Broadband Stimulus: Standardizing OSS Platforms?

The federal government must require standardization among providers’ OSS platforms and access to APIs for wholesale services.

That’s the plea from EarthLink Inc. (ELNK) and its subsidiary, New Edge Networks, as the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and Rural Utilities Service (RUS) decide which rules will mold the second round of broadband stimulus funding. The agencies have finished taking public comments on potential stipulations and, in all the feedback, only EarthLink and New Edge seem to have pointed out that big problems crop up when back offices don’t work together.

Because of that, the companies say, the feds must insist that any provider receiving broadband stimulus grants and loans operates comprehensive and fully functional OSS/API software. After all, EarthLink and New Edge argue, the efficacy of those platforms ties directly into the success of broadband deployment – the entire foundation of the broadband portion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

The Obama Administration has made no bones about its desire to get broadband to unserved and underserved parts of the country. To do this, it’s handing out billions of dollars to communications service providers willing to build into those areas. But the recipients of the first funding round have yet to be named as the award date repeatedly has been pushed out – and the entire $7 billion must be distributed by Sept. 30, 2010. Meantime, the NTIA and RUS – the agencies tasked with deciding who gets that money – want to know what should change for the second funding stage. For EarthLink and New Edge, the standardization of OSS and API platforms is critical.

The broadband deployment goals in the ARRA will be hard to meet if providers such as EarthLink and New Edge can’t quickly get accurate customer data from the LECs, the companies said in their Nov. 30 filing with the NTIA and RUS. End users have no patience for delays, the companies said; if orders take too long to process or end up inaccurate, subscribers will find other Internet access options, if they then opt for broadband at all.