Europe is lagging behind the US in Intelligent Networking, according to a new report from Cambridge-based consultancy Analysys Ltd. The report, Advanced Intelligent Networks, points out that while US telecommunications operators have moved quickly to install products based on Bell Communications Research Inc’s AIN standard and its interim releases, European operators have chosen to wait for the completion of the International Telecommunications Union’s CS-1 standards – which are still not available. According to Analysys, the advanced Intelligent Network has great potential for the provision of competitive services internationally, and for the development of cross-border competition in Europe. In practice, though, Analysys reckons that the lack of standards and the differences in national network environments will limit what can be achieved internationally. The report concludes that deployment in Europe will not be straightforward. It warns that operators must not have unrealistic expectations of the technology – full standardisation is an ideal, not a reality, says the report, and the highly-important service management and service creation interfaces will not be available until the end of the decade. It says a prerequisite for early innovation is a comprehensive scheme for service regulation, and that work should start now. In particular, it wants immediate development of sufficient open interfaces and support facilities to enable business services to be offered on a pan-European basis as soon as possible.
