Revolutionizes integration by providing specifications that lower cost and risk throughout the development lifecycle

Morristown, NJ April 14, 2009 – TM Forum, the world's premier industry group focused on business effectiveness for the communications and media sectors, announced today the release of MTOSI 2.0, the most comprehensive standard ever published for managing broadband telecommunications — covering both resource and service management and including inventory, assurance, and activation, some of the most integration-intensive areas in service provider operational environments.

Multi-Technology Operations System Interface (MTOSI) Release 2.0 simplifies integration by providing all the specifications needed throughout the development lifecycle, including business analysis, information model, and interface specifications. With MTOSI, implementers save significant and measureable effort on system integration at:

• the requirements stage, by reducing uncertainty and providing leading-edge business analysis.
• the design stage, by describing best practices for creating Web Services-based interfaces.
• the integration stage, by defining detailed specifications of the critical interface operations that are needed to manage networks and services.

MTOSI 2.0 packages the widest range of management interfaces in an integrated suite, including functions in the Business Process Framework (eTOM), Resource Management and Operations (RM&O), and Service Management and Operations (SM&O) areas.

According to Martin Creaner, President and COO TM Forum, “Many companies are saving millions of dollars each year by using TM Forum standard interfaces, particularly MTOSI, to specify the interfaces between their technologies and third-party technologies. It costs service providers millions of dollars to write detailed specifications for the dynamically evolving technologies that are a phenomenon in our industry today. Aggregating the dollars spent by each company results in a collective industry waste many times that amount. In addition, when companies work individually instead of collaboratively, the integration challenge becomes even more complex because of incompatible specifications. TM Forum provides an environment in which service providers and vendors collaborate openly and vet solutions before they go into development. The MTOSI standards have been created in this collaborative manner by leading communications companies.”

 Phil Dance, MD, Technology Exploitation BT Group plc commented, “Standards are important in reducing costs and speeding up implementation. By using the MTOSI Version 1.0 standards in 2007, we found, through cost benefit analysis, that we had we saved significant time and money. We are keen to continue to use these standards in our development as a result.”

Steve Orobec, Lead Consultant Strategy, Architecture and Innovation BT Group plc said, “By introducing and deploying software and APIs into our network using COTS rather than proprietary products and in-house development, we saw huge savings in integration times.

Furthermore, managing thousands of APIs in a communications organization means managing the ‘how, what, why, where and when’ of APIs—what they do, how to implement them and, more importantly, why they are there.”

Orobec explains that managing a “spider web of hundreds or thousands of APIs across the OSS” can be quite daunting for designers and architects. “It is something I hope to address with the new TM Forum standard called NGOSS Business Services, for which MTOSI is the first stage and foundation of that evolution.”

In another implementation, Chunghwa Telecom will demonstrate its use of MTOSI 2.0 in Transmission Network Management Systems at Management World 2009 in Nice, France.

For more information on MTOSI Solutions Suite Release 2.0 please visit /BusinessAgreements/MTOSISolutionSuite/38125/article.html

For more information on Management World 2009, including a full conference agenda, keynote and speaker profiles, as well as information about certified training courses available in Nice, please visit /ManagementWorld2009/.

Press and analysts interested in attending Management World 2009 and connecting with conference speakers should contact Geoff Devlin, gdevlin@tmforum.org, to apply for press access to the conference and to arrange meetings.

About TM Forum

With more than 700 member companies in 75 countries, TM Forum is the world’s leading industry association focused on improving business effectiveness for service providers and their suppliers. Serving the information, communications and entertainment industries, the Forum provides practical solutions, guidance and leadership to transform the way that digital services are created, delivered and charged. Members include the world’s largest service providers, cable and network operators, software suppliers, equipment suppliers and systems integrators.

TM Forum provides a wide range of information and support to help its members reduce the costs and risks associated with creating and delivering profitable services. These include industry research and benchmarks, technology roadmaps, best practice guidebooks, software standards and interfaces, as well as certified training, conferences and publications. The Forum also provides its member community with extensive marketing and networking opportunities, enabling business with new customers and partners.

To learn more please visit www.tmforum.org.

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About BT

BT is one of the world’s leading providers of communications solutions and services operating in 170 countries. Its principal activities include the provision of networked IT services globally; local, national and international telecommunications services to our customers for use at home, at work and on the move; broadband and internet products and services and converged fixed/mobile products and services. BT consists principally of four lines of business: BT Global Services, Openreach, BT Retail and BT Wholesale.

In the year ended 31 March 2008, BT Group’s revenue was £20,704 million with profit before taxation and specific items of £2,506 million.

British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in London and New York.

For more information, visit www.bt.com/aboutbt

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