesystems.
However,thisarticledoesn'tintendtoprovideextensivedetails.Foran
extensiveoverviewofbusinessactivities,businessprocessandfunctions,
refertostandardssuchaseTOMandTAMathttp://www.tmforum.org/.

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2.TheRealmofOSS/BSSinOrder
Fulfillment,AssuranceandBilling
2.1OrderFulfillment

2004(5)

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Communicationsproducts/servicescouldrangefromVoiceservicestoIP
andDataservicestoHostingandCPEservices.Someoftheexamplesof

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communicationsproducts/servicesare:
VoiceBasictelephony,longdistance,tollfree,VoiceoverIP
(VoIP),ContactCenter,LocalAccess,etc.

Enteryouremailaddress:

InternetProtocol(IP)InternetAccess,VPN,ContactCenter,VoIP,
RemoteAccess,etc.
DataLayer1WideAreaNetwork(WAN)ServicessuchasSONET,

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Layer2WANservicessuchasATM,FrameRelay,PrivateLines,
Layer2VPNandMetroEthernet,etc.

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HostingCustomApplicationEnvironments,DisasterRecovery,
ManagedServicessuchasstorage,securityandnetworkservices,
WebSiteHosting,etc.

LAB ELS

OrderFulfillmentfunctionsareacriticalsetofactivitiesperformedinorder

Complexity(1)

tofulfillcustomerordersforservicesinaCommunicationsService

Management(1)

Provider(CSP)environment.

OSS/BSS(2)

Thefollowingfigureshowsaveryhighlevelviewofactivitiesperformedin

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atypicalCSPenvironment.

SoftwareEngineering(3)

Afterorderentry,validationandsubmission,ordersaredecomposedand
sentforprovisioning.Uponfulfillingthedecomposedordersand
appropriatetestingofthecircuits,theordersareputintoinventory.The
followingsubsectionsexplaintheOrderFulfillmentrelatedfunctionsand
OSS/BSSsystems.
2.1.1OrderManagement
OrderManagementsystemsarecomplexsystemsthatallowcustomeror
customerservicerepresentativestocaptureandprocessneworders,
modifyexistingorders,processcustomermovesandchanges,pricequotes
andorders,validateorders,etc.,whilesupportingmultiplechannelssuch
asWeb,Ordertemplatedocumentsandpartnerapplicationsaswellas
multiplelinesofbusinesses.
OrderManagementincludesthefollowingareas:
OrderEntryandvalidationTheOrderEntryprocesscaptures
orderdetailssuchaspackageorplan,serviceaddress,service
details,customeraccounts,relevantcontactsandapplicable
contracts.DataenteredduringOrderEntryisalsovalidatedagainst
predeterminedrules.
Orderscanbevalidatedasthedataisenteredand/orvalidationafter
allthedatahasbeenentered.Products/solutionsthatvalidateorder
dataastheyareenteredandwalktheuserthroughtheproduct
configurationprocessareknownasProductConfigurators.Oneof
suchtoolsavailableinthemarketisSelecticaCOnfigurator.
OrderDecompositionAsinglecustomerordercanbedecomposed
intooneormoreservicerequests,typicallybasedonservicetypes
orquantities,inordertobeabletofulfillanorder.
Forexample,ifacustomerordercontainsbothaVoIPorderanda
phonelineorder,twoservicerequestswouldbecreated,oneeach
forVoIPandthephoneline,eachofwhichwouldbesenttothe
appropriateprovisioningsystems.
Oneofthemajorproblemsserviceprovidersoftengrapplewithisthat,as
newservicesareaddedtotheofferings,ledbydifferentbusinessunits,the
lackofflexibleordermanagementplatformresultsinproduct/service
specificOSS/BSSapplications.Theseinturnresultinhighertimeto
marketaswellasincreasedcostsofmaintainingmanydifferent

