The telecommunications scene is changing rapidly as the global information society comes closer. Modern broadband networks make it feasible to interconnect distributed systems on a worldwide basis. But to realize a global information infrastructure that uses the capabilites of broadband interconnection to the full, cooperative telecommunications service management needs particular attention.
This monograph is the final report of the European RACE II Research Project PREPARE, devoted to designing and implementing prototype telecommunications management systems over real testbeds. The excellent results presented are a major contribution to advancing the state of the art in the field and have been widely acknowledged by standards bodies, manufacturers, operators, service providers, and academics.