Method, system and apparatus for telecommunications service management

• US 20070081523A1
• Filed: 11/22/2005
• Published: 04/12/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/07/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amdocs Development Limited (Amdocs Ltd.), Amdocs Systems Limited (Amdocs Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Amdocs Systems Limited (Amdocs Ltd.)
• Inventors: Mishra, Richard
• Granted Patent: US 7,729,286 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/352
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1096 Supplementary features, e.g. call forwarding or call holding systems providing special services or facilities to telephony subscribers H04M3/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0054 Service creation techniques

Abstract

A method of processing service information relating to a plurality of user services available in a telecommunications system is disclosed. The method includes storing entities defining service components in a service information database, where each service component entity represents a distinct aspect of service functionality which can be provided by the telecommunications system. Entities defining implementation technologies are also stored, each implementation technology entity being associated with a service component entity and representing a technology that can be used for implementing the aspect of service functionality represented by the service component entity. The method further stores entities defining user services available to users of the telecommunications system, each user service entity being associated with one or more service component entities defining service functionality aspects of the user service.

Claims

1. A method of provisioning services in a telecommunications system, comprising:

receiving a service request relating to a given user service entity, each user service entity defining a user service available to a user and associated with one or more service component entities defining service functionality aspects of the user service, each service component entity representing a distinct aspect of service functionality providable by the telecommunications system and associated with provisioning information;

identifying one or more service component entities associated with the given user service entity; and

for each identified service component entity, accessing provisioning information associated with the service component entity and provisioning the service functionality aspect defined by the service component entity in accordance with the retrieved provisioning information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein accessing provisioning information and provisioning the service functionality aspect comprises:

accessing implementation data specifying a plurality of implementation technologies usable for implementing an aspect of a specified user service, the specified user service relating to the given user service entity;

selecting one of the implementation technologies specified by the implementation data; and

implementing the aspect of the specified user service in the network using the selected implementation technology.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein identifying one or more service component entities and accessing provisioning information comprise accessing a database, the database comprising:

entities defining service components, each service component entity representing a distinct aspect of service functionality providable by the telecommunications system;

entities defining implementation technologies, each implementation technology entity being associated with a service component entity and representing a technology usable for implementing the aspect of service functionality represented by the service component entity; and

entities defining user services available to users of the telecommunications system, each user service entity being associated with one or more service component entities defining service functionality aspects of the user service.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein:

selecting one of the implementation technologies comprises for each identified service component entity identifying an implementation technology entity associated with the identified service component entity, and

implementing the aspect of the specified user service comprises implementing the service functionality aspect represented by the service component entity using the implementation technology defined by the identified implementation technology entity.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein a given service component entity is associated with a plurality of implementation technology entities representing alternative implementation technologies, each alternative implementation technology being independently usable for implementing the aspect of service functionality represented by the given service component entity.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein a given service component entity is associated with a plurality of alternative implementation technology entities, further comprising:

selecting one of the alternative implementation technology entities in dependence on a predetermined criterion; and

implementing the service functionality aspect represented by the given service component entity using the implementation technology specified by the selected implementation technology entity.

7. The method of claim 6, comprising storing one or more rules relating to the alternative implementation technology entities, wherein selecting one of the alternative implementation technology entities comprises evaluating the rule or rules and selecting an implementation technology entity in dependence on the outcome of the evaluation.

8. A system for provisioning services in a telecommunications network, comprising:

a processor; and

a processor readable medium comprising instructions translatable by the processor for;

receiving a service request relating to a given user service entity, each user service entity defining a user service available to a user and associated with one or more service component entities defining service functionality aspects of the user service, each service component entity representing a distinct aspect of service functionality providable by the telecommunications system and associated with provisioning information;

identifying one or more service component entities associated with the given user service entity; and

for each identified service component entity, accessing provisioning information associated with the service component entity and provisioning the service functionality aspect defined by the service component entity in accordance with the retrieved provisioning information.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein accessing provisioning information and provisioning the service functionality aspect comprises:

