Intelligent networks: a key to provide personal communications services

Personal communications services provide communication services to any user anywhere, whichever network he uses, at any time and in any form. This concept could be symbolized by a small telephone used indoors (home, office) and outdoors (in the street). Such attractive features impose some requirements on the network. The intelligent network is a concept characterized by a flexible and open architecture. Thus, the intelligent network has been introduced in fixed networks to facilitate the development of new services and is being used to integrate mobility in this type of networks. The intelligent network has been also introduced in mobile networks to increase the flexibility of such network, allowing an improved services provision. As a consequence, IN shows efficient characteristics to provide PCS in fixed and mobile networks. Since PCS could be offered in fixed and mobile networks thanks to the IN, the future networks will have to consider this concept to propose personal services to the users.