Em NGN (Next Generation Networks), os usuários podem se conectar em diferentes tecnologias de rede e desejam, além de uma comunicação transparente, novos serviços personalizados. Neste sentido, este trabalho explora informações de contexto em NGN. O principal objetivo é capturar as informações de contexto envolvidas no momento da utilização da rede sem fio, na escolha do novo ponto de acesso e no procedimento do handover. Este contexto capturado é aplicado para serviços cientes de contexto. A proposta é validada por meio de dois cenários, o primeiro é um mashup que exibe as redes sem fio disponíveis de um determinado local e o segundo um protótipo gerenciador de conexões para atender as preferências do usuário. Adicionalmente, são realizadas duas avaliações do impacto do uso de contexto em handovers. Para tanto, foi implantado um testbed NGN com o protocolo Mobile IP / In the NGN (Next Generation Networks) users can connect their Internet devices to different network technologies. In addition to a seamless communication, users desire new and personalized services. In this sense, this thesis exploits the context-aware information in NGN environments. The main propose is to capture the context information about the time involved by the use of wireless link for selecting the target access point and on the handover procedure. This context information is applied to the context-aware services. The propose is validated through two scenarios: the first is a mashup that shows the availability of wireless networks in a particular location, and the second is a prototype of a connection manager to attend user´s preferences. In addition, two evaluations are accomplished on the impact by the use of context information over handovers. Thus, an NGN testbed is deployed with Mobile IP protocol

Em NGN (Next Generation Networks), os usuários podem se conectar em diferentes tecnologias de rede e desejam, além de uma comunicação transparente, novos serviços personalizados. Neste sentido, este trabalho explora informações de contexto em NGN. O principal objetivo é capturar as informações de contexto envolvidas no momento da utilização da rede sem fio, na escolha do novo ponto de acesso e no procedimento do handover. Este contexto capturado é aplicado para serviços cientes de contexto. A proposta é validada por meio de dois cenários, o primeiro é um mashup que exibe as redes sem fio disponíveis de um determinado local e o segundo um protótipo gerenciador de conexões para atender as preferências do usuário. Adicionalmente, são realizadas duas avaliações do impacto do uso de contexto em handovers. Para tanto, foi implantado um testbed NGN com o protocolo Mobile IP / In the NGN (Next Generation Networks) users can connect their Internet devices to different network technologies. In addition to a seamless communication, users desire new and personalized services. In this sense, this thesis exploits the context-aware information in NGN environments. The main propose is to capture the context information about the time involved by the use of wireless link for selecting the target access point and on the handover procedure. This context information is applied to the context-aware services. The propose is validated through two scenarios: the first is a mashup that shows the availability of wireless networks in a particular location, and the second is a prototype of a connection manager to attend user´s preferences. In addition, two evaluations are accomplished on the impact by the use of context information over handovers. Thus, an NGN testbed is deployed with Mobile IP protocol

Atualmente tem crescido o uso de aparelhos móveis com mais de uma interface de rede para o acesso à Internet, caracterizando em parte as Redes de Próxima Geração (NGN). Outras características da NGN são o acesso sob demanda, no qual o cliente de acesso não seria, necessariamente, usuário de um único provedor e usaria a rede de outros provedores conforme a necessidade, e o gerenciamento de handover (trocas de rede) centrado no usuário, no qual o usuário é quem decide à qual rede vai se conectar e em que momento. Existem algumas implicações relacionadas ao acesso sob demanda que podem melhorar ou piorar a experiência de acesso do usuário e causar certos impactos relacionados à vazão recebida, valor gasto, número de handovers, entre outros. Para o dispositivo móvel gerenciar os handovers, ele precisa obter informações sobre as redes disponíveis como, por exemplo, preço e incentivos, além das informações já obtidas atualmente como força do sinal recebido e identificador do provedor (SSID). Porém, os provedores não possuem um sistema automatizado para fornecer tais informações aos dispositivos móveis. Esta tese apresenta uma avaliação dos impactos das trocas dinâmicas entre provedores Wi-Fi para o usuário móvel, comparando o acesso sob demanda com o acesso tradicional (como é feito atualmente). Como metodologia para esta avaliação, foram realizadas simulações de redes em um cenário com provedores Wi-Fi com perfis diferentes, nas quais foram analisados o número de handovers realizados, a quantidade de bytes recebidos e o valor gasto com o acesso. Nestas simulações o usuário pôde priorizar o custo da conexão, a força do sinal recebido e a carga de trabalho no ponto de acesso para decidir a troca de rede. Esta tese também apresenta uma arquitetura para provimento de informações