applicationsandsystems.ProductcatalogbasedOrderManagement
solutionsattempttosolvetheseproblemsbystoringandprocessing
qualificationrulesforservicesbasedoncustomerprofiles,ordering
channels,servicelocations,productinterdependencies,availability,
customereligibilityandotherbusinessconstraints.
2.1.2ServiceProvisioning
ServiceProvisioningsystemsaresystemsusedtosetupproducts/services
forthecustomerafteranorderfortheserviceshasbeencreatedand
acceptedbytheCSP.
Serviceprovisioningactivitiesincludespecifyingthepiecesofequipment
andpartsofthenetworktofulfilltheservice,configuringthecustomers
routingpath,allocationofbandwidthinthetransportnetwork,settingupof
wiringandtransmission,etc.
Someofthesystemsthatconstituteprovisioningsystemsare:Circuit
Design&AssignmentTools,Activationsystems,andFieldService
Managementsystems.
Circuitdesignreferstospecifyingwhetherfacilitiesexisttoprovidethe
serviceandwhichpiecesofthenetworkequipmentandroutestheservice
shallutilize.
OneofthemostwidelyusedsystemsprovidingCircuitDesignfacilityis
TelcordiaTIRKS.ApartfromCircuitDesignsupport,italsoprovidescircuit
ordercontrol,inventoryrecordmaintenance,selectionandassignmentof
componentsfrominventory,andpreparationanddistributionofcircuit
workorders.TheordercontrolmoduleinTIRKSworkswithacircuit
provisioningsystemandoperatesinconjunctionwithotherTIRKS
componentstoassignfacilityandequipmentinformationforcircuitorders
anddesigncircuits.TIRKScanthenprovideautomateddesigncriteriafor
certaincircuitorders.ThecircuitdesigngeneratedinTIRKSisthen
communicatedtofieldoperationsorautomatedactivationsystemsfor
implementation.
CircuitDesignandAssignmenttoolsthesedaysoftenhavegraphicaltools
thatallowausertocreateservicesonanetworkmapusingmouseclicks
anddraganddropratherthandrawingmapsbyhandorusinganabstract
setofequipmentidentifiersdisplayedinatable.
Afteraserviceisdesignedbasedontheexistingequipmentandcircuit
inventory,itisreadytobeactivated.Ifnewequipmentorlinesneedtobe
configuredmanually,aFieldServiceManagement(FSM)systemisnotified
whichinturndispatchestechnicians.
Moreover,certainactivationscanbeperformedautomatically.For
example,issuingcommandstoATMorcircuitswitchestoprovisioncircuits,
toSONETterminalstoallocatebandwidth,andtoawidearrayofaccess
devicessuchasDSLAMS,DigitalLoopCarriers(DLC),orcablemodems.
Forsuchactivations,ServiceActivationsystemspassthedevicespecific

commandsandconfigurationchangestothenetworkelements,Element
ManagementSystems(EMS),NetworkManagementSystems(NMS)or
applicationhosts.
EMSsaredesignedtoreceiveandexecutecommandssentbyactivation
systemsonthedevices.EMSscanalsofeedequipmentstatusdatabackto
networkandtroublemanagementsystems.EMSsuseprotocolssuchas
CommonManagementInformationprotocol(CMIP)orTransactionLanguage
(TL)orSimpleNetworkManagementProtocol(SNMP)tocommunicatewith
activationandothersystems.
Activationsystemsoftencomprisealibraryofadapterstovariousnetwork
systems.Theyusuallyalsosupporttransactioncontrol,i.e.thecapability
torollbackoperationsalreadyperformed,incaseanerroroccurs.
ItshouldbenotedthatProvisioningsystemsinteractwiththeInventory
systems,bothtoverifythattherequirednetworkelementsandother
facilitiesareavailable,andoncetheresourcesareprovisionedtoreflect
thechangedonlineconfigurationofthefacilities.Therefore,provisioning
systemshaveclosechannelswithinventorysystems.Asaresult,some
vendorshavecombinedworkflowcapabilitieswithinventorymanagement
capabilitiesintheirproducts.

2.3InventoryManagement

Trackinginventoryinvolvestrackingequipment,facilitiesandcircuits.
Someexamplesofinformationtrackedare:thelocationandquantitiesof
theequipment,howapieceofequipmentisconfiguredanditsstatus,etc.
InventoryManagementSystemstrackboththephysicalnetworkassets
(suchasequipmentanddevices)aswellaslogicalinventory(suchas
activeports,circuitids,IPaddresses,etc.),althoughnotallsupportboth.
Byrelatingusageofnetworkassetstospecificcustomersandservices,an
inventorysystemcanhelpnetworkoperationsdeterminethenetwork
usageandavailablecapacityaswellasenableautomatednetworkdesign
andplanning.InventoryManagementSystemsalsoenableService
Assurancesystemstofindtheimpactofanetworkfaultonthecustomers
circuits.
Sometoolsalsohaveautodiscoveryfeaturestoautomaticallycheck
physicalnetworkassetsandmatchtheresultswiththeinformationheldin
theinventory.However,theseworkonlywithsomeofthenewerintelligent
networkelements.

