The impact of internet-based services on OSS and BSS

Historically, the primary focus for BSS platforms has been the commercial side of delivering services, whereas the focus for OSS platforms has been on the technical control of services. The emergence of internet-based services, driven by greater personalization and end-to-end user control, is bringing about the merger of these two kinds of platforms. The walls between the front and back offices are being torn down, bringing some operator benefits but also adding some degree of complexity.

Based on current market drivers, tele¬communication services are expected to shift from a model characterized by long service durations with standard quality levels and prices to a new mod¬el featuring short service durations and variable prices that require real-time service management.

In the newer model, the price of a service will be determined through a dynamic combination of duration, lead time, and service content or type, where external identifiers will play a greater role in the authentication and manage¬ment of service behaviors.

If the market trends continue as fore¬casted, all internal systems including OSS and BSS will need to be aligned to the new model, to accommodate an end-to-end perspective and to support great¬er data sharing beyond the boundaries of existing systems.