How many times have we all heard the following argument during the last year? U.S. carriers have overinvested in networks. By some estimates, less than 5 percent of the nation's fiber has been lit; Fewer than 10 percent of American households and businesses have high-speed Internet access; Ergo, we're experiencing a bandwidth glut that will take years to fill.
Something about this doesn't ring true. Though it's become popular to fault "overinvestment" for the industry's woes, the real culprit may be inadequate OSS solutions that fail to bring customers onto the network quickly. The North American telecommunications market is the most technologically advanced market in the world, but its OSS remains rooted in the 19th century.
When a service request passes the order-entry door, it enters a labyrinth of manual processes, including network planning and engineering, installation, service planning and provisioning, each with its hierarchy of steps, requirements and experts-in-charge. Network planners, engineers and provisioners handcraft services such as ATM and frame relay. This is not a matter of choice on their part, but rather, results from the lack of OSS tools that accurately inventory network resources and automate the processes that convert infrastructure to services.
Simply put, carriers are often in the dark about whether circuits and facilities exist in proximity or sufficient capacity to serve a customer. Once assets are identified, the carrier's OSS may lack automated applications platforms that configure bandwidth.
The end result: Delays in service activation, billing and revenue generation, coupled with underutilization of existing assets and low return on infrastructure investment.
Carriers can take heart. Better OSS solutions are becoming available. There is demand for existing capacity, and with the right OSS solutions, carriers can convert demand to dollars. But OSS vendors should not consider their products a shoo-in. Service providers who were burned by inadequate OSS the last time around will scrutinize the business cases justifying investment in next-generation provisioning.
Kimber Lewis
President
Cramer Systems Inc. (www.cramersystems.com)
