Working Group Updates

Systems & Processes Working Group

At the most recent Systems & Processes Working Group (S&P WG) on 6 June the participants reviewed the prioritised work stack for the group going forwards. Geoff Izzard (Co-Chair from NTL:Telewest) has proposed the establishment of a technical sub-group to check the validity of the requirements capture already competed. This is necessary to ensure that the scenarios and requirements developed in the Consult21 S&P WG are technically possible and specifically that the future standards to be developed by NICC B2B Group. These will allow effective and efficient communication between Call Providers to drive benefit from NGNs. This will be established in July.

The planned Systems Architecture Event has been scheduled for 26 July 2006 (BT Centre Auditorium) with presenters from across BT Group. We have issued a very focussed agenda detailing proposed systems changes for BT’s 21st Century Network as well as detailing those systems changes required for BT to fulfil it’s undertakings for the TSR.

Openreach presented their plans to introduce dialogue services to their Equivalent Management Platform (EMP) and gave a general update on the implementation of this platform which will be technically similar to the strategic systems utilised by 21CN based products from BT Wholesale.

The next Working Group is 7 July 2006 (please note, this is a new date).

If you would like more information on this working group, please contact tim.short@bt.com

Network Hooks & Common Capabilities Working Group

Antony Millington of Cable & Wireless and Andy Fielden of BT Group (the Co-Chairs) presented the recommendations of the previous Working Group to the Steering Board on 24 May regarding future work allocation outside Consult21.

To re-cap:

• A replacement forum will be set up and run by BT Wholesale Product Strategy in order to provide customers with Common Capability and Product updates, particularly roadmaps to stimulate bi-lateral discussions between BT and CPs in developing new products based on BT’s 21st Century Network

• Applications and Systems to be discussed at Consult21 Systems & processes working group

• Network Intelligence to be progresses through NGNuk

• Networking, Logical Control and Access to be progressed at the appropriate product Consult21 working groups, but be fulfilled by NICC (Network Interoperability Consultative Committee).

This position was endorsed by the Steering Board and the Co-Chairs are now in contact with representation from BT Wholesale Products and NGNuk. Therefore subject to progression within these areas, the Working Group will be disbanded. A further update confirming this will be issued in due course.

If you would like more information on this working group, please contact tim.short@bt.com

Conformance Testing Working Group

Work is now well underway in the Conformance Testing Working Group (CTWG) with the first order of business being to ensure that both BT and Communication Providers are clear on the testing programme underpinning operational readiness for End-Customer Migration. Documenting the tests for BTW’s and Openreach’s obligatory products has been a mammoth task – with over 7000 cases to be written.

The good news is that we’re over 80% there now for the products migrating within Pathfinder Phase 1 and over the last few months, through the Consult21 process, Communication Providers have had the opportunity to review the Core Tests and suggest any additional tests which they may require. This consultation process continues until early July with the final “Test Plan” being published on 31 July.

The hard work doesn’t stop there – as well as finalising product tests, there’s the practicalities of how test results can be shared between BT and Communication Providers to be considered. At the CTWG on 15 June, BTW gave a well-received demonstration of its proposed Testing database.

Outside of the Core Tests, the CTWG has a lot of ground to cover before testing starts in earnest and workshops took place in June to finalise Test Scenarios for the introduction of the new Virtual Interconnect Capacity Product, share BT’s approach to the testing of its Transfer Engineering methodologies as well as the set up of its CP Test facility in Swansea.

If you would like more information on this working group, please contact liz.e.walsh@bt.com

Pathfinder Experts

On 9 June, BT Wholesale concluded its consultation with Communication Providers on the Entry and Exit Criteria for Pathfinder with responses reflecting broad agreement with BT Wholesales suggestions. The definition of these criteria provides BT and Communication Providers with a clear framework to start working through the detail of Pathfinder and how we ensure that learning gained during it is understood and incorporated.

The Implementation & Migration Working Group have set up the Pathfinder Experts to define both the benchmarks which will apply through out each of the Pathfinder phases and the process for BT and Communication Providers to review learning throughout. The Experts have already held two sessions providing BT Wholesale with valuable feedback which together with feedback from the recent consultation will enable BT to further refine its Pathfinder plan which BT Wholesale intends to share with Communication Providers in early July.

The next Pathfinder Experts session will be on 14 July.

If you would like more information on this working group, please contact liz.e.walsh@bt.com

Broadband and LLU Working Group

The next scheduled meeting of the working group is the 25 July before breaking for the summer holidays. After the summer we will meet every second month on the same day as the bimonthly ISP Forum. We hope that this will allow more all Communications Providers to become involved in the group. Regular monthly meetings will also be held in the intervening months.

Highlights from the group’s activity include:

• Consultation on the principles of IPstream Transfer Engineering and on Datastream retention on Legacy will conclude by July with detailed discussion on the actual transfers moving to the IMWG. Industry has recently shown a concern in relation to the transfer of end users from the current 20CN IPstream platform to 21CN and subsequently on to Wholesale Broadband Connect (w-BBC). They would like to have the choice to remain on 20CN IPstream pending the availability of w-BBC

• Early discussions on Wholesale Broadband Connect and Managed Wholesale Broadband Connect have started with more detailed discussions due to commence in July

• 14 Bilateral meetings have been held in May and June with the bilateral meetings programme due to complete in mid July.

If you would like more information on this working group, please contact tom.saville@bt.com

Point-to-Point Working Group

Recent discussions by the group have covered topics such as

• 21CN WES products from Openreach

• Multi Service Interconnect Link (MSIL).

The group has also started initial discussions on Wholesale Ethernet products within 21CN.

The group next meets on the 27 July.

If you would like more information on this working group, please contact tom.saville@bt.com

Line Access Working Group

The major topic of discussion by the Line Access Working Group is the Voice Line Access product. This will allow Call Providers to connect their Call Servers to BT’s MSANs to deliver voice services over 21CN. A programme of bilateral meeting began in late June for customer to understand this in more detail. 

The group has also recently received presentations on the future of Line Access products within 21CN including the withdrawal of Meter Pulse Facility and Highway products.

If you would like more information on this working group, please contact tom.saville@bt.com

Interconnect & Portfolio Working Group

The Interconnect and Portfolio Working Group is currently focusing on two key areas. 

The first of these is to agree a commercial framework for a 21CN replacement for the current PSTN product, known as ‘PSTN Emulation’. The closing date for responses on this consultation from Communication Providers was 9 June. BT has now evaluated those responses and presented on the closure of this consultation on 22 June.

Another critical area of work is the proposed Virtual Interconnection Capacity (VIC) product. BT has offered a new commercial proposal on this product on 25 May and this has been well received by Communication Providers (CPs). Updated contractual and product documentation has been reissued and was under review by CPs for feedback before 26 June. Other outstanding issues such as billing process are being actively progressed.

For further information, please contact chris.evans@bt.com

Network Structure Working Group

The current emphasis of this group is to develop an understanding of the issues related to interconnecting two Next Generation Networks, so that each may have different internal architectures. The group is also developing a Network Information Publication that will eventually provide comprehensive information about BT’s 21CN. This publication will provide other Communications Providers with all the technical information they need to interconnect with BT in one place. An outline of this document has been sent to industry and was favorably received.

Finally the group is providing a Consult21 input to the next round of UK standards work by the Network Interoperability Consultative Committee (NICC).

For further information, please contact chris.evans@bt.com