2.2ServiceAssurance
Communicationsserviceproviders(CSP)strivetodifferentiatethemselves
fromtheircompetitorsbyimplementingattractiveServiceLevel
Agreements(SLA).SLAsareformalcontractswherethelevelofservice
deliveredbytheCSPtohiscustomerisstipulated.AnSLAmayspecify
levelsofserviceavailability,performance,operation,etc.aswellas
penaltiesuponviolationoftheSLA.

OfferingSLAsimpliesthattheserviceproviderhastheabilitytomonitor,
actandreportthelevelofservice,inordertoassurethequalityof
servicesdeliveredtothecustomers.ServiceAssurancereferstoallthe
activitiesperformedforsuchanassurance.ThegoalofServiceAssurance
istoprovideanoptimalcustomerexperience,thathelpsretainexisting
customers,attractnewcustomersandpreventpenaltiesarisingoutof
violationofSLAs.
Thefollowingsubsectionsintroducesomeofthecommonservice
Assurancesystems.
2.2.1FaultandTroubleManagement
FaultManagementSystemsaredesignedfordetection,isolationand
correctionofmalfunctionsinacommunicationsnetwork.Theymonitorand
processnetworkalarmsgeneratedbynetworkelements(routers,switches,
gateways,etc.).Analarm*isapersistentindicationofafaultthatis
clearedonlywhenthetriggeringconditionisresolved.
Examplesoftroubleorfaultinanetworkaredamagetoanopticalfiber
line,switchfailure,etc.Suchaprobleminthenetworkcanresultina
chainreactionwheremanynetworkelementsinacertainpathproduce
alarms*.
FaultManagementSystemsmaybeeitheracomponentwithinNetwork
ManagementSystemsorasastandalonesetofsystemandapplication
software.
Thefollowingfigureillustrateshowfaultmanagementworks.

NetworkElementsaredesignedtoprovidevariouslevelsofselfdiagnosis.
OlderNetworkElementsmightsimplysendanalarmnotifyingaproblem
whilenewerNetworkElementscanprovidemorepreciseanddetailed
messages.FaultManagementSystemsmaycollectalarmsviaSNMPtraps,
CMIPeventsorproprietaryagents,viaEMS.Theyusecomplexfiltering
systemstoassignalarmstospecificseveritylevelsandcorrelatedifferent
alarmstolocatethesourceandcauseofaproblem.

Afteraproblemisidentified,theFMSthennotifiesappropriatenetwork
operatorsaswellaspasstheprobleminformationtoaTrouble
ManagementSystemthatinturnlogstheproblemandissuesatrouble
tickettostarttherepairprocess.
TheTroubleManagementSystemthensendscommandstoappropriate
systemssuchasFieldServiceManagementtoscheduleanddispatch
technicianstorepairtheequipmentand/ortoEMStoreroutenetwork
trafficaroundtheproblemareas.
TroubleManagementsystemsalsohandleautomaticescalation,suchas
progressionofaticketfromminortomajorormajortocritical,etc.,and
supportavarietyofnotificationmethodssuchaspaging,emails,synthesis
voicedialout.
FaultManagementsystemsusuallyprovidegraphicalnetworkdisplays
whichareprojectedonlargescreensattheNetworkOperationsCentres
(NOC).NOCoperatorscanseerolebasedviewsontheirconsoles,
shortcutstooperationstheyperformthemostaswellastoolstoquickly
makeconnectionstoEMStoperformanytestingordiagnosticoperation.
2.2.2NetworkPerformanceManagement
PerformanceManagementcomponentsinNMSandotherAlarmHandlers
monitorapplicationsandsystemsandcollectperformancevariablesof
interestatspecifiedintervals.Performancevariablesofinterestmaybe
serviceprovidernetworkedgeavailability,customerpremisesavailability,
responsetimes,packetdeliveryrate,packetlosses,latencies,jittersand
outofsequencepacketreorder,etc.,tonameafew.
Onewaytocaptureperformancemetricsiscollectingeventlogs,CDRsand
otherperformancedatasuchascountersortimersthatthenetworkand
systemelementsmaintainaspartoftheirnormaloperation.Thisis
referredtoaspassivemeasurement.Performancedataiscapturedby
pollingMIBusingSNMPorusingsyslog,(I&II),FTP,EMSfeeds,etc.Most
passivemeasurementsreportonasinglenetworkelement.
Forexample,anEthernetSwitchmayhaveaMIBwhichprovidesinandout
datavolumesofeachport,histogramsofframesizes,numberandtypesof
erroneousframes,centralprocessingunit(CPU)busystatus.Associated
RemoteMonitoring(RMON)MIBtypedatacanthenlisttenmostactive
users,etc.PerformanceManagementtoolscanaccessthedatabyusing
SNMPtopolltheMIBsatpredefinedintervals.
Statisticsonperformancevariablescanalsobecapturedviadedicated
networkappliancesknownsuchasprobesandsniffersthatmonitoror
probecustomerslocalloopconnections,packetperformance,etc.This
formofperformancetestingisusuallyreferredtoasactivetesting.
PacketsnifferstypicallymonitorsignalingprotocolssuchasSIPandRTPby
inspectingpacketsonthewire/fiber,usingpings,DNS,FTP,HTTPfetches,