adicionais sobre as redes disponíveis em um ambiente de acesso sob demanda com gerenciamento de handover centrado no usuário, chamada MYHand (MIH-based and Y-Comm-based Handover Management). Para isso foi utilizada a arquitetura para acesso sob demanda chamada Y-Comm e o padrão IEEE 802.21 (MIH Media Independent Handover). Os resultados desta tese contribuem no gerenciamento das trocas de rede e ubiquidade do acesso à Internet em NGN. A arquitetura MYHand auxiliará o dispositivo móvel a obter mais informações necessárias à decisão de handover, podendo otimizá-la. Com os resultados das simulações, o dispositivo móvel poderá prever o quanto determinada decisão poderá beneficiar a experiência do usuário em termos de qualidade da conexão e custo / Currently, the usage of mobile devices with multiple network interfaces for Internet access has been growing, characterizing partially the Next Generation Networks (NGN). Other features of the NGN are access on demand, in which the customer is not, necessarily, user of a single provider and would use the network of other providers as needed, and the user-centric handover management, in which the user decides which network to connect to and at which time. There are some implications related to access on demand which can improve or worsen the user access experience and cause some impacts related to throughput, paid value, number of handovers, among others. The mobile can manage the handovers but he needs to obtain information about available networks as, for example, price and incentives, in addition to the information already obtained currently as received signal strength and provider identifier (SSID). However, providers do not have an automated system to provide such information to mobile devices. This thesis presents an evaluation of the impacts of dynamic switching between Wi-Fi providers for the mobile user, comparing access on demand to the traditional approach (as currently done). As methodology for this evaluation, simulations were performed in a scenario with Wi-Fi providers with different profiles, in which the number of handovers performed, the amount of received bytes, and the paid value were analyzed. In these simulations the mobile user could prioritize the cost of the connection, the received signal strength, and the load on the access point to decide the handover. This thesis also presents an architecture for additional information provisioning about available networks in an access on demand environment with user-centric handover management, called MYHand (MIH-based and Y-Comm-based Handover Management). For this purpose, an architecture for access on demand called Y-Comm and the IEEE 802.21 standard (MIH Media Independent Handover) were used. The results of this thesis contribute to the handover management and ubiquity of Internet access in NGN. The MYHand architecture will assist the mobile device to obtain more information, necessary to the handover decision, optimizing it. With the results of the simulations, the mobile device can predict how much a particular decision may benefit the user experience in terms of connection quality and cost

Network (NGN) technology which enables telecommunication operators to provide multimedia services over fixed and mobile networks. All of the IMS infrastructure protocols work over IP which makes IMS easy to deploy on a cloud platform. The purpose of this thesis is to analysis a novel technique of “cloudifying” the OpenIMS core infrastructure. The primary goal of running OpenIMS in the cloud is to enable a highly available and horizontally scalable Home Subscriber Server (HSS). The resulting database should offer high availability, and high scalability. The prototype developed in this thesis project demonstrates a virtualized OpenIMS core with an integrated horizontal scalable HSS. Functional and performance measurements of the system under test (i.e. the virtualized OpenIMS core with horizontally scalable HSS) were conducted. The results of this testing include an analysis of benchmarking scenarios, the CPU utilization, and the available memory of the virtual machines. Based on these results we conclude that it is both feasible and desirable to deploy the OpenIMS core in a cloud. / IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) ramverk är ett Next Generation Network (NGN) teknik som möjliggör teleoperatörer att erbjuda multimediatjänster via fasta och mobila nät. Alla IMS infrastruktur protokollen fungera över IP som gör IMS lätt att distribuera på ett moln plattform. Syftet med denna uppsats är att analysera en ny teknik för “cloudifying” den OpenIMS kärninfrastrukturen.  Det primära målet med att köra OpenIMS i molnet är att möjliggöra en hög tillgänglighet och horisontellt skalbara Server Home Subscriber (HSS). Den resulterande databasen bör erbjuda hög tillgänglighet och hög skalbarhet. Prototypen utvecklas i detta examensarbete visar en virtualiserad OpenIMS kärna med en integrerad horisontell skalbar HSS. Funktionella och prestanda mätningar av systemet under test (dvs. virtualiserade OpenIMS kärnan med horisontellt skalbara HSS) genomfördes. Resultaten av detta test inkluderar en analys av benchmarking scenarier, CPU-användning, och tillgängligt minne för de virtuella maskinerna. Baserat på dessa resultat drar vi slutsatsen att det är både möjligt och önskvärt att distribuera OpenIMS kärnan i ett moln.

