The testing, generally carried out on a voluntary basis involving local and long distance carriers and equipment manufacturers, has been used to identify potential trouble spots before new software or hardware is introduced into the network. The proposed new ATIS committee would examine future network interconnection testing requirements beyond the SS7 work now being done in the Network Operations Forum, Skrzypczak said. The initiative we're undertaking is an investment in the future of network reliability. The current and future service providers must recognize that we are interdependent upon one another even while we're fierce competitors in the marketplace. The Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions is an industry association whose committees create network interconnection standards for the United States and guidelines for a range of telecommunications issues including numbering, ordering and billing for access service, electronic commerce, toll fraud prevention, network reliability analysis, and electrical protection for telecommunications facilities.
Membership is open to service providers, manufacturers, re-sellers and enhanced service providers.