etc.ExamplesincludeWireSharkandGeoprobes.
ProbessuchasBrixNetworksBrixWorksVerifiersandTektronix/Minacom
IVRtoolstypicallyemulatecustomertrafficinordertotestorprobe
specificpathstomeasurethequalityoftheservicessupported.Probes
couldbeeitherplacedintothenetworkorcouldbebuiltintonetwork
elementssuchasinthecaseofCiscosIPServiceLevelAgreementstools.
Notethatactivemeasurementmeasuresaservice,suchasapplication
responsetime,insteadoftheinternaloperationofanetworkelement.
Anexampleofactivenetworkperformancetestisinjectingping(short,
networklayerechopacket)intothenetworkaimedataremoteIPaddress.
Roundtriptimeismeasuredifthepingpacketreturns,andanerror
counterisincrementedifitdoesnt.
Performancestatisticscapturedbyactiveorpassiveperformancetests
arenormalizedandroutedtorelationaldatabasesand/ordatawarehouses.
AnalternativeistopasstheperformancedatadirectlytoPerformance
Managementtools.Forexample,ConcordeHealthcouldcollect
performancestatisticsfromNetcoolagentsviaSNMPpollsatapredefined
interval.
Performancestatisticsareinitiallyanalyzedtodeterminethenormal
(baseline)levels.Appropriatethresholdsaredeterminedforeachofthe
interestingperformancevariablesothatexceedingthethresholdsindicates
aproblem.
PerformanceManagementtoolsthenmeasuretheperformancevariables
againstSLAsdefinedasthresholdsperapplicationorservice,onanon
goingbasis.Incaseofexceptionstheyreportthemtoalarmhandlers.This
formofperformancemonitoringisreactiveperformancemonitoring.Some
toolsalsosupportproactivemonitoringbywayofprovidingsimulation
toolsthathelpsnetworkoperatorsprojecthowgrowthinnetworktraffic
willaffectperformancemetricsandplantotakeproactive
countermeasuressuchasincreasecapacity.
PerformanceManagementtoolsmayalsosupportrealtimeandhistorical
reporting.SomeCSPshavetakenperformancestatisticsofthenetwork
affectingcustomerscircuitstotheircustomerselfserviceportals.
2.2.3.Topology&ConfigurationManagement
Oldernetworksandsystemswerestaticandthenetworkwiringwasfixed
inplace,andsometimesrequiredlongoutageswhilechangestothe
networkanditsconfigurationwerebeingmade.Anyerrororinconsistency
intheconfigurationfilesofdifferentnetworkdevicescausedproblem,and
thereforethesechangeswerewellcontrolled[3].
Accordingto[3],withtheriseofIPbased,dynamicallyroutednetworks,
networktopologiesstartedbecomingdynamic.Thetopologyofthenetwork
becamedynamicbecauseafewofroutersmightdecide,ontheirown,to

