Standards For Corporate Networks

Traditionally, Standards for Corporate or Private Networks have been concerned mainly with the performance of leased circuits and the specification of signalling protocols operating over such circuits. Such Standards were mainly prepared by the old PTTs through CEPT, or, in the case of more enlightened network operators, in conjunction with the national PABX industry. They were used in a different regulatory context than that which exists now. There were only a limited number of ways such networks could be constructed and a very limited number of features they offered.

Today though, Corporate Network standardisation, at least in Europe, has the backing of the European Union to ensure the widest possible range of facilities in the construction of Corporate Telecommunication Networks; a need that is clearly spelt out in the Action Plan contained in "Europe and the global information society. Recommendations to the European Council" (The Bangemann Report) under the subchapter: "Interconnection and Interoperability". Standards for Corporate Networks are prepared through organisations such as ETSI, ECMA and ISO/IEC with participation from many different interest groups: network operators, terminal equipment manufacturers, service providers, regulatory authorities and end users. Corporate Network Standards straddle both the Mandatory and Voluntary regimes of applicability, and include Standards on:

Enhanced voice and non-voice services;
Virtual private networks;
CN Mobility;
High-Speed (B-ISDN);
CN Management;
CN Scenarios; and,
CN Performance.

Within these broad headings are a whole range of topics that cut across, namely:

Services, including Bearer services, Teleservice, and Supplementary Services;
User-network interfaces (S reference point, signalling issues, layers 1, 2 & 3);
Intra-network interfaces (Q reference point, signalling issues, layers 1, 2 & 3);
Inter-network interfaces: private network to public ISDN (T reference point, signalling issues, layers 1, 2 & 3);
End-to-end protocols;
Network aspects, including:
- Architecture;
- Network scenarios;
- Open Network Provisions;
- Network capabilities;
- Synchronization;
- Terminal selection and compatibility checking principles;
- Numbering, addressing and routeing; and,
- VPN (both 64 kbit/s ISDN-based and non-64 kbit/s ISDN-based);
Mobility aspects, including general principles, UPT, and service descriptions;
High Speed/LAN, including architectural aspects, reference configurations, and interconnection aspects;
CN network management; and,
CN performance (overall performance & performance of VPN).

New topics (such as VoIP or H.323 interoperability) are often added to the list as technology evolves. Thus an already complex pattern of inter-related Standards becomes more complex as time passes.

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