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With the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and its aftermath, many see lightly organized chaos. Yet Silicon Valley startup NightFire Software Inc. sees opportunity.
With a new software system called NetServ Express, NightFire is automating the order management process between the incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) and the competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs) - carriers that exist in large part due to the competition the law is intended to create.
One provision of the Telecom Act is a requirement that ILECs provide CLECs to the local telephone infrastructure. Indeed, another FCC comments cycle ended just yesterday on a related matter (DA 98- 56). CLECs lease telephone lines from incumbents to create competitive phone services and, in many cases, use copper to create new data services. This sharing of the telecom infrastructure requires CLECs be given access to the incumbent's operations support system (OSS). Many CLECs think they get a raw deal, according to filings at the FCC.
"The telecom industry up to now has been mostly very vertically integrated. The incumbents have traditionally designed and operated their own internal networks," said R. Keith Giarman, NightFire vice president of sales.
The proprietary OSS of an incumbent telecommunications carrier is extremely complex. In some cases it has been in place for many years, and built up piecemeal to where it is not an exaggeration to say a carrier doesn't fully understand its own system. Yet the law requires these carriers open up this OSS to potential competitors.
New Players, New Technology
"The industry has changed," Giarman said. "There are new players building different types of networks. These competitive...