Nortel Networks and Industry Consortium Partners Complete First Phase of API Specification -- Development Accelerates the Convergence of IP-based and Traditional Voice Networks--
November 12, 1998
OTTAWA, Ontario, Nov. 11 /PRNewswire/ The Parlay Group, an industry consortium, consisting of BT, DGM&S Telecom, Microsoft, Nortel Networks (NYSE: NT/TSE: NTL), and Siemens, announced today that they have completed the first phase of an application programming interface (API) specification that will accelerate the convergence of Internet Protocol (IP)-based networks and the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).
This API, referred to as the Parlay API, will provide a common open interface into any kind of telecommunications network. Prior to this development, telecommunications companies had to deal with a wide range of interfaces in their networks, which added to the complexity of operating in today's competitive deregulated marketplace. An API is a type of translator that allows applications to work with other applications and resources; for example, a PC word processor uses an API to talk to a printer.
The Parlay API will facilitate the seamless interworking of Internet Protocol (IP)-based networks and voice networks while maintaining their integrity, performance, and security. As such, it will stimulate a wide range of new services by giving information technology (IT) applications developers controlled access to the functionality and intelligence of any kind of telecommunications network. These new services, such as integrated voice-data applications, will be crucial to the success of telecommunications and Internet service providers as their networks converge.
''Because network service providers operate in an increasingly competitive marketplace due to deregulation, they are finding that it is imperative that they differentiate themselves,'' said Hilary Mine, executive vice-president, Probe Research, a telecom industry analyst firm based in New Jersey. ''This API and efforts like it are critical starting points for delivering value-added services across network boundaries, and enabling service feature differentiation.''
The Parlay API is constructed around a network-independent framework interface and a range of service interfaces. The framework interface allows network operators to define and provide controlled access to network resources by parties outside the network; for example, the framework includes authentication and billing capabilities to guard against malicious or unbilled use of network resources. The service interfaces contain specific information or instructions on how functions, such as call routing and billing, voice mail, and e-mail, operate in a network. Furthermore, the API service interfaces are designed to work in conjunction with existing service control interfaces, such as Intelligent Network protocols or Microsoft's telephony application programming interface (TAPI).
''The fact that this API specification provides a secure and consistent way to access network resources from outside the network - and that it can work with any type of network - is a technical attribute not seen before. It means an increased level of network interoperability is now attainable that will be critical as separate overlay networks continue to evolve - despite the pressures for a full-service network structure,'' said Donald Dittberner, president, Dittberner Associates, Inc., an international telecommunications consultancy located in Bethesda, Maryland that supports telecom carriers worldwide.
The technical and business value of the new API specification will be demonstrated to selected customers, industry analysts, and media on December 4 at the BT Laboratories in Ipswich, England, and on December 9 in Dallas, Texas. The demonstration will show how an application residing outside the network can use the new API to access and direct network resources and devices to carry out specific actions or functions. Until now, such access has been the exclusive domain of telecom operators, which meant that introducing a new service required the full technical and operational involvement of the operators themselves. The use of the Parlay API will allow new services, including third-party applications, to be introduced to the market much more quickly.
The five-company group that has developed the new API specification has chosen the name ''Parlay,'' which means ''to utilize one's talents to achieve success.'' In this case, the API specification that the Parlay consortium has developed uses the capabilities and intelligence resident in multiple networks and makes them more easily available to users and industry players worldwide.
The Parlay Group, which announced its formation in May of this year, has begun work on a second phase of the API specification, currently scheduled for completion by mid-1999. During this second phase, work will focus on extending the functionality of the API.
SOURCE Northern Telecom Limited |
