Union Street WLR3 Advantages

Union Street have created a number of solutions to help Communication Providers (CP) gain maximum benefit from Wholesale Line Rental 3 (WLR3).

This overview explains the key benefits and how Union Street can help CPs move to WLR3:

Business Context
WLR3 Advantages
WLR3 Key Features and Benefits
Service Establishment
System overview

Business Context

BT Openreach has been set up to manage the physical network of cables that connect customer premises with the various exchanges. Communication providers (CPs) will purchase access products from Openreach and resell them to their own clients. It has also been set up to ensure that all CPs have equivalent access to the network and in particular equivalence with BT Retail. The products provided by Openreach will include:

• Analogue Lines
• Analogue multi-line
• ISDN2e
• ISDN30e
• Local Loop Unbundling (LLU)
• WES and BES

These access products will enable CPs to provide additional services to their clients including:

• Calls via BT Wholesale, CPS or LCR
• Broadband
• VoIP
• Data and Content
• Video

These services will be provided by a myriad of different organisations and a CP could use several to provide a complete solution for its clients. BT Openreach will ONLY be concerned with the physical access products.

In order to manage the network service fulfilment and assurance, BT Openreach have implemented a new system known as the Equivalence Management Platform (EMP). CPs will access the EMP via Wholesale Line Rental (WLR3) which will, in time, replace the WLR2 gateway previously provided by BT Wholesale.

Initially, WLR3 will only enable service fulfilment and assurance of analogue lines but it is planned to add all the access products to WLR3 by the mid/end of 2007.

Unlike WLR2, WLR3 does not have a standard web portal available to place orders. Instead, CPs will need to either develop their own gateway or partner with a systems integrator who can provide a solution. Union Street has developed a number of WLR3 solutions to allow CPs to take advantage of the many benefits that WLR3 provides. Union Street is an active participant in the initial WLR3 trials and work groups and is an ideal partner for any CP wishing to move to WLR3.

WLR3 Advantages

WLR3 will bring the CP a number of major advantages and benefits over the existing WLR2 service. Most importantly, the CP will now have a level playing field with BT Retail and other CPs. Through WLR3, Openreach will manage all CPs including BT Retail in exactly the same way. The key advantages of WLR3 are as follows:

Reduced cost of provisioning (fulfilment)

WLR3 will massively improve the speed and ease of placing orders for access products. It will also help you to set customer expectations.

Complete control and management of ongoing service (Assurance)

WLR3 will put the CP in complete control of the process, logging faults and managing their expectations through comprehensive status updates.

Improved Service to Clients

The depth of information available to the CP far exceeds anything previously available with WLR2. CPs can now advise clients and action requests in real-time.

No forecasting requirement

The EMP is a 24hr high volume platform and there will be no requirement to forecast. Many CPs have previously been severely penalised by the onerous forecasting requirements that restrict their ability to operate.

WLR3 Key Features and Benefits

These advantages are achieved via a number of features which provide a series of benefits:

No more order rejections (or at least hugely reduced)

• Customer addresses can be looked up against the BT database so that you nearly always get a correct address match.
• Full CLI validation can be obtain prior to order
• All the detail regarding a CLI (or circuit for LLU) can be viewed so that you can see all the calling and network options, any open orders on that line, directory information, care level, exchange type.

Set realistic timescales

• WLR3 will let you see what line plant is available within the premises, down to how many pairs are available within the local Distribution Point (DP). If there are no pairs available, it is likely that service provision may not be possible within the standard lead times hence you can advise the client at the earliest possibility or even pre order.
• You can see 'Stop Lines' at a premises that could be very quickly re-connected.

Number reservation

• WLR3 gives you instant access of up to 580 available telephone numbers. You can advise your clients of numbers while they hold on the phone and reserve numbers in real time. The WLR3 system will provide a unique number reservation key which you then use when placing your order.
• The system will also improve the ease by which numbers can be ported from other carriers

Appointment booking

• CPs have access to the Openreach appointment diary, when you enter a desired date for service provision, the WLR3 system will return up to 20 available appointments and a CP can book one there and then. The WLR3 system will provide a unique appointment reservation key which you then use when placing your order.
• CPs will be able to re-request earlier appointments to reduce lead times if a cancellation becomes available for re-allocation.

