1. An SAIC Company Arlene Ryan Manager Interconnection Solutions (203) 245-5869 aryan@.telcordia.com March 15, 2001 Operations Support Systems: Today’s and the Next Generation’s Copyright © 2001 Telcordia Technologies. All Rights Reserved Interconnection Solutions FCC OSS Tutorial

2. FCC OSS Tutorial ACR-2 Retail Carrier Gets the customer data Fills out a service order Sends the order to a trading partner Confirms the due date Completes the order Wholesale Carrier Receives the service order Validates and confirms the order Fulfills the order and notifies the trading partner Interconnection Model Interconnection seems simple…. Business Model Customer Retail Carrier Wholesale Carrier Network

3. FCC OSS Tutorial ACR-3 … but is actually complex, for the retailer... Business Model Customer Retail Carrier Wholesale Carrier Network Gets the customer data –On average 3-5 pre-ordering inquiries are required –Information must be obtained from the customer, the incumbent’s systems, internal data and M&Ps Fills out a service order –Typical Local Service Order contains 600-800 data fields –Each field is dependent on 3-4 business rules –Some orders need to be reprocessed Sends the order to a trading partner –Different trading partners may require different data protocols Confirms the due date Completes the order

4. FCC OSS Tutorial ACR-4..and the wholesaler Business Model Customer Retail Carrier Wholesale Carrier Network Receives pre-order Validates and responds to pre- order Receives the service order Validates and confirms order or returns it to trading partner. –Incorrect or incomplete orders are returned for manual handling –Human intervention is often required to answer retail carrier questions regarding those returned orders Fulfills the order and notifies the trading partner

5. FCC OSS Tutorial ACR-5 Trading Partners Must “Connect” At Many Levels Physical Network Connectivity Protocol Business Rules TRADINGPARTNERTRADINGPARTNER TRADINGPARTNERTRADINGPARTNER

6. FCC OSS Tutorial ACR-6 Field Name TOS Valid Values 1 st Char 1,2,3 2 nd Char A,B,D,- 3 rd Char M,F,- 4 th Char R,- LSOG Version 3* TOS ILEC 1ILEC 2ILEC 3ILEC 4ILEC 5ILEC 6ILEC 7 1 st Char 1,2 2 nd Char A,B,D,N 3 rd Char M,F 1 st Char 1,2,3 2 nd Char A,B,C,D,- 1B8 1MB RWN RVG FQQ 1MR 1 st Char 2 2 nd Char A,B 3 rd Char M,F 1 st Char 1,2,3 2 nd Char A,B 3 rd Char M,F 1 st Char 1,2 2 nd Char A,B,- 3 rd Char Not Supported 4 th Char Not Supported 1 st Char 1,2 Data Format 4 AN Up to 3 AN3 AN2 AN3 AN1-3 AN2 AN4 AN # of Business Rules 99311142 Mapping Rules 6901280121 Example of Business Rule Usage Field: Type of Service (TOS) Required on all Service Requests *Local Service Ordering Guide (Guidelines suggested by the Ordering and Billing Forum)

7. FCC OSS Tutorial ACR-7 Interconnection Alternatives CLEC CLEC CLEC Telcordia TM Exchange Link Telcordia TM Exchange Link ILEC ILECILEC ILEC CLEC CLEC CLECCLEC ILEC ILECILEC ILEC CLEC Trading Partner-to-Trading Partner Clearinghouse

8. FCC OSS Tutorial ACR-8 The Alternatives Facsimile –Orders often prepared manually then faxed to trading partners –Commonly used for CLEC to CLEC trading where volumes do not yet warrant mechanized interfaces ILEC–provided Graphical User Interfaces (GUI) –Proprietary GUI’s provided by an incumbent & used by wholesale trading partners to transmit local service orders to that provider Interconnection Gateways –Software and hardware owned & maintained by the CLEC –Network connectivity established with individual trading partners Clearinghouse –Key interconnection functionality resident in clearinghouse –Connectivity to trading partners established & maintained by the clearinghouse provider

9. FCC OSS Tutorial ACR-9 Some Cost Considerations Underlying the Interconnection Decision Software Hardware Maintenance Data center and support Network connectivity to trading partners Management of change control & enhancements Re-work costs for incomplete/incorrect orders

10. FCC OSS Tutorial ACR-10 One View of the Path Forward Modify approach to key industry processes –Focus on cost efficiency –Analyze the complexities faced by all parties involved –Focus on industry issues rather than trading partner issues –Work “standards” that cover industry processes (e.g. change control) as well as interface challenges –Gain consensus up-front on the key criteria that will lead to success New industry solutions –Design a solution that attempts to implement capabilities once –Centrally manage and implement capabilities that are needed by all parties (clearinghouse concept) Business Rules Protocol translations Communications Link –Only require minimal capabilities at trading partner sites

11. FCC OSS Tutorial ACR-11 Interconnection Has Proven to Be a Greater Challenge Than Generally Anticipated Data to be exchanged is complex Trading partners must connect at many levels We expect business models to continue to evolve

12. FCC OSS Tutorial ACR-12 Agenda Introduction – Steve Cohen Back Office OSS – Mike Schwartz Interconnection Solutions – Arlene Ryan Front Office OSS – Rich Fialkoff