shiftroutingpatterns,orbecauseanetworkoperatorgroupmightadda
newrouterorswitchtothenetwork,possiblywithouteveryoneelseinthe
networkoperationscenterbeingawareofthechanges.Insteadofstatic
associationsbetweenusersandnetworkaddresses(aswassetintheold
hostsfile),DHCPandothertechniquesalloweduserstoappear,move,
anddisappearwithoutprovidingpriornoticetothenetworkadministration.
MostmajorNMSsthereforeprovidecapabilitiestoautomaticallydiscovera
networksactualtopology,whichiscriticaltounderstandnetwork
performanceorrootcauseofnetworkalarms,etc.
Probesareplacedintothenetworktoautomaticallyfinddevicesand
circuits.Also,mostnetworkelementsprovideMIBsthatcanbepolledvia
SNMPtodiscoverthenetwork,althoughdiscoveringthenetworktopology
initsentiretymaynotbeguaranteed.Backuppaths,virtualprivate
networks,MPLS,etc.,canmakeitverydifficulttodiscoveractualpaths,
throughmultiplexedlinks,patchpanels,andtestequipment[3].
Also,mostTopologyManagementSystemsallowthenetworkoperatorto
providehintssothatthesystem,forinstance,inorderthatthesystemcan
ignorecertainportionsofthenetwork.Thismakesiteasiertodiscover
relevantportionsofthenetworkmoreaccurately.
Someserviceprovidersmayrunnetworkdiscoveryroutinesonadaily
basistodiscoveranyunauthorizedchangestothenetworktopologyasa
resultofsecurityintrusionsorunplannedinsertionofdevices.
Moreover,networkelementsandcomputersystemshaveavarietyof
versioninformationassociatedwiththem.Forexample,aworkstationmay
have:OperationSystem,version32,EthernetInterface,version5.4,
TCP/IPSoftware,version2.0andSNMPSoftware,version3.1.Since
multipleengineers/networkoperatorsworkonmakingchangestothe
networkequipment,trackingthechangesmanuallywouldbeverytedious
anderrorprone.ConfigurationManagementtoolshelpautomatesthe
trackingofthechanges.ConfigurationManagementsystemsstorethe
configurationsinadatabaseorLDAPserverforeasyaccess.
Theyalsoenablenetworkoperatorstochangeconfigurationsofthe
networkelementsaswellastorollbackachangetoaprevious
configuration,ifrequired.
Whenaprobleminthenetworkoccurs,networkoperatorsoftensearchthe
ConfigurationManagementdatabaseforcluesthatcanhelpsolvethe
problem.
2.2.4.Planning&Testing
NetworkPlanningsolutionshelpdeterminewhenacommunicationnetwork
needsanupgradeoradditionalequipmentaswellastopredicttheimpact
ofchangestoaserviceprovidersnetworkstopology,configuration,traffic
andtechnology.Theyprovidesimulationtoolsthathelpthenetwork
operatorstoprojecthowgrowthinnetworktrafficwillaffectthenetwork

performance.Basedontheresultsandotherplanningactivities,network
operatorscantakecountermeasuressuchasincreasecapacity.
Testingisanimportantactivityinsettingupanetworkorcustomer
circuits.Forsimplicityinunderstandingthegamutoftestingactivities,let
usdividethemintothefollowing:
1.Testingofexistingnetworkorachange
2.Integrationtestingofservicesconfiguredforthecustomer
3.Endtoendtestingofservicesconfiguredforthecustomer
Testingtheentirenetworkplatformincludingtheequipment,servicesand
callqualityiscriticalforassessingthesystempriortodeploymentand
forserviceassuranceinproductionenvironments[4].
Networktestingtoolsusuallysimulateaproductionenvironmentand
generatesyntheticvoice,videoanddatatraffic,whichhelpsmeasure
call/dataquality,networkperformance,andtheaffectsofanychangesto
thenetworkorincreasingtrafficoraddingnewapplications.Thesetests
typicallyincludetestslikeDNS,HTTP,RTP,Ping,etc.Also,duringongoing
operations,thesetestingtoolsenableactivetestingoffacilities.
Anotherformoftestingisintegrationtestingofnetworksetupforthe
customer,i.e.,routes,circuits,etc.configuredforacustomer.Network
operatorsorfieldengineersperformintegrationtestingofservicesupon
completionofactivationsandotherprovisioningactivities.Fieldengineers
typicallyuseequipmentandnetworkelementspecificapplicationsto
performintegrationtesting.
Uponcompletionofintegrationtesting,fieldoperationsteamsarenotified
toperformendtoendtesting.Endtoendtestingincludestestingof
circuits,bothwithintheCSPsnetworkaswellaslocalaccesscircuits
betweentheCSPandthecustomerpremises.Someserviceprovidersuse
craftaccesssystemsforthebenefitoffieldtechniciansaccesstotheir
internalsystemsthroughahandheldterminal[5].Thehandheldterminal
helpsthemtoaccesslooptestingsystemandtoviewthecompletetest
summaryfromremotelocations.

