TINA-compliant service provision and numbering in UMTS

Abstract

As a result of deregulation efforts UMTS envisages the existence of several competing service providers. However, it is very questionable whether the designated concepts of intelligent networks (INs) will ever provide the required powerful mechanisms needed for service provision, numbering and location management in multi-service-provider environments. The TINA framework addresses problems like these, but unfortunately, TINA ignores certain aspects of mobile cellular networks. This article presents an approach showing how TINA concepts may be applied to UMTS. According to the TINA business model, it is shown how service providers and brokers may interact for service provision and numbering in mobile networks and how location management functionality is split between these two roles.