Keeping Customers Informed (KCI)

• Once an order is placed, the EMP will send ('push') messages back to the CP, to update them on the status of their orders
• There are 5 different KCI statuses: Acknowledgement, committed (which advises of all activity to do with the order), completed, rejected, cancelled.

Faster orders

• WLR3 orders are placed immediately rather that entering a queue as per WLR2
• WLR3 will allow all the standard order types i.e. new provide, transfer, amendment etc.

Better Logging of faults

• WLR3 allows the CP to conduct a line test and instantly get back a test result. The line test also provides a unique test reference number (key) that a CP can then use when logging a fault.
• The CP will be able to log a fault (Request Trouble Report) and instantly add or modify a temporary call divert if required. The call divert can also include an LCR access code so the diverted call need not be routed via BT.
• Status updates are sent ('pushed') back to the CP, enabling them to keep their clients advised at all times.
• WLR3 will replace EcoRepair and it will be possible to place trouble tickets on WLR2 lines using WLR3. However, any faulty lines provisioned on WLR3 cannot be reported via EcoRepair.

Easier to claim compensation for failure of SLAs

• WLR3 makes it possible for CPs to see exactly how much time is spent on both orders and trouble tickets and hence can make compensation claims when SLAs are not met by Openreach.

Union Street has made a significant investment in developing a comprehensive WLR3 solution to enable CPs to take full advantage of WLR3. Union Street's WLR3 application handles all these features in an intuitive and user friendly way.

Service Establishment

Any reseller wishing to take advantage of WLR3 will need to be authorised by BT Openreach to use the service.
CP Engagement

The first step is to meet with the Openreach Account Manager and plan the service establishment. The CP will need to complete the following:

• Customer Requirement Document (CRD)
• Non Disclosure Agreement
• WLR3 Contract

The CRD is a detailed application form which requires the CP to give technical details of how they will access the EMP. If the CP is not planning its own development, they should engage with an integrator such as Union Street at this time so that they can complete the CRD.

Testing

Once BT Openreach have accepted the CP application, the CP will be required to demonstrate that they can successfully provision via WLR3. The CP will complete a series of test scenarios e.g. dummy orders or trouble tickets, to prove they have WLR3 capability. Obviously the Union Street gateway software will need to be in place at this stage in order to do the testing.

Union Street can provide a full consultancy package to help the CP through the testing phase.

Live verification

Once testing is complete, the CP will be notified that they can 'go-live' and they can then start placing real orders.

The process of service establishment can take 3-6 months.

System overview

Unlike the WLR2 gateway that uses XML web services to communicate, WLR3 utilises the more complex ebXML communication.

Union Street have developed a gateway to communicate with the EMP to place orders and trouble reports and also to request information, commonly referred to as Dialogue services. The dialogue services are usually requests for information e.g. MLATP is a dialogue service that requests information about the line plant availability a the target premises (Manage Line Availability at Target Premises). Or OID, which is used obtain a complete inventory of all the information known about a specific line installation (Obtain Installation Details)

There are several such dialogue services used to communicate with the EMP and obtain information. The responses from the EMP are passed back to the CP via the Union Street gateway. Status information such as KCIs are passed back to the CP in the same way.

Union Street have developed an intuitive User Interface (UI) to enable CPs to manage all communications with the EMP. The UI includes the following functions:

• Obtaining Information
• Fulfilment of orders
• Assurance (fault management)

The system will also manage users' permissions and access rights. Digital certificates act as user identity proof.

The WLR3 system consists of the following parts:

• A Java based server facilitates a wrapper API that can be called from other applications via web services that can convert the given messages and request into ebXML for the EMP and passes bask the relevant responses
• A Web Portal to handle the requests and responses

Call the Union Street Team on 020 8614 9090

For more information about our products, or to book a free demonstration contact Union Street.