For Immediate Release
ATIS 1200 G Street, NW Suite 500 Washington, DC 20005	Contact: Trish Gessner Phone: 202-434-8851 E-mail: tgessner@atis.org www.atis.org

ATIS Implementation of Data Interchange Work Plan in Full Swing

ATIS Committees, IPDR.org Move Forward with ATIS Standard Work Plan to Bring Real-Time E-Business to Telecommunications Industry

October 12, 2004, Washington, D.C. – The Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions ( ATIS) today announced milestones in the implementation of its Data Interchange Work Plan.

First announced in June, the plan provides a comprehensive “road map” for launching new industry standards that support automated inter-carrier processes for wireline and wireless Next Generation Networks and IP-based services.

IPDR.org, a consortium of industry leaders collaborating to facilitate the exchange of usage and control data, has endorsed the Data Interchange Work Plan and will work with ATIS to develop standards for the priorities it identifies. IPDR.org has already released a series of standards using open, flexible, extensible technologies for Internet network data management.

Representatives from IPDR.org will join the ATIS Data Interchange End-to-End (DI-E2E) Task Force to address the standardization of transport protocol; the development of a Generic Telecommunications Data Dictionary (GTDD); and the definition of a standard data element XML schema. ATIS participants on the task force include members of the ATIS Ordering and Billing Forum (OBF) and the ATIS Telecommunications Management and Operations Committee.

In addition, several ATIS OBF committees are moving forward with projects to create a Unified Modeling Approach (UMA) and the early steps necessary for converting documentation to conform with the XML schema.

“The shift from legacy systems with a myriad of interfaces to a globally defined and interoperable network will be critical for the broad deployment of next-generation services, and ATIS is leading the effort to standardize the back office infrastructure,” said Susan M. Miller, president and CEO of ATIS. “IPDR.org was identified as a key partner in the development of standards, and we look forward to incorporating their activities.”

About the Data Interchange Work Plan

The Data Interchange Work Plan identified several issues that need to be addressed for “real time” end-to-end business processes to be successfully deployed. Multiple network interfaces, protocols and message formats create cost and operation inefficiencies; inconsistent data definitions and usage rules complicate the integration of new products and services into legacy systems. The lack of existing standards across the industry has lead to completing multiple solutions that inhibit rapid expansion and service deployment.

The Data Interchange Work Plan is one of five priority issues identified by the ATIS Technology and Operations (TOPS) Council. Work plans addressing VoIP and Network Security also were release in June. Two additional work plans on Mobile Wireless Services and Wide Area Ethernet will be released by ATIS this fall.

About ATIS

ATIS is a technical planning and standards development organization that is committed to rapidly developing and promoting technical and operations standards for the communications and related information technologies industry worldwide using a pragmatic, flexible and open approach. Participants from more than 350 communications companies are active in ATIS’ 20 industry committees, and its Incubator Solutions Program. www.atis.org

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