Is there a future for global intelligent network standards?

Abstract

The ITU-T has defined the global Intelligent Network (IN) standard IN Capability Set 1 (refined) (CS-1R) which is now being deployed worldwide. Global IN standardization has progressed in the last several years to produce the ITU-T IN CS-2 Recommendations which includes enhanced capabilities from CS-1R. But is there a future for evolution of global LN standards such as IN CS-3? Concerns have been raised regarding the scope, timeliness, and value of global IN standards. The advent of the IN Forum and the role of national and regional standards bodies also poses threats to global IN standards, in terms of duplication of effort and misalignment of approaches. The telecommunications industry, and IN in particular, is moving towards global service delivery, inter-domain interworking, and deregulation and increased competition. Is there a need for global IN standards in this new environment? This paper highlights key capabilities defined in IN CS-2 and indicates its relevance to the deployment of intelligent networks worldwide. The paper describes steps taken by the ITU-T and the IN subworking group to address concerns related to international standards timeliness and relevance. Finally, the paper discusses a variety of approaches in which the ITU-T IN sub-working group can achieve harmonization of regional interworking requirements and meet the needs of a dynamic industry.