Accelerating Service Launch with Telcordia Activator

Telcordia, a global leader in the development of IP, wireline and mobile telecommunication software and services, announced a breakthrough in the speed of introduction of new telecom services and network devices with the latest release of its next gen service activation product, Telcordia® Activator.

Until now, communication service providers' (CSPs') programs to introduce additional services have relied on vendors developing extra software to support new processes, services or device types. This significantly added to the cost, complexity and time to bring new products to market at scale. But through its innovative modelling and scripting technologies, Telcordia Activator eliminates the need for specialized adapter software development. This removes a complete set of development-related costs and time from the new service introduction process; typically shrinking the project timescale from months to weeks.

Total cost of ownership is also reduced compared to traditional activation solutions, since services can be extended or created in-house without the need for expensive development resources.

With Telcordia Activator, CSPs can now consolidate and automate all service activation on a single, flexible platform that significantly boosts accuracy and speed, and ensures a flawless first-time customer experience.

Available as a standalone activation platform that can be integrated with any existing Operations Support System (OSS), Telcordia Activator is also pre-integrated with Telcordia Next Generation OSS including Telcordia® Granite Inventory.

For more information about Telcordia please visit www.telcordia.com. For more information about Telcordia Activator visit www.telcordia.com/products/activator/index.html.

OSGi Alliance & HGI Collaborate to Boost Broadband Provider Flexibility & Service Offerings

The OSGi Alliance and the Home Gateway Initiative (HGI) announced a partnership agreement that will enable broadband service providers to offer more flexible applications to residential customers. Under this agreement, the partners will work together to integrate the OSGi Service Platform into the home gateway, creating a software execution environment that will facilitate the deployment of new service capabilities into the digital home.

The home gateway (HG) plays a central role in the digital home, interconnecting computers, devices on the home network, and the Internet, all while supporting Quality of Service and remote management. Service providers are increasingly looking to deliver HG-based consumer services such as energy management, media server, and home network diagnostics. Pairing the dynamic and modular OSGi technology with HG-specific Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and protocols will greatly extend the service capabilities of the home gateway.

The OSGi Alliance and the HGI will develop the software execution environment for Home Gateways within the context of established concepts, standards, and technologies in the home gateway and software/middleware markets. To implement the agreement, members of the organizations’ OSGi Residential Expert Group and HGI Software Execution Environment Task Force will align requirements and specifications, timetables and roadmaps, and identify other organizations and technologies which should be involved.

Defining the Connected Home

The connected home is a term used frequently but often defined ambiguously. For Parks Associates, the connected home is comprised of the following elements:

• Access services - including broadband, television, landline communications, and mobile services
• Content and value-added services that complement the core access services
• Devices that connect to these access services and each other, creating a network that can share content and resources throughout the home
• Consumer electronics manufacturers, the PC industry, pay-television service providers, and broadband providers are driving the development of the connected home, for obvious reasons, as the interplay of these elements expands the businesses for all these players.

Learn more about how Parks Associates categorizes the major business strategies involved in the connected home. Read the September Parks Points today.

CONNECTIONS Summit at CES to focus on connected products and services and business strategies for 3D TV, advertising, and energy management

Parks Associates today released the preliminary agenda for CONNECTIONS™ Summit at CES, which focuses on new business strategies for connected CE, service providers, 3D video, Smart Grid technologies, and other connected home solutions.

The international research firm will host this event on January 7, 2010, in the Las Vegas Convention Center, on the first day of 2010 International CES. Parks Associates’ expert analysts will moderate the Summit sessions, presenting consumer research on buying habits, purchase intentions, and interest in a variety of connected home solutions. The sessions also feature executives in the digital living markets, who will discuss the challenges of today’s business climate and the areas of service and innovation that fit best with the changing needs of households throughout the world.

To view the agenda, click here.

CONNECTIONS Summit at CES Agenda

CES is about making business connections, and CONNECTIONS Summit is the ideal place to start. This information-packed networking event features presentations of the latest consumer and industry research, forecasts, and panel discussions moderated by Parks Associates. You’ll hear commentary, insight, and debate from industry executives and analysts on connected CE, video services and advertising, energy management, mobile convergence, and more. Then unwind at the evening reception, where you can network with existing and prospective partners.

View Agenda
- Consumer Electronics Purchases: Are Consumers Back in the Buying Mood?
- The Connected TV – Displays and Beyond
- Service Provider Strategies for the Connected Home
- The Mobile Aspect of Unified Infotainment: Opportunities and Challenges
- Advances in Television Advertising
- Bringing the Smart Grid to the Smart Home
- 3D: Adding New Dimensions to Entertainment