Operations planning strategies for new network services and technologies

An approach for using computer-based operations systems not only to support new telecommunications technologies and services but to facilitate their introduction is described. This approach is considered beneficial to telephone companies for two reasons. First, operations processes can become increasingly automated, allowing manual procedures to be phased out. Second, operations need to become an integral part of new network technologies and services to help provide the advanced telecommunications services that customers are demanding. It is demonstrated that joint planning for services, technologies, networks, and operations in the early stages of a project can result in rapid, but orderly, evolution