Narus, AT&T team for IP billing

After drumming up interest at the Billing '99 show last month in Dallas, AT&T and Narus officially launched a group last week to develop an open standard for Internet usage-based billing.

The group's objective is to create a standard early so that the IP services providers do not fall prey to the same problems that telecom carriers faced while using proprietary systems.

An open standard is not about any one company, said Ori Cohen, chairman and CEO of Narus. "This is an open standard initiative - this is not a marketing campaign."

Twenty members have joined the group from the billing, software and computer industries, including Amdocs, Convergys, Hewlett-Packard, Portal Software and Sun Microsystems. Telestrategies, an IP billing and consulting firm, will coordinate the group.

The IP detail record standard will be an open format that stores data on Internet activity, allowing access from any service provider. Getting various companies to work together on a standard that everyone can use is important if the industry is to move forward, said Cohen.

With access prices falling and broadband access becoming prolific, billing for advanced services will be key in the IP market, said Greg Howard, principal analyst at The HTRC Group. "In order to offer advanced services, billing is essential, and most service providers are not prepared."

IP detail record will use technology based on the extendable markup language standard, which allows enhancement as needs change.

The group will meet for the first time this week and plans to have the standard completed by the end of the year. Creating a standard in such a short period may be optimistic, considering the time it takes to get most standards passed, Howard said.