Operators and application developers are experts in developing services, launching them and getting paid for them. Telecom suppliers and Ericsson, however, are experts in creating systems and building the infrastructure that allows profitable services to be deployed.

Today's mobile networks are divided into an access layer, which gives end users access to the network; a connectivity layer, which switches and transports information, and a service layer, which handles the various services and applications used on the network.

Previously, the service layer's main functions were to keep track of subscribers and to collect data for billing. Intelligent services were then introduced that were more customized for individual user and company requirements. Today companies and individuals are being offered more complex services based on SMS, MMS, positioning and WAP. Many new wireless Internet and mobile multimedia services create new customer value, and operators see new revenue opportunities over the coming years.

Torbjörn Lundahl, who works with technology and system management at Ericsson, says: "The new services place higher requirements on the network, which must handle them in an economic manner. Ericsson's Service Network Framework (SNF) provides guidelines for how to design and deploy optimal service networks."

The access and core networks are highly standardized today, while there are different protocols and architectures for the service network that partially overlap each other. Great effort is therefore being devoted to OMA, the Open Mobile Alliance, in which most telecom and data companies, as well as operators, are participating to create a simple common interface that will work with all networks.

Henning Burvall, responsible for Ericsson's service network product portfolio, says: "Our job is to make the functionality available in the network easily accessible and attractive for companies that wish to develop and offer new services. Operators need help from application developers and content providers to produce new and profitable wireless Internet and mobile multimedia applications."

In the late 1990s, developers began using Parlay and Java to connect IT-based applications with the telephone network, but now a shift is taking place toward OMA with Web Services, which is a better technology for accessing network functionality.

Ericsson's development of its own service layer products is now focused on three main areas:

• User databases for processing user data, such as the AAA (Authentication, Authorization, Accounting) server that provides access control and security, the HLR (Home Location Register), the 3G HSS (Home Subscriber Server) and EMA, which handles service introduction. 
• Charging and billing products that provide support for payments, such as the PPS/Charging System, Multi-Mediation and Multi-Service Roaming. 
• Service enablers that facilitate access to the network and support the functionality that services require. Examples include MMC (Multimedia Messaging Center) for MMS services, MIEP (Mobile Internet Enabling Proxy), which is a WAP gateway for WAP services, and GMPC (Gateway Mobile Positioning Center) for positioning.

Burvall says: "Our policy is to invest in areas and products where Ericsson is best or among the top two. The products that have been mentioned here are ones that we very much believe in. To create attractive solutions, we are also working with partners, and in certain cases Ericsson is also a reseller of other companies’ products. Other Ericsson products now under development include ECDS (Ericsson Content Delivery Solution) and EWAS (Ericsson Wireless Access Server) for WLANs."

All the basic prerequisites needed to jump-start the new services are now in place. The technology and the expertise are available, and there are several applications that can start generating greater revenues.

Lars Cederquist