Convergence of networks and technologies creates opportunities as well as challenges for Service Providers to introduce new revenue generating services and define new business processes and business models to stay competitive in the market. However, often the Service Providers will have to converge existing (disparate) technology platforms onto “Next Generation Network” (NGN) and migrate existing services onto “Next Generation Services” (NGS) respectively.

The challenges faced by the Service Providers can generally be grouped as follows: 

• Network Technology Replacement: Migrate customers and traffic off of aging TDM network technology while preserving
existing services, features, and revenue flows.
• Time to Market Pressures (Revenue Generation): Launch new Services over Internet Protocol (SoIPs) that replicate and 
surpass Voice/Data capabilities that  have been optimized over last several decades with same customer expectations
(feature parity, reliability, automated Service Delivery/Assurance) over the next few years.
• Customer Migration: Migrate large business customers with private networks/multiple locations/complex services requiring
integrated solutions across TDM and VoIP networks that support upgrading customer locations over time.
• Risk: Increases as Services Providers attempt to provide new services over new network technologies and new BSS/OSS
infrastructures. (Part of the challenge here is that there are many more components to coordinate in the NGN network
compared to a legacy switch based environment.
• Operations Paradigm Convergence: Wireline/Wireless network convergence is causing operations convergence of very
different wireline and wireless worlds.

In order to meet the above challenges, each service provider should consider the following: 

• Existing (Legacy) environment: Networks, Services, legacy-BSS/OSS stack 
• A rationalized view of legacy products/services on the NGN network along with the Next Generation Services 
• Target environment: NGN, NGN-BSS/OSS stack 
• Existing systems to be merged/integrated/veneered in the target 
• New (and simplified) business processes 
• Data quality and end-to-end data flow 
• Validation of OSS/BSS architecture (incl. Migration and Customer experience) through Use Cases

This document will serve to gather the experience and requirements with respect to migration and convergence to NGN from multiple Service Providers (SPs). This will lead to cost-savings due to reduced time-to-market and reduction in confusion, for lack of standards, across various industry group stakeholders. The information contained in this document is planned to be used as the basis for establishing co-operative working relationships with the Industry Groups concerned.

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