IN THIS ISSUE:

• MSF President's Report, May 2005 - Roger Ward
• TC Chair's Report- Avri Doria
• MSF Welcomes New Members
• MSF @ SUPERCOMM, Booth 55090
• Hot Off the Pesses - The IMS White Paper
• GMI 2006 - Your Input Requested
• ARO Seminar - Sign Up Now!
• Q305 Meeting Reminders
• Contact Us

As a global forum, we recognise the importance of making it easy for all our members to meet in face to face meetings and each year, we schedule meetings in Europe, North America and Asia. For those of you fortunate enough to be with us in Madrid a few weeks ago, you will know that we had a very well attended meeting that enabled us to make significant progress with our 2005/6 work programme.

As well as building the proposition for GMI 2006, we were also able to outline the physical scenarios that will play such an important part in our work from here on. I think it is true to say that the MSF is truly unique in its ability to deliver not only Architectural Framework & Implementation Agreements in support of commercially viable Next Generation Network solutions, but also major Global Interoperability events that prove the work of the MSF really is applicable in the real life scenarios that major carriers are intent in investing heavily over the next few years.

Let’s now look at some of the highlights of the Madrid 2Q/5 meeting in more detail.

Development of MSF 2005/6 Global Interoperability Programme (GMI 2006)

The MSF very much works on an 18 to 24 month cycle and following the success of GMI2004 in October 2004, this meeting saw completion of a major milestone on the way to GMI 2006. With a well attended plenary session to get agreement on the GMI 2006 member requirements, there was overwhelming support that the MSF should focus on such an event in its forward work programme.

In addition, much good work was done in outlining a number of supporting GMI 2006 Physical Scenarios and the GMI 2006 service set around the focus of “Converged Networks”, with particular attention being paid to the relationship between the MSF Release 2 Architecture and 3GPP IMS.

Next quarter's MSF work plan will focus on further development of the GMI 2006 proposition (there will be a detailed membership questionnaire to check the Madrid findings), development of physical scenario detail & an Implementation Agreement (IA) work plan (what protocols, what profiles, what priorities).

MSF Release 2 Implementation Guidelines

The MSF Release 2 Implementation Compliance programme will be launched at Supercomm in June 2006. Both the BOD and MAE have been working this topic for some months now with a view to using the work of the MSF to assist both Service Providers and Vendors achieve MSF compliant solutions. MSF guidelines are now available and provide a checklist that companies can use to validate their claims to be “MSF R2 Compliant”.

Member companies who wish to be “early adopters” of this programme and recognised in the appropriate upcoming MSF Press Release should contact Julianne Fitzpatrick without delay.

Accountability for claiming support for MSF R2 Architecture is the responsibility of the company making the claim. Any MSF Members with equipment that is compliant with the checklist can claim MSF R2 “Compliance” and use the MSF R2 Logo on that equipment.

Leadership Elections

It is very important that the MSF has a strong leadership team that is representative of the membership. The Board of the MSF democratically elected with a number of seats being open to re-election each year. This year, I was pleased to be re-elected myself alongside Chris Daniel (Leapstone Systems), David Francisco (Siemens), Brian Down (Marconi), Mark Carroll (Cisco Systems) and new member, Eun-Ho Choi (KT).

As well as these new appointments, the 2005/6 Board of course includes existing Board Members Tatsuro Murakami (NTT), Byung-Sun Lee (ETRI) and Jim McEachern (Nortel). In addition, Avri Doria (ETRI) was re-elected Technical Chair & Neil Anderson (Spirent) was re-elected Marketing, Awareness & Education Chair. I am delighted to also report that Naseem Khan (Verizon) has been co-opted onto the leadership team as Board Secretary.

Welcome to New Members

As well as our technical achievements, it is important that we keep our membership base strong through providing real value add to companies who are prepared to invest in working through the MSF to achieve their business objectives. With a hard cut off to our membership renewal cycle in March, I am delighted to say that we have grown from our membership numbers of 2004. In Madrid, we were pleased to welcome new members ECI Telecom & Netrake as well as guests from Auna, Datatronics, Intel, Novabase & Portugal Telecom.

And Finally...

As we move the 2005/6 programme from inception to reality, it is important for everybody to know how much is going on behind the scenes to ensure that the MSF continues to provide an environment which enables all its members to collaborate in areas of high value.

Do remember that in a forum as diverse as the MSF, good communication is everything. So please forward this and other information about the MSF to anybody in your company who might benefit from getting more involved in our work. As they say, if you like what we do, tell your friends - if there are things we could do better, tell me!

I look forward to seeing you all in Ottawa July 19-21, 2005!