2.3Billing
IDC[6]definesBillingas:theprocessingandcompilingofchargesand
enablingofrevenuecollectionfornetworkusage,featuretransactions,and
accesschargesoftheservices.Mediationsystemscollectnetworkusage
datafromthenetworkelementsandconverttobillablestatistics.
ThefollowingfiguredepictsasimpleBillingflow:

Traditionally,forphonecalls,CallDetailRecords(CDR)havebeenusedto
recordthedetailsofthecircuitswitchedphonecall.CDRincludes
informationonstarttimeofcall,endtimeofcall,durationofcall,
originatingandterminationnumbers.CDRsarestoreduntilabillingcycle
runs.ForIPBasedServices,anewstandardisgainingacceptancecalled
InternetProtocolDetailRecord(IPDR).IPDRsupportsbothvoiceanddata.
Billingsystemsusemediationoutputtodeterminechargesforthe
customers.Itisalsousedtofeedotherdownstreamapplicationssuchas
FraudandChurnManagement.
2.3.2Rating
Ratingsystemscalculatethechargeforanindividualcall,IPusageevent,
etc.usingtheCDRs/IPDRs.Ratingsystemsapplychargesbasedonpre
configuredpricingrules,applicablediscountsandrebatesfrompromotions.
Thisratingprocesshasgrownincreasinglycomplexinrecentyears.In
oldertimes,itwassolelyamatteroftakingthelengthofthecall,
assigningapricebasedonthemileageband(calculatedbycross
referencingtheprefixoftheoriginatingandterminatingnumbersinatable
ofvalues),andassigningdiscountsbasedonthetimeofday(peak,
evening,night),dayoftheweek,andholidays.
Modernratingsystemscanassigndiscountsbasedoncallingcircles,
provideflexibleratingplansbasedonsizeofaccountsandincrease
switchingcosts[2].Theseserveasstrategicmarketingtoolsbutcanbe
verycomplextoadministerandoperate.
2.3.3BillingSystems
Billingsystemsaggregateratedcalls,IP/datausageevents,etc.and
calculatecustomerinvoices.IntheUnitedStates,billingisusually
performedonceamonth.
Billingsystemscombineratedrecordswithpriorbalanceinformation,
paymentrecords,recurringcharges(suchaslinerentals),onetimefees
(suchasinstallationandservicecharges),promotionsanddiscounts
associatedwiththecustomeraccount,taxesandcredits.Overnightbilling

batchjobsareamongthelargestbatchenvironmentataCSPsoperating
environment.Eachcustomerisassignedaspecificbillingcycle.
AccordingtoInsight[2],theholygrailsofthebillingindustryareunified
billingandconvergentbilling.Withunifiedbilling,acustomergetsasingle
billforallservicesprovided(orbilled)bytheserviceprovider,
appropriatelyrated,discounted,andtaxed,andasinglecontactfor
inquiriesandnegotiation.
2.3.4.InterconnectionBilling
Inthecompetitiveworldofcommunications,serviceprovidersoftentieup
withpartners,inordertobundletheirownproductswiththeirpartners.
Thishelpstheserviceproviderstoprovideattractivebundlesofproducts
andservices.However,inordertosuccessfullysettleinterconnectbilling
settlementsaneffectiveInterconnectionBillingisrequired.
InterconnectionBillingproductssupportinterworkingofaservice
providersbillingsystemswiththecorrespondingsystemsofanother
serviceprovider,basedoninterconnectagreementsandcontracts.
2.3.5.RevenueAssurance
RevenueAssurance&FraudManagementsystemsverifybilling,detectand
identifyunauthorizedusageofserviceprovidernetworkassets.Someof
thekindsoffraudsareUsageandSubscription.
UsageFraudmeansthatacustomerusesthetelecommunicationsnetwork
illegally.Thisisaccomplishedeitherbyobtainingaservicewithnointent
topayorbyobtainingunauthorizedaccesstothenetwork(i.e.hacking
orcracking).
FraudManagementsystemstypicallydetectandpreventunauthorized
accesstoacommunicationsnetworkbyanalyzingtrafficpatternsonthe
network.Someexamplesareprovidedin[8]:

