NBN Co releases first draft of service provider B2B interface specs

Stuart Corner
Saturday, 29 January 2011 15:18

Business IT - Networking

NBN Co has released a series of documents detailing its proposals for the automated business-to-business interface that access seekers will use to deliver, monitor and bill for services provided on the NBN to end user customers.

NBN Co says the aims of its proposed B2B strategy are to: "Allow access seekers to control provisioning and assurance of network resources used by them in a way that is as close as practicable to being as if the resources were their own; [to] allow fast and cost effective access seeker integration using open standards [and to] reduce overall total cost of ownership of B2B systems with architectural designs that are resilient to lifecycle changes such as new product/process introductions."

When implemented the B2B interface will enable a service provider to: service qualify a potential end user; to place an order; to enrich orders with information such as appointment details; to modify in-progress orders etc.

The service provider will have the ability to perform service tests and diagnostics, to place a trouble ticket, to update a trouble ticket and to accept trouble ticket resolution etc.

NBN says: "in preparing for the commercial supply of services to our customers, NBN Co is planning to construct access seeker business interfaces with the goal of achieving a global best practice wholesale service experience. As part of the implementation of these B2B interfaces a collaboration protocol agreement (CPA) will be used to facilitate service description, publication, binding of all services offered to access seekers via the NBN Co B2B gateway."

NBN Co adds that it has been working with the Operational working group of the Communications Alliance NBN Project "to ensure that industry has had input into the development of a best practice B2B interface'¦[that is] in alignment with the B2B Interaction Process Requirements Specification released through Communications Alliance."

NBN Co has released an overview information paper - B2B Industry Interface Specifications - and three draft B2B Industry Integration specification documents that provide information on the operational and technical impacts of its proposed B2B interface.

The three drafts are: NBN B2B Technical Specification, B2B Interaction Process Specification, and NBN Product Definition Specification. NBN Co says: "Provision of these draft documents should enable access seekers to commence impact assessments and high level design activities."

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