Reseachers developing software to link disparate networks

A core group of Bell Labs researchers have been experimenting for about four years with ways to get disparate networks talking. Recently, they disclosed a wireless software application developed as a result of that research.

Bell Labs, Lucent Technologies’(www.lucent.com) research and development group, has dubbed the software Common Operations, COPS for short. COPS is designed to bridge the communication gap between wireless networks and make roaming among them possible.

“There’s always a challenge getting different networks to talk to each other,” said Tom LaPorta, Bell Labs director of mobile networking research. “Each network has its own types of message, its own sequence of messages that have to come in for something to happen and its own parameters.” For instance, a telephone number may be different in two divergent networks.

LaPorta said the researchers recognized the wireless world as the perfect place to put their research findings to work. As carriers migrate from 2G to 3G, network technologies will abound. Then there are the different network standards and the emerging need to link mobile networks with the Internet.

“There’s always been a need for different networks to interwork,” LaPorta said. “But with the wireless network, now there’s actually a critical need, and our technology has reached a mature enough state where we think we can apply it to solve this problem.”

One of the problems is the typical disparity between home and roaming services, particularly with international roaming.

“COPS allows the networks to talk to each other directly,” LaPorta said. “Therefore, any services that you have on the one network will be available when you roam on the next network, which solves a lot of the interoperability problems.”

COPS is still in development. According to LaPorta, Lucent plans to release it for the 3G market.

Jack Kozick, Lucent director of enhanced services architecture, mobility solutions group, said some of the initial UMTS software based on the new technology will be available within a year.