Southwestern Bell

About: Southwestern Bell is a based out in . It is known for research contribution in the topics: Telephony & Telephone network. The organization has 69 authors who have published 53 publications receiving 1414 citations. The organization is also known as: SBC Communications & Southwestern Bell Corporation.

Method and system for processing a service request relating to installation, maintenance or repair of telecommunications services provided to a customer premises

Abstract: An integrated system and method is provided for processing a service request for installation, maintenance or repair of a local loop maintained by a telecommunications company and providing locally switched service to a customer premise. The system includes a computer network that allows for inputting and processing customer information; generating a service request based upon customer information and information associated with the local loop; assigning to the service request an available appointment time for providing the requested service based upon updated information indicating the availability of qualified outside technicians; dispatching an available technician to the customer premise at or before the assigned appointment time to install or repair outside facilities associated with the local loop or to install or replace a special line conditioning termination equipment at a network interface for the customer premise when loop loss associated with the local loop is not maintained at an acceptable level for the locally switched service, processing completion information input by the technician associated with tasks performed to establish working service, including information indicating whether the special line conditioning termination equipment was installed or replaced; completing the service request once working service is established; storing computer information relating to locally switched services including information indicating whether line conditioning termination equipment is installed at the customer premise; and creating or updating the computer information stored in the computer memory means based upon information associated with the completed service request.

Apparatus and method for facilitating service management of communications services in a communications network

Abstract: A service management system for a communications network which accepts requests for communications services from service order sources. The service management system includes an interface to the service order sources, a database, and an interface to network elements which provide the communications services. The service order sources may have differing order input formats which are converted by the system into a single internal format for processing and determining of provisioning information to be output to the network elements. The service management system includes table-driven logic which is used to validate and process the requests to determine the provisioning information. Once the provisioning information is determined, it is queued to the appropriate network element, and an acknowledgment is sent to the originating service order source. The service management system also includes a interface to query the database and network elements to perform debugging and error correction.

Digital subscriber line induction neutralizing transformer network

Abstract: A digital subscriber line (DSL) induction-neutralizing transformer (INT) ( 28 ) for use in a DSL INT network ( 10 ) is provided. The DSL INT ( 28 ) includes a core ( 72 ) and a coil ( 74 ) that is electrically coupled to and wound around the core ( 72 ). The coil ( 74 ) includes approximately 100-200 feet of approximately 24-gauge wire. The core ( 72 ) and coil ( 74 ) add longitudinal inductance to a telecommunication line and reduce induced voltage levels at a non-digital subscriber line frequency on the telecommunication line. The DSL INT network ( 10 ), containing at least one DSL INT ( 28 ), and a method of routing DSL communication signals within the DSL INT network ( 10 ), are also provided.

Method and apparatus for the billing of value-added communication calls

Abstract: New use of the existing PSTN for capturing data to charge enhanced service provider (ESP) fees on phone bills of numbers terminating calls originated by dialing seven digit 555 numbers. The local exchange performs the digit analysis and translation before routing the call to an ESP. The Local Exchange Carrier translates a caller-dialed 7-digit 555 number into a ten-digit phantom number and then passes the call to the appropriate carrier assigned the ten-digit routing plan. The translation function is performed as a look-up in an appropriate database such as the Service Management System (SMS). Heretofore, the SMS was used for ten-digit 800-number translation and was not available to ESP. This novel use of PSTN facilities enables the system to provide caller dialed number and billing information on a real-time basis (during call processing). It is based on signaling the billing and caller dialed number information in the voice channel (In-Band Signaling) during the setup of calls to connecting carriers. The ESPs receive the circuit "off-hook" signal (seizure), receive two fields of Multi-Frequency Tones, then process the information to collect and validate the billing information needed to deny the call or to accept it. If the ESP accepts the call, the caller dialed information is processed to bill the subscriber for access to the particular service the caller selected. Using the available network signaling circuits that exist between the Local Exchange Carriers and the toll carriers in a manner similar to 800 call processing allows the billing information to remain intact through-out the hand-off from the carriers to the ESP.

A Comparison Between Bottom–Up, Top–Down, and Bidirectional Models of Relationships Between Global and Life Facet Satisfaction

Abstract: We compared “bottom-up,”“top-down,” and “bidirectional” models of relationships between global and life facet satisfactions in a sample of university professors A bottom-up model proposed that specific life facet satisfactions determine satisfaction with life in general A top-down model proposed that global life satisfaction determines satisfaction in specific life domains A bidirectional model proposed reciprocal influences between global and life facet satisfaction We used LISREL-VI to contrast these models and, overall, the bidirectional model received strongest support However, direction of relations between global and life facet satisfaction varied across life domains We suggest that differences in domain scope, criticality, and centrality may determine the direction of the relationship between overall and life facet satisfaction