Intec Telecom Systems (Intec) joins a leading group of vendors in demonstrating the interoperability of their products under the TeleManagement Forum's (TMF) NGOSS program. The "Managing IPTV Services with NGOSS" catalyst, featured in the TeleManagement World Catalyst Showcase in Dallas, November 8 - 10, addresses the challenge of real-time provisioning and service billing for advanced video over IP (IPTV) services. It focuses on automated, user-based service enablement for voice, video and data (triple play) over IP with residential access via DSL technologies.

Service providers face major challenges in on-demand activation, rating and charging when deploying advanced IP services. In today's highly competitive markets pricing is always under pressure, so the costs associated with acquiring and keeping customers must stay as low as possible. The problem is that the more advanced the service - such as IPTV - the more complex it is to manage.

Intec, renowned for supporting carriers' telephony operations, is already working on a number of IPTV initiatives with carriers around the globe. Intec solutions enable service providers to manage the business of interactive television by transforming user requests into revenue opportunities, such as content, advertising, viewer polling, a la carte programming, and online purchase fees.

Visitors to the TMW Showcase will be able to view a demonstration of a subscriber-based IPTV scenario, which begins with a subscriber logging into a service provider web portal to order IPTV service. The request is verified and authorized, the service is activated, and the service policy package is displayed to the subscriber via the web portal. The subscriber then orders a video on demand, such as a movie, and the request flows through to the activation and billing systems. When the order is placed, the inventory system is queried for resource availability and the appropriate resources are provisioned as needed. The subscriber then views the video item and the web portal displays the real-time billing information.

Intec IPTV, only a portion of which is featured in the demonstration, includes functionality for:

• Charging for events in real time;
• Activating services;
• Managing content partners;
• Active mediation and session management;
• Interactive self-care.

Intec along with telco software and system providers Broadhop, Cisco Systems, Cognizant Technology Solutions, Digital Fairway, Fujitsu, Spirent Communications and Telcordia are participating in the demonstration of provisioning and activating IPTV services. The IPNM Catalyst project is sponsored by BT and IPDR.org.