Astral Point Communications, Inc., a provider of metropolitan optical networking solutions, announced it has extended its relationship with Telcordia Technologies by signing contracts to participate in the OSMINE process for the Telcordia TIRKS system and the Telcordia NMA system. The contract calls for Astral Point's optical networking products to begin the integration processes this fall.
The OSMINE process is intended to facilitate the integration of networking equipment into the legacy operations support systems (OSS) of ILECs. All network elements must be integrated into the OSS for seamless provisioning, billing and monitoring across a service provider's network for rapid service deployment. Without the consistent set of interfaces that OSMINE provides, there is no assurance that disparate vendor products can interoperate under the OSS environment.
TIRKS is an integrated OSS that supports network provisioning process in terms of inventory management, circuit provisioning and circuit order control. NMA is a network monitoring and surveillance operations support system.
In December 2000, Astral Point announced that the ON 5000 Optical Services Node had received Common Language Equipment Identifier (CLEI) codes from Telcordia as part of the OSMINE process. CLEI codes are assigned by Telcordia to each network element component to provide a standard method of identifying telecommunications equipment based on a common language.
According to industry analyst firm CIMI Corporation, spending patterns of ILECs have changed dramatically. In 1988, 88 percent of ILEC expenses were related to capital equipment costs with 12 percent spent on operational expenses. By 2001 that ratio had been reversed with 82 percent spent on operational expenses and 18 percent on capital equipment expenses. OSMINE helps enable the ILECs to integrate disparate vendors equipment seamlessly and helps to put them in a position to roll out new services and generate revenue quickly.
About Astral Point:
Astral Point Communications, Inc., of Chelmsford, MA, develops equipment to manage optical bandwidth for new types of services in the metro optical network sector. For more information, visit www.astralpoint.