Onetechniqueinvolvesanalyzingtheaveragecalldurationorthe
numberofcallsplacedtoforeigncountriestodeterminewhetherthe
trafficpatternsareconsistentwithasubscriber'scallhistoryor
pattern.Ifacallisinconsistentwiththesubscriber'scallpattern
profile,thesubscriberisprovidedwithareportoftheabnormalcall
activity.
Othermethodsfordealingwiththeproblemofunauthorizeduse
involveautomaticallydenyingorblockingaccesstothenetwork
whenabnormaluseisdetectedtominimizethesubscriber'sfinancial
loss.
Subscriptionfraudmeansthatacustomerobtainsaserviceaccountby
givingafalseidentity(nameand/orSSN)orbygivingafalseaddressor
falsecreditworthiness.
Detectingsubscriptionfraudinvolvessearchingrecentorderandexisting

customerdataformultipleordersand/oraccountswiththesamecustomer
name,SSN,orserviceaddress.
Commonsubscriptionfraudpatternsinclude:
Changeofbillingaddresswithinafewweeksofopeninganaccount.
Substantialdeviationofusageprofileofanewuserfromanaverage
newuser.
Commontechniquestocontrolsubscriptionbasedfraudincludethreshold
basedanalysis,inferencerulesanalysis,profilebasedanalysissuchas
habitualuserprofilesandneuralnetworks.
FraudManagementSystemstypicallyreadandstoreusagedatafromthe
serviceprovidersnetworkswitchingequipmentandallowsqueriestobe
executedagainstthedatathatdetectsuspicioususagepatterns.
Theyalsoallowoperatorstoreviewcustomeraccountsthathave
suspiciousactivity,totracktheirinvestigationandrecordthefinalcase
resolution.
Itshouldbenotedthatfraudisdifferentfromrevenueleakage.Revenue
leakageischaracterizedbythelossofrevenuesresultingfromoperational
ortechnicalloopholeswheretheresultinglossesaresometimes
recoverableandgenerallydetectedthroughauditsorsimilarprocedures
[1].Fraud,ontheotherhand,ischaracterizedwiththeftbydeception,
typicallycharacterizedbyevidenceofintentwheretheresultinglossesare
oftennotrecoverableandmaybedetectedbyanalysisofcallingpatterns.
AnotherimportantclassofRevenueAssurancetoolsincludesChurn
Managementtools.Churnmanagementisanimportantareaforservice
providersthathavesubscriptionbasedbusinessduetopricewars,
aggressivemarketingandpromotionsfromcompetingserviceproviders,
andcustomersexpectationsrelatedtocustomerservice.
ChurnManagementtoolsprovidefunctionssuchasautomatedbehavior
analysis,forecastingandsimulation,empiricalprofiling,churnmetrics
capture,thatenableserviceproviderstolearnwhichcustomersarelikely
toleaveandtakeappropriatecountermeasures.

3.Conclusion
3.1Summary
OSS/BSSsystemsandapplicationsautomatemanyofthedaytoday
operationsperformedinacommunicationsserviceprovidersoperating
environment.Theyoptimizethetimetakentoperformtheseoperations
andmakethebusinessprocessesmoreefficient.
TherearenoallencompassingOSS/BSSsystemsthatcanbeinstalled,
integrated,testedandallowtheserviceproviderstoeasilymodernizetheir
endtoendoperationsfunctions.

Serviceproviders,therefore,useallthedifferentapproaches:bestof
breedinsomeareas,offtheshelfinsome,andhomegrowncustom
applicationsintheremainingareas,tomodernizeandoptimizetheir
operations.
Moreoftenthannot,manyoftheseOSS/BSSsystemsareintegratedwith
theothersinapointtopointfashion,aspartofdiscreteprojectsand
programs,sponsoredoutofdifferentbusinessunits.Thisleadstopointto
pointintegrationofOSS/BSSsystemsunlesstheprograms/projectsare
plannedwithastrategicgoal.
AsideeffectofthedifficultyinintegratingthevariousOSS/BSSsystemsis
manyoftheOSS/BSSsystemsinaserviceprovidersoperating
environmentmaynotbeintegratedatall.Forexample,itisnotunusualto
findthefollowingscenario:whenacustomerordersanewtelephoneline,
theorderingsystemtakesthedetailsofacustomersorder,butamanual
processispresenttoconfigurethetelephoneexchangeusingaswitch
managementsystem.DetailsoftheorderenteredintheOrderHandling
systemisrekeyedmanuallybythetechnicianintotheSwitchManagement
SystemaprocessoftenreferredtoasSwivelChairIntegration.
ThearticleprovidedanoverviewofsomeofthecoreOSS/BSSareasin
OrderFulfillment,ServiceAssuranceandBilling.

