Number management has always been a critical but challenging element of CSPs' provisioning and activation platforms. In the 1990s, this challenge was exacerbated by the rising demand for IP address management, and is now escalating again with the need to manage large numbers of IoT devices.
To meet CSP demand for greater standardization, this Catalyst aims to build a reusable number management and activation framework which will build on, and contribute to, the TM Forum’s existing ODA (open digital architecture) and Open API repository. The team has identified a niche area where there is potential to extend to a full platform capability including for IoT devices.
As the primary CSP in the UK, BT has a key role to play in the number management space. Today, it is working very closely with its peers and regulatory bodies to traverse its way through a mesh of complicated non-standard processes, architecture and interfaces. BT (one of the champions of the Catalyst) is committed to lowering the number and activation porting cycle time, along with developing a standardized and scalable definition of modeling resources. To meet that commitment, BT regards a standardized numbering platform as a necessity.
Although something of a niche area, the Catalyst participants believe a reusable number management and activation framework – which provides interoperability amongst industry players and with regulatory bodies – could be a source of strategic advantage that could help CSPs expand beyond connectivity.