Telecom Testing and Convergence

Convergence is a hot topic in the communication industry. The wide spread popularity of IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) is a clear indication that independent networks will be integrated into a single IP-based infrastructure referred to as Next Generation Networks (NGN) in the near future. The services, network architectures and traffic pattern in NGN will dramatically differ from the current networks. The heterogeneity and complexity in NGN, including concepts like Fixed Mobile Convergence, will bring a number of challenges to the integration of products in a multi-vendor environment. The telecom technology is evolving rapidly and convergence is one of the key ingredients to this growth. Standardizing forums are coming up with strategies in design to cater to the changing telecom needs. Testing methods still rely on legendary models which is not suited for converged world. The high degree of complexity accompanying the telecom technology necessitates testing strategies that can create and deploy new service offerings with a higher degree of flexibility and a shorter time-to-market, while staying at the competitive edge in rolling out new, compelling service with improved customer satisfaction. This paper presents a unique perspective of telecom testing using a lifecycle approach to testing rather than legendary models like V, X and proactive testing models. Using the telecom testing lifecycle, the challenges introduced for testing in the converged world are addressed. Focused testing and test artifact generation based on NGOSS concepts are also outlined.