|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
Your advert here!!! Technical Editors:
Last modified: |
What is CAMEL?CAMEL stands for
Customised Applications for Mobile network Enhanced Logic. Created by ETSI
(European Telecommunications Standards Institute), CAMEL is a means of adding
intelligent applications to mobile (rather than fixed) networks. It builds upon
established practices in the fixed line telephony business which are generally
classed under the heading of INAP (Intelligent Network Application Part). A
major rival to CAMEL is WIN (Wireless Intelligent Networks) - a set of
specifications developed through bodies such as the UWCC (Universal Wireless
Communications Consortium). WIN is aimed at ANSI-41 compatible networks based on
the TDMA or CDMA air interfaces rather than for GSM style networks. It is generally recognised that the world's first commercial implementation of CAMEL (a phase 1 solution) was rolled out in August 2000 by France Telecom Mobiles (France), Mobistar (Belgium) and Dutchtone (The Netherlands). The essential element of any CAMEL solution is a Service Control Point (SCP). This unit effectively hosts a database which holds the instructions needed for an intelligent application. When a subscriber starts to make a call, this request is received by the network's Mobile Switching Centre (MSC). The MSC then sends a message that 'queries' the SCP's database. The SCP processes that query, comes up with an appropriate response and then sends a message back to the MSC telling what action it should take with the subscriber’s request for a specific service. The call is then connected in the most appropriate manner, a process which is transparent to the customer. A very good example of this process in action is short code dialling over a VPN (Virtual Private Network) where the user calls a colleague’s internal extension telephone number but is, in fact, routed to that person’s mobile phone which is roaming abroad. The main addition in CAMEL phase 2 which phase 1 omitted is support for a Specialised Resource Function (SRF) a component most often found in Voice Response Units (VRUs). For example, when an account balance reaches zero for a pre-paid customer under phase 1, the customer will simply be cut off. With phase 2 thanks to support for SRF, the customer will hear automatically generated messages from the Voice Response Unit warning that the balance is dangerously low before a call and even during the call. Naturally this leads to greater customer satisfaction.
|
|
