A North American integration of computers and telecommunications IN switches for universal multimedia personal communications, services, and applications

This paper reviews the capabilities, architecture, and model of an OSI-Application Layer interface between a telecommunications switch and a host computer. The interface, called SCAI, allows users and applications on the host to directly invoke telecommunications services on the switch. We also investigate the relationship between SCAI and the international work on intelligent networks (IN) carried on by ITU/TSS (formerly, CCITT). SCAI is the first implementable IN standard. The contribution of SCAI to the portability of telecommunications applications and development of standardized application programming interfaces are presented. The paper discusses how this development affects the future development of ISDN standards for access protocols and supplementary services. It concludes by highlighting some areas for further research, development, and standardization.