Roger Ward - MSF President, BT
London, UK

Back to In This Issue

The Madrid meeting was a busy one with many important decisions. Perhaps the most important decision of the meeting was the one taken to start work on GMI 2006. The Board of Directors presented a draft of its requirements (MSF2004.054). The plan is to finalize the requirements before the Ottawa meeting, at which point the TC will produce the Project Requirements Document (PRD) which is the blueprint for the event. In the meantime, the early planning team for the GMI 2006 event is being assembled.

The GMI 2006 direction proposed by the BoD includes several areas:

• Interworking with IMS architecture deployment.
• IPV4/IPV6 coexistence
• Inclusion of SBC in the MSF architecture
• Further development of the underlying MPLS substructure recommendations
• Management of an MSF network

The MSF is about to enter the preparation stage of the cycle. This is the time to make sure that any requirements members have have been expressed. In the near future a questionnaire will be circulated to the members asking about priorities and goals for GMI 2006. It is important that every member take some time to respond to this questionnaire as it is one way to insure that we have an event that meets member needs. This is also a great time for people who want further involvement in the MSF, especially those who want to take on leadership roles, to get involved and volunteer for tasks such as document editing. And of course, we are contribution driven, so members must contribute.

As part of the GMI 2006 effort, a paper (MSF2005.013) comparing the MSF and IMS architectures and recommending avenues for enabling them to coexist has been approved by the Architecture WG and is currently being reviewed by the Editorial Board. Members are encouraged to review this paper during the Editorial Board's review period.
As the IMS work is critical to GMI 2006, a coordinating team, led by Stuart Walker, has been assembled to coordinate the IMS work. This group is not a new working group, but will be working with the existing working groups to make sure that we have a real and workable solution in as short a time as possible. The group is currently working on several proposals that will be discussed in the Working groups, including drafts of scenarios for GMI 2006.

In the architecture group, IMS was not the only topic. The subject of how SBCs are used and modeled in the MSF architecture enjoyed an active discussion. There were several different positions but after the discussions the Architecture WG agreed to split the SBC into 2 components as an option; and Signaling Session Border Controller (SSBC) and the Data Session Border Controller (DSBC). In the coming weeks, there will be discussion about a minimum set of features and optional additional features for the SSBC and the DSBC. The solution requires a protocol between SSBC and DSBC and this will be a topic for discussion in the near future. A mailing list has been setup for SBC discussions. This list is open to any member. The Architecture also agreed to do further work on the Media Resource Broker architecture. In the protocol and control group, two additional work areas were added; 3GPP Mc interface and Q-SIG, H.323 and SIP interworking. A new work item to analyze NGN service requirements and enhance SIP IAs to account for missing capabilities was also identified. Another decision was in the process area. The TC approved a member proposal for an amendment to TC procedures regarding requirements language text. The plan to is to have a draft of the changes available for review and vote in Ottawa.

And last but certainly no not least, new vice-chairs were elected:

• Stuart Walker (Leapstone) is continuing as Architecture WG vice chair
• Wayne Cutler (Marconi) was elected vice chair of the Protocol and Control WG
• Chanh Phung (IP Unity) was elected vice chair of the Interoperability WG.

I am very happy to welcome 2 new members to the Technical Committee leadership. We still have one vice chair seat empty, the Management Advisory seat. Anyone who is interested in this position should contact either Brian Down (brian.down@marconi.com) or me (avri@acm.org).

Avri Doria - MSF Technical Committee Chair, ETRI

Back to In This Issue

MSF WELCOMES NEW MEMBERS

MSF is delighted to announce that three industry players have joined the membership roster. The newest members of MSF are:

1. ECI Telecom Ltd. (NASDAQ: ECIL) is a global provider of advanced telecommunications solutions to leading carriers and service providers. By translating a deep understanding of our customers' needs into innovative, technologically excellent solutions, we enable our customers to increase the value of their networks and reduce operating expenses.

2. Netrake - Netrake is the premier provider of session controllers delivering real-time control of voice and multimedia across IP networks for Tier 1 service providers. Utilizing Netrake's unparalleled processing power and unique "deep packet inspection" capabilities, its nCite session controllers provide superior reliability, scalability, security and network management capabilities all in a single chassis.

3. ZTE Corporation - ZTE Corporation is China's largest listed telecom manufacturer, specializing in providing customized network solutions to telecom carriers worldwide. Listed in Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 1997, ZTE Corporation has been devoted to maximize the return to shareholders through its commitment to people, advanced technologies and quality services.

Please join us in welcoming them to the forum.

