Service Activation Center: Features
Content Management API
Service Activation Center's Content Management API allows operators to create their own End User Self-Service Portal using the SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) interface. The API offers a set of feature-rich operations that enhance how operators deploy and customers use their services. A Web portal with the integrated Content Management Module allows subscribers to actively manage their content and access to services.
Using the Content & Access Management API module, subscribers can:
- Add parental controls on to high-speed data services by blocking access to unsuitable websites
- Add restrictions to certain TV channels during specific hours or disable access to specific premium services
- Manage service content and access according to their individual preference
Monitoring and Diagnostics Module
The Monitoring and Diagnostics Module allows administrators or CSRs to check the active status of managed customer devices. The module can be used to:
- Display current subscriber devices assigned by service
- Check status and health of assigned devices (ping, traceroute, snmp walk or retrieve current provisioning and lease information)
Product Catalogue Module
Service Activation Center's integrated Product Catalogue Module supports existing product sets and assists in defining and maintaining future product sets based on your specific business and market needs.
Use the Produce Catalogue Module to:
- Define services in terms of service type, configuration, and filtering conditions such as location and equipment
- Rapidly create and deploy highly tailored packages based on combinations of geography, network equipment and customer premise equipment
- Store all information related to the specific services assigned to individual subscribers
- Retrieve subscriber information with OSS/BSS systems to allow flow-through provisioning
Prepaid Service Module
Operators can offer broadband services on a prepaid basis where subscribers pay in advance for what they need using the Prepaid Service Module. Tap into new customer segments that do not want to sign up on a long term basis or would like to give services a try before committing to a long-term contract.
- With a pay-as-you-go system, contracts or long-term commitments are no longer required
- Prepaid services support different payment options including credit and smart cards
- Offer “try and buy” promotional services or schedule service utilization on a prepaid basis around particular timeframes such as weekdays or evenings
- Subscribers using a prepaid service can easily migrate to a contract whenever they wish to
Northbound Interface (NBI)
The Service Activation Center's Northbound Interface provides a simplified API interface for external systems like billing systems, order management, CRMs, inventory systems and web servers (e.g. SAC GUI, subscriber portal).
The NBI decomposes and translates incoming requests into Service Activation Center compliant messages and forwards these requests to the Service Activation Center server. The server processes the request and performs any provisioning requirements on the service provider's network. By integrating with a single API, Service Activation Center lowers back office complexity and removes obstacles in creating new services.
Adapters
Service Activation Center's add-on modularized adapter layer supports the integration of business objects with external hardware and software systems. Adapters hide integration details for specific external entities. This way, applications are decouple and isolated from specific external systems. These adapters provide a standard interface mechanism to Service Activation Center. This standard gives adapters a decoupling characteristic, which allows similar types of adapters to be plugged in and out with minimal or no changes to Service Activation Center's business layer. Adapters also provide a consistent queuing mechanism for asynchronous non-transactional operations to external entities.
Adapters participate in Service Activation Center's transactions to maintain data integrity across the network elements and devices involved in processing the request. To support transactional integrity, adapters have built-in features to track its participation in transactions. This also facilitates the ability to roll back network changes if a processed request fails at some point.
| Out-of-the-Box Adapters: | Optional Adapters available: | |
| Voice Adapters | Nortel CS2k Cedarpoint Safari |
Nuera NSN hiQ |
| Video Adapters | NDS CAS Nagravision CAS Scientific Atlanta DNCS Motorola DACS |
OpenTV |
| Billing Adapters | GLDS CSG |
Comverse DST Innovis Geneva |
| Device Provisioning Adapters | Incognito MPS | |
| Application Adapters | Sendmail GoogleMail Trouble Ticketing |
Billing Integration
Service Activation Center's integrates with billing systems using a Direct Entry or Billing Fed 2-Way model.
Diagram 1: Direct Entry and Billing Fed 2-Way model overviews
In the Direct Entry model, Service Activation Center is upstream from the billing system. The Service Activation Center's GUI will be the main interface used by CSRs and subscribers and all messages sent to billing are initiated by Service Activation Center.
In the Billing Fed 2-Way model, Service Activation Center is downstream from the billing system. The billing system's GUI will be the main interface used by CSRs and subscribers and all messages sent to Service Activation Center are initiated by the billing system. In this case, Service Activation Center's GUI is used for diagnostic purposes.