Le monde de la TV est en cours de transformation de la télévision analogique à la télévision numérique, qui est capable de diffuser du contenu de haute qualité, offrir aux consommateurs davantage de choix, et rendre l'expérience de visualisation plus interactive. IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) présente une révolution dans la télévision numérique dans lequel les services de télévision numérique sont fournis aux utilisateurs en utilisant le protocole Internet (IP) au dessus d’une connexion haut débit. Les progrès de la technologie IPTV permettra donc un nouveau modèle de fourniture de services. Les fonctions offertes aux utilisateurs leur permettent de plus en plus d’autonomie et de plus en plus de choix. Il en est notamment ainsi de services de type ‘nTS’ (pour ‘network Time Shifting’ en anglais) qui permettent à un utilisateur de visionner un programme de télévision en décalage par rapport à sa programmation de diffusion, ou encore des services de type ‘nPVR’ (pour ‘network Personal Video Recorder’ en anglais) qui permettent d’enregistrer au niveau du réseau un contenu numérique pour un utilisateur. D'autre part, l'architecture IMS proposée dans NGN fournit une architecture commune pour les services IPTV. Malgré les progrès rapides de la technologie de télévision interactive (comprenant notamment les technologies IPTV et NGN), la personnalisation de services IPTV en est encore à ses débuts. De nos jours, la personnalisation des services IPTV se limite principalement à la recommandation de contenus et à la publicité ciblée. Ces services ne sont donc pas complètement centrés sur l’utilisateur, alors que choisir manuellement les canaux de diffusion et les publicités désirées peut représenter une gêne pour l’utilisateur. L’adaptation des contenus numériques en fonction de la capacité des réseaux et des dispositifs utilisés n’est pas encore prise en compte dans les implémentations actuelles. Avec le développement des technologies numériques, les utilisateurs sont amenés à regarder la télévision non seulement sur des postes de télévision, mais également sur des smart phones, des tablettes digitales, ou encore des PCs. En conséquence, personnaliser les contenus IPTV en fonction de l’appareil utilisé pour regarder la télévision, en fonction des capacités du réseau et du contexte de l’utilisateur représente un défi important. Cette thèse présente des solutions visant à améliorer la personnalisation de services IPTV à partir de trois aspects: 1) Nouvelle identification et authentification pour services IPTV. 2) Nouvelle architecture IPTV intégrée et comportant un système de sensibilité au contexte pour le service de personnalisation. 3) Nouveau service de recommandation de contenu en fonction des préférences de l’utilisateur et aussi des informations contextes / Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) delivers television content to users over IP-based network. Different from the traditional TV services, IPTV platforms provide users with large amount of multimedia contents with interactive and personalized services, including the targeted advertisement, on-demand content, personal video recorder, and so on. IPTV is promising since it allows to satisfy users experience and presents advanced entertainment services. On the other hand, the Next Generation Network (NGN) approach in allowing services convergence (through for instance coupling IPTV with the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) architecture or NGN Non-IMS architecture) enhances users’ experience and allows for more services personalization. Although the rapid advancement in interactive TV technology (including IPTV and NGN technologies), services personalization is still in its infancy, lacking the real distinguish of each user in a unique manner, the consideration of the context of the user (who is this user, what is his preferences, his regional area, location, ