Intelligent Networks and Services By storing a massive ‘memory’ of customer and service information ina network, andreferring to it while setting up calls, and as a historical record of network use, a phenomenal new range of services becomes possible. The effect is almost as if the network had some degree of ‘intelligent’ power of thought | Networks and Telecommunications Design and Operation Second Edition. Martin P. Clark Copyright 1991 1997 John Wiley Sons Ltd ISBNs 0-471-97346-7 Hardback 0-470-84158-3 Electronic 11 Intelligent Networks and Services By storing a massive memory of customer and service information in a network and referring to it while setting up calls and as a historical record of network use a phenomenal new range of services becomes possible. The effect is almost as if the network had some degree of intelligent power of thought. This chapter commences by describing the intelligent networks as a concept and then goes on to give examples of the new services that we can expect from it. THE CONCEPT OF INTELLIGENT NETWORKS The concept and development of intelligent networks INs originated in North America. The forerunner was AT T s database 800 service and AT T continue to be a key driver of the technology. Subsequently much work has also originated from the RBOCs the American Regional Bell Operating Companies or local telephone companies in conjunction with their jointly funded research arm Bellcore. More recently ETSI the European Telecommunications Standards Institute has been very active. The concept is based on the premise that all services can be broken down into elemental capabilities called functional components or service-independent building blocks STBs or SIBBs . For example a simple service may include providing dial tone collecting digits performing number translation switching the connection and charging at an appropriate rate. If we were now to examine a second service then we would find that some of the functional components used in that service would overlap those already identified in the first. If a comprehensive set of these functional components SIBs could be implemented at every exchange so-called service switching point SSP and if a suitable means of controlling the exchanges from new powerful and remote computers called service control points or SCPs could