accessing implementation data specifying a plurality of implementation technologies usable for implementing an aspect of a specified user service, the specified user service relating to the given user service entity;

selecting one of the implementation technologies specified by the implementation data; and

implementing the aspect of the specified user service in the network using the selected implementation technology.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein identifying one or more service component entities and accessing provisioning information comprise accessing a database, the database comprising:

entities defining service components, each service component entity representing a distinct aspect of service functionality providable by the telecommunications system;

entities defining implementation technologies, each implementation technology entity being associated with a service component entity and representing a technology usable for implementing the aspect of service functionality represented by the service component entity; and

entities defining user services available to users of the telecommunications system, each user service entity being associated with one or more service component entities defining service functionality aspects of the user service.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein:

selecting one of the implementation technologies comprises for each identified service component entity identifying an implementation technology entity associated with the identified service component entity, and

implementing the aspect of the specified user service comprises implementing the service functionality aspect represented by the service component entity using the implementation technology defined by the identified implementation technology entity.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein a given service component entity is associated with a plurality of implementation technology entities representing alternative implementation technologies, each alternative implementation technology being independently usable for implementing the aspect of service functionality represented by the given service component entity.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein a given service component entity is associated with a plurality of alternative implementation technology entities, the instructions further translatable for:

selecting one of the alternative implementation technology entities in dependence on a predetermined criterion; and

implementing the service functionality aspect represented by the given service component entity using the implementation technology specified by the selected implementation technology entity.

14. The system of claim 13, comprising storing one or more rules relating to the alternative implementation technology entities, wherein selecting one of the alternative implementation technology entities comprises evaluating the rule or rules and selecting an implementation technology entity in dependence on the outcome of the evaluation.

15. A computer readable medium for provisioning services in a telecommunications system, comprising instructions translatable for:

receiving a service request relating to a given user service entity, each user service entity defining a user service available to a user and associated with one or more service component entities defining service functionality aspects of the user service, each service component entity representing a distinct aspect of service functionality providable by the telecommunications system and associated with provisioning information;

identifying one or more service component entities associated with the given user service entity; and

for each identified service component entity, accessing provisioning information associated with the service component entity and provisioning the service functionality aspect defined by the service component entity in accordance with the retrieved provisioning information.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein accessing provisioning information and provisioning the service functionality aspect comprises:

accessing implementation data specifying a plurality of implementation technologies usable for implementing an aspect of a specified user service, the specified user service relating to the given user service entity;

selecting one of the implementation technologies specified by the implementation data; and

implementing the aspect of the specified user service in the network using the selected implementation technology.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein identifying one or more service component entities and accessing provisioning information comprise accessing a database, the database comprising:

entities defining service components, each service component entity representing a distinct aspect of service functionality providable by the telecommunications system;

entities defining implementation technologies, each implementation technology entity being associated with a service component entity and representing a technology usable for implementing the aspect of service functionality represented by the service component entity; and

entities defining user services available to users of the telecommunications system, each user service entity being associated with one or more service component entities defining service functionality aspects of the user service.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 17, wherein:

selecting one of the implementation technologies comprises for each identified service component entity identifying an implementation technology entity associated with the identified service component entity, and

implementing the aspect of the specified user service comprises implementing the service functionality aspect represented by the service component entity using the implementation technology defined by the identified implementation technology entity.

19. The computer readable medium of claim 18, wherein a given service component entity is associated with a plurality of implementation technology entities representing alternative implementation technologies, each alternative implementation technology being independently usable for implementing the aspect of service functionality represented by the given service component entity.

20. The computer readable medium of claim 19, wherein a given service component entity is associated with a plurality of alternative implementation technology entities, further comprising:

selecting one of the alternative implementation technology entities in dependence on a predetermined criterion; and

implementing the service functionality aspect represented by the given service component entity using the implementation technology specified by the selected implementation technology entity.