3.2References
[1]WhoMakesWhat:OSS,http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?
doc_id=113052&print=true,LightReading,Dec2006
[2]The2007TelecommunicationsIndustryReview,TheInsightResearchCorp.,Dec2006
[3]EricSiegel,ArchitecturalOverviewofNetworkManagement,TheBurtonGroup,Oct2005
[4]ArindamBanerjee,NetworkManagementistheKeytotheSuccessofNextGeneration
Architecture,YankeeGroup,Jan2007
[5]SenthilK.Ramachandran,OrderFulfillmentCoreProcessesandPainAreas,TMFC2122White
paper
[6]SterlingPerrinetal.,IDC'sServiceProviderInfrastructureTaxonomy,2004,IDC
[7]LarsAndersson,OSSSolutionsforNetworkOperatorswhitepaper,2002
[8]TelecommunicationsFraudDetectionScheme,USPatent5504810,
http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/5504810/description.html,April1996
[9]OSSThroughJavaInitiative,OSS/JRoadmap,TeleManagementForum,Jan2007
[10]ElementManagementSystemsDefinitionandOverview,WebProForums,International
EngineeringConsortium(IEC)
[11]DivakaraK.Udapa,TMNTelecommunicationsManagementNetwork,McGrawHill,
ISBN:9780070658158,1999
[12]EnhancedTelecomOperationsmapeTOM:TheBusinessProcessLanguageofNGOSS,
TeleManagementForum
[13]Wikipedia,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operational_Support_Systems
[14]ElisabethRainge,NextGenerationOSSandBillingMarketTaxonomy,IDC,Oct2004
[15]Wikipedia,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fault_management
[16]Wikipedia,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Management_information_base
[17]NetworkManagementBasics,
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/internetworking/technology/handbook/NMBasics.html
[18]Wikipedia,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_planning_and_design
[19]BalanNairetal.,Methodandsystemforplanningatelecommunicationsnetwork,United

StatesPatent5974127,http://www.freepatentsonline.com/5974127.html,Oct1999
[20]TelecommunicationsFraudDetectionScheme,USPatent5504810,
http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/5504810/description.html,April1996
[21]StephenBrown,TelecommunicationFraudManagement,Jan2005,
http://www.waveroad.ca/ressources/Whitepaper_SB_Janvier2005.pdf
[22]EricSiegel,MeasuringPerformanceofNetworksandApplications,TheBurtonGroup,Feb2007
[23]InternationalEngineeringConsortium(IEC),Tutorials,http://www.iec.org/online/tutorials/

P O S T ED B Y R A V I S H A R DA A T 12: 05 P M
LA B ELS : O S S /B S S

39CO MMENTS:
Gateway2Africasaid...
Niceinformation.IamRAconsultant,iwouldliketoknowmoreonoss/bss.I
needmoreinfofromRAperspective.
4:33P M
RaviShardasaid...
Thanks.
TMForumhasaninitiaveonRevenueAssurance.Underthedownloadssection
(undertheinitiative)youcanfindsomegreatdocumentsonRA.
5 :1 9P M
ETL......said...
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ThanksRavi:)
3:1 0 A M
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5 :31 P M
RaviShardasaid...
Thanksall!
7 :33A M
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1 :1 8 P M

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InformationonthesomeofthecurrentmarketproductsCOTSforthedifferent
areasofOSSandBSSwouldhavebeenuseful.
2:1 8 A M
Venkatsaid...
GoodWorkRavi...thanksMate!!!Steve..
9:22A M
MyBlogMyLifesaid...
GoodBlog.Hadanoverviewin<10minutes.
1 :1 1 P M
Manojsaid...
Goodoverviewandnicelystructured.Thanks.ManojUP
1 2:22P M
Sherylsaid...
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1 0 :46A M
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9:48 P M
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1 1 :1 9P M
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helloraviSir,
youhavewrittensuchaniceinformationforOSS/BSSijuststartedmycarrierin
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3:0 5 P M
ShashankMishrasaid...
helloraviSir,
youhavewrittensuchaniceinformationforOSS/BSSijuststartedmycarrierin
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3:0 8 P M
santoshbaranwalsaid...
verynicearticle.
Thanks
1 2:29P M
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Thiscommenthasbeenremovedbytheauthor.
1 0 :47 P M
ashokgandu22said...
verynicearticle.
7 :5 4P M
vijaysaid...
ThankyouveryMuchforvaluableinformation.Hadadoubts,allclearedthrough
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9:0 8 P M
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Hi,
veryniceoverview!
Youknowifthere'sanyonlinecourseregardingit?
tks
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SelimMohammadsaid...
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