For Immediate Release
1200 G Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20005
202/628-6380
202/393-5453 (fax)
Contact: John Bernhards
Director of Public Relations
Phone: 202/434-8850
E-mail: jbernhards@atis.org
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For Immediate Release
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ATIS' Ordering and Billing Forum and the IPDR Organization Join Forces to Map IPDR, EMI Billing Records
Effort will Support Service Provider Billing for Streaming Media, Voice over IP
August 1, 2002, Washington, D.C. - Telecommunications companies can
expect easier and more profitable billing for next-generation services based
on today's Liaison Agreement between the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry
Solutions (ATIS) and the IPDR Organization. The agreement formalizes a collaborative
effort to map, or connect, Internet Protocol Detail Records (IPDR) to the ATIS-sponsored
Ordering and Billing Forum (OBF) Exchange Message Interface (EMI) records.
Over the years, ATIS OBF guidelines that support EMI have become the necessary
"de facto standards" for Interexchange Carriers, Local Service Carriers,
and Competitive Local Exchange Carriers as they conduct billing and customer
transactions in an unbundled network environment. In more recent years the work
of the IPDR Organization has resulted in standards and specifications that support
open, carrier-grade and Internet-based support systems among service providers,
to include billing systems. A collaborative effort to map IPDR billing records
to EMI-based records will provide enhanced and easily implemented billing delivery
mechanisms for service providers - particularly those active in the delivery
of "next generation" Internet Protocol (IP) services such as streaming
media and Voice over IP.
Susan Miller, president and CEO of ATIS, and Aron Heintz, president of the IPDR
Organization, signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organizations.
"It is a priority of ATIS to build collaborative efforts between standards
organizations and industry fora for the purpose of solving critical issues,"
said Miller. "Such efforts save the industry substantial resources and
remove barriers to new services and products to consumers. ATIS, on behalf of
the OBF, is extremely pleased to enter this agreement with the IPDR Organization
as we work together to advance the next generation of billing solutions for
the communications industry."
Mike Norris, Director of Global Billing Services for TELUS Communications Inc., OBF Assistant Moderator and IPDR Organization Board Member commented, "I'm pleased that ATIS and the OBF have actively pursued this opportunity because it allows forum participants to work collaboratively with other industry players. These activities provide an important value-add to companies such as TELUS who are increasingly focused on obtaining maximum returns from the industry forums they attend."
About ATIS
The Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) is a member company organization that is the leader for standards and operating procedures for the telecommunications industry. More than 1,500 experts from over 400 telecommunications companies participate in ATIS' 20 committees, forums, and Incubator Solutions programs, where work focus includes wireline and wireless network interconnection standards, number portability, improved data transmission, Internet telephony, toll-free access, telecom fraud, and order and billing issues, among others. ATIS is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Visit the ATIS web site at www.atis.org.
About IPDR Organization
The IPDR Organization is an open consortium of leading service providers, equipment
vendors, system integrators, and billing and mediation vendors collaborating
to facilitate the exchange of usage and control data between network and hosting
elements and operations and business support systems by deployment of IPDR formats.
www.ipdr.org
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