21. The computer readable medium of claim 20, comprising storing one or more rules relating to the alternative implementation technology entities, wherein selecting one of the alternative implementation technology entities comprises evaluating the rule or rules and selecting an implementation technology entity in dependence on the outcome of the evaluation.

22. An electronic service information database for a telecommunications system comprising:

entities defining service components, each service component entity representing a distinct aspect of service functionality providable by the telecommunications system;

entities defining implementation technologies, each implementation technology entity being associated with a service component entity and representing a technology usable for implementing the aspect of service functionality represented by the service component entity; and

entities defining user services available to users of the telecommunications system, each user service entity being associated with one or more service component entities defining service functionality aspects of the user service.

23. A method of processing service information relating to a plurality of user services available in a telecommunications system, comprising:

storing, in a service information database, entities defining service components, each service component entity representing a distinct aspect of service functionality providable by the telecommunications system;

storing in the database entities defining implementation technologies, each implementation technology entity being associated with a service component entity and representing a technology usable for implementing the aspect of service functionality represented by the service component entity; and

storing in the database entities defining user services available to users of the telecommunications system, each user service entity being associated with one or more service component entities defining service functionality aspects of the user service.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

receiving a service request relating to a user service entity;

identifying one or more service component entities associated with the user service entity; and

for the one or more identified service component entity, identifying an implementation technology entity associated with the identified service component entity; and

implementing the service functionality aspect represented by the service component entity using the implementation technology defined by the identified implementation technology entity.

25. The method of claim 24, comprising, where a given service component entity is associated with a plurality of alternative implementation technology entities:

selecting one of the alternative implementation technology entities in dependence on a predetermined criterion; and

implementing the service functionality aspect represented by the given service component entity using the implementation technology specified by the selected implementation technology entity.

26. The method of claim 25, comprising assigning priority information to the alternative implementation technology entities, the predetermined criterion comprising the priority information.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein:

the given service component entity is associated with a parameter relating to the corresponding service functionality aspect; and

at least one of the alternative implementation technology entities associated with the given service component entity specifies a constraint on the parameter defining a condition under which the implementation technology represented by the implementation technology entity is usable to implement the service functionality aspect; and

wherein the method comprises selecting one of the alternative implementation technology entities in dependence on the constraint or constraints.

28. The method of claim 27, comprising receiving a requirement constraint relating to the parameter and specifying a requirement for the service functionality which is to be implemented, the selecting step comprising comparing the requirement constraint to one or more constraints specified by the alternative implementation technology entities, and selecting one of the alternative implementation technology entities in dependence on the outcome of the comparison.

29. The method of claim 28, comprising identifying a network location involved in the implementation of the service functionality aspect represented by the given service component entity, receiving information relating to technology resources available at the network location, and selecting one of the alternative implementation technology entities in dependence on the received information.

30. The method of claim 29, comprising managing migration from a first technology represented by a first implementation technology entity to a second technology represented by a second implementation technology entity by:

identifying a service component entity associated with the first implementation technology entity; and

associating the identified service component entity with the second implementation technology entity.

31. A method of provisioning services in a telecommunications network, comprising:

receiving a service request specifying one of a plurality of user services providable to users of the telecommunications network;

accessing service data corresponding to the specified user service in a service information database;

retrieving implementation data specifying a plurality of implementation technologies usable for implementing an aspect of the specified user service from the database;

selecting one of the implementation technologies specified by the implementation data; and

implementing the aspect of the specified user service in the network using the selected implementation technology.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the service data is associated with provisioning rules

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the service data comprises a set of service component entities and the implementation data comprises a set of implementation technology entities.

34. A method for specifying an implementation technology for a user service in a telecommunications network;

comprising

receiving a request for a user service;

reviewing service data associated with the user service, wherein the service data represents at least one aspect of service functionality associated with the user service; and

specifying at least one implementation technology associated with the service data and operable to implement the at least one aspect of service functionality.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein specifying at least one implementation technology comprises reviewing implementation data associated with the service data

36. The method of claim 35, further comprising implementing the at least one aspect using the specified implementation technology.