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By the year-end 1998, the
number of netizens across the world is expected to touch 120 million. India too is sparing
no efforts to push the growth of Internet and has recently allowed private participation
in this area. The cellular operators–many of whom may also become ISPs–should
benefit from the rapid rise in the use of Internet. As a dial-up call is first routed
through the operator’s network before accessing Internet, Intelligent Network
(IN)–providing Internet-related services–can handle this call to create value
for the user and the operators.
Internet-related Services Using IN
| face="Arial">Benefits of Internet-related IN Services |
For the "Corporate Subscriber" For the "Service User"
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Using the flexibility of IN, many
Internet-related services can be developed. For instance, some of the Internet-related
services developed by Alcatel on IN platform include:
Optimized Access
Due to rapid growth, the most common
problem faced by Internet users is the access. During peak hours, more people seek access
to the Internet provider than there are modems at the ISP resulting in dial-up line being
often busy. The optimized access service is used to guarantee a level of access
probability to the user. A non-demanding user may accept a low probability of access
during peak hours for a cheaper subscription, say, with only 10 modems for 100 users. A
teleworker, on the other extreme, may demand a guaranteed "priority" access and
take a more expensive subscription with much larger number of modems. Or the network can
keep track of the loading of different access points and connect to the one depending on
low, medium, or high category of access, chosen by the user. The IN system deals with such
connections and billing depending on the category of Internet access chosen.
IN also offers to the ISP several
"call screening" possibilities.
Non-subscription Access
Irregular or new Internet users may not
like to go for normal subscription, and may prefer to pay as per usage for a higher rate
per time unit. As IN enables various Internet surfing packages to choose from, access
provider can segment the market on the basis of the usage:
-
Pay-per-surf: This
provides Internet access without any specific Internet subscription by charging as in a
payphone i.e., at a certain rate per time unit. Billing for Internet surfing is provided
on the regular bill itself. Or one can pay using alternate billing methods—a prepaid
or a credit card. -
Surf-for-free: The user
dials a free Internet number and is connected to ISP’s advertisement pages, sometimes
with direct links to the advertising companies with own web-servers to provide
information.
In both the cases, the IN system provides
routing to the selected ISP, on the basis of the dial-up number. IN takes care of the
billing on the basis of the duration of the connection to the specific ISP. Bills are
charged to the end user in case of "pay-per-surf", or to the ISP in case of
"surf-for-free".
Premium Rate (Kiosk)
These services allow access to value-added
information like weather forecast and stock market. The operators can add some powerful
interactive and multimedia features.
There are two ways of accessing the kiosk
service on Internet.
-
Via the kiosk home page
that lists all the sites accessible at a premium rate. -
Via the website of an
organization where some pages may be charged. For access, the user is asked to authorize
the billing to the operator. Then the operator monitors the time used to visit those
pages.
Billing can be combined on the regular
bill—at a specific rate just like voice kiosk services—eliminating the need for
separate Internet subscription. The operator can also trace the user profile i.e., the
type of information accessed by him on Internet.
Virtual Intranet
It offers to the corporate users the same
functionality as on intranet, even when they are not directly connected to the corporate
LAN. Some of the advantages include:
-
Via a universal or free number,
users have remote access to the corporate intranet just like the voice VPN, implemented by
IN. -
A common bill is made at
special corporate rates. -
Multi-site companies get
lower rates for traffic between sites. -
Subscribers are able to
telework more efficiently doing away with the problems of remote access administration.
Browse and Talk
By interworking simple voice calling and
Internet surfing, it offers several possibilities to the operator:
-
Incoming call
notification makes it possible to receive calls while surfing on Internet without
interrupting surfing. When an incoming call is received, the user is notified on the
screen, he can phone through a multimedia PC, or disconnect the Internet and take the call
on his phone. -
E-directory makes it
possible to set up a voice call while surfing on Internet, by connecting to a specific
site. A user connects to a site and selects the phone number in personal directories to
connect. -
Possibility of being
called back by clicking on a special option shown on a web page. An Internet user gets a
call from the web page owner, for instance to explain details or prices about a product or
service on the page. -
Voice and fax mail box on a web
site for users who do not want to be disturbed with calls or faxes while surfing. Instead,
they activate their voice mail through a dedicated web site, where the calling party
delivers the message. The surfer is notified, when a message is deposited on the mailbox.
Today, most of the network
operators are trying to maximize their revenues by offering more value to their
subscribers and may like to become ISPs. However, this is only the first step in the value
chain IN platform, besides the benefit of several other services, that enables the
operator to move further up the Internet value chain.