Back to In This Issue

MSF AT SUPERCOOMM, BOOTH 55090

MSF is proud to announce that is will be an Associate Sponsor and will exhibit at SUPERCOMM 2005 in Chicago, June 7-9. See below for a list of MSF activities at the show:

• Tuesday, June 7 at 4:30 pm - Roger Ward will be interviewed and taped for a segment on Inside Business and Technology at the MSF booth. Look for the final product on the MSF website.
• Wednesday, June 8 at 12:30 pm - Roger Ward will represent MSF at a Round Table discussion hosted by Telecommunications Magazine.
• NTT representatives, Eric Sasaki and Hirofumi Yokoi will be in the MSF booth to show a video demonstrating "effects of MSF Qos"
• Neil Anderson will meet with a representative from Hong Kong, Deputy Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology, Mrs Marion Lai, to discuss ITU Telecom World 2006.
• Press meetings will be held to discuss MSF's new Release 2 Architecture Guidelines. This is a continuing effort that has begun this week.
• MSF will distribute copies of the new IMS White Paper, GMI 2004 White Paper and the updated MSF CD-rom.

Special thanks to the members who have volunteered to participate at this important show.

Back to In This Issue

HOT OFF THE PRESSES - THE IMS WHITE PAPER

The Technical Leadership has just completed the final draft of the IMS White Paper. This very important technical report is now available on the MSF website at http://www.msforum.org/techinfo/reports/MSF-TR-ARCH-004-FINAL.pdf.

Back to In This Issue

GMI 2006 - YOUR INPUT REQUESTED

On June 1, a questionnaire was sent out to the MSF membership in order to prioritize the requirements for GMI 2006. At this stage, given the importance of GMI 2006 to our 2005/6 work program, it is important that we have a broad spread of data on member needs, so please do not worry if more than one person from your company completes the questionnaire, as we shall take this into account in the subsequent analysis. If you have not already done so, please take a moment to fill out this questionnaire and return to Cindy Morgan (cmorgan@msforum.org) by Thursday, June 16.

The questionnaire is available online at . .

Back to In This Issue

ARO SEMINAR - SIGN UP NOW

Making the Most of Association Resources Online (ARO)

Who: Open to all MSF and MFA members
What: Seminar with Q&A session to help users gain a better understanding of the features available in ARO
When: Monday, July 18, 2005, 1:00 PM
Where: Westin Ottawa, 11 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa ON K1N 9H4, Canada

Topics Covered

• Customize the Main Menu Workspace to work for you
• Learn the best way to search for contributions
• Discover how status codes make sorting easier
• Find out how to take advantage of Project Central
• Q&A Session

This session is free to all MSF and MFA members attending the Q3 Technical Committee meetings in Ottawa. To reserve your spot, please register online by Tuesday, July 5, 2005 at http://www.msforum.org/events/ARO_Ottawa05.shtml

Back to In This Issue

Q305 MEETING REMINDERS

The next MSF Technical Committee Meeting will be held July 19-21 in, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Meeting Registration

To register for the meeting, please complete the on-line registration process on the MSF web site under Meetings and Events http://www.msforum.org/events/upcoming.shtml.

• Pre-registration (Through Tuesday, July 5, 2005): $395 USD
• Late registration (Wednesday, July 6, 2005-Tuesday, July 19, 2005): $545 USD

NOTE: You MUST submit payment information when registering for the meeting in order to secure your registration. To submit payment, click on the "Pay" button after saving your registration record. By submitting credit card information, you will secure your reservation. The actual payment will be charged to your card on Tuesday, July 12, 2005, and your receipt will be delivered to you when you check in on site. Meeting registrations cancelled before Tuesday, July 12, 2005 will receive a full refund. After July 12, no refunds will be provided.

Important Deadlines

• Hotel Reservation Deadline: Friday, July 1, 2005
• Contribution Deadline: Tuesday, Julyl 5, 2005
• Meeting Registration Deadline: Tuesday, July 5, 2005

Hotel Accommodations

To make your room reservations, please contact:

The Westin Ottawa
11 Colonel By Drive
Ottawa, ON K1N 9H4 Canada
Reservations Phone: +1 (613) 560 7000
Reservations Fax: +1 (613) 234-5396
Book online at: http://www.starwoodmeeting.com/StarGroupsWeb/booking/reservation?id=0503099475&key=7484F

MSF Room Rate: $170 CAD per night for Traditional room, plus applicable provincial and local taxes. Please mention MSF to secure the MSF Room Rate.

Membership participation is the driving force behind MSF's success. Please join us in Ottawa and continue to support MSF's mission.

Back to In This Issue

Want to include something in the next issue? We want to hear from you! Send your comments and contributions for the next issue to Julianne Fitzpatrick at jfitzpatrick@msforum.org.

Back to In This Issue