Next Generation Network (NGN) APIs to Support
Emergency Telecommunications Services (ETS)

Next Generation Networks (NGN) must provide support for Emergency Telecommunications Services (ETS) to ensure high probability of call completion during national emergency and disaster situations, just as the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) does today.

NGN Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that provide the capabilities for ETS are essential to the development of future applications and services, as well as providing ETS across multiple converged networks (packet, circuit, wired, or wireless), vendor platforms and switches, and protocols.

This aim of this site is to bring together all parties (vendors, carriers, governments and users) interested in APIs for ETS in NGN.  This site serves as the resource base for the Emergency Telecommunications Working Group (Parlay ETS WG) within the Parlay industry forum.

The Parlay ETS Working Group was chartered in December 2001. The charter of the Parlay ETS Working Group describes the objectives of the group:

Identify requirements and introduce contributions for Parlay APIs that enable equipment manufacturers, network operators, and service providers to develop and offer a wide range of priority services to authorized users that aid in a high probability of completion for emergency traffic during a crisis situation when networks may be restricted due to damage, congestion or faults.

The Parlay ETS Working group created a white paper, describing the scope and goals of the group, and a set of detailed requirements that specify enhancements to the various Parlay APIs necessary to support priority applications.

• Here's a list of contributions made by the ETS group for Parlay 4:
• Enabling exposure of priority call parameter using the Multi Party Call Control (Part 4.3), Multimedia Call Control (through inheritance, Part 4.4) and Conferencing Call Control (through inheritance, Part 4.5) APIs Change Request.
• Enabling routing to different carriers using the Multi Party Call Control (Part 4.3), Multimedia Call Control (through inheritance, Part 4.4) and Conferencing Call Control (through inheritance, Part 4.5) APIs (Change Request). This CR references a companion CR that introduces some references in the API Overview (Part 1) document (companion Change Request).
• Here's a list of accepted contributions made by the ETS group for Parlay 5:
• Enabling policy management conditions and actions to be specified in XML (Change Request, Change Request, Change Request, and Change Request).
• Enabling application of priority call parameters on interactions with the media servers accessed via the User Interaction API. (Change Request)

Useful Links

Some pointers to background information on ETS as well as NGN related initiatives on open APIs are provided here.

• International Emergency Preference Scheme (IEPS), IEPS is coordinating all ETS-related activities at the protocol level in IETF, ITU and ETSI.
• Vernon Mosley, "Government Emergency Telecommunications Service (GETS)," Overview for the Parlay Group, San Diego, May 22-24, 2001.
• Ravi Jain, "Suggestions for Parlay 4.0 Requirements," Parlay 4 Requirements Session, San Diego, May 22-24, 2001.
• Ravi Jain, "Suggestions for Parlay 4.0 Requirements on Emergency Telecom Services (ETS)," Parlay Member Meeting, Munich, Sep. 12, 2001.
• National Communications System (NCS)
• ETSI Emergency Telecommunications
• The current draft of the Parlay/ETSI specification can be found at Parlay/ETSI and at 3GPP.
• 3GPP's CN5
• 3GPP2: 3GPP2 has created OSA SWG within 3GPP2 TSG-N
• Sun's JAIN site
• Parlay
• ETSI TISPAN OSA Project
• IETF IEPREP activities and SIP Priority Header

An informal discussion group has been set up to promote information exchange, parlay_ets@mail.parlay.org. To subscribe, register at the Parlay ETS exploder page (Parlay Members only).

You can also contact John Wullert Telcordia, for more information.

About Telcordia.  Telcordia has been a leader and active participant in the Next Generation Network (NGN) industry fora such as JAIN and Parlay defining open Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) for NGN softswitches and other NGN elements.

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Last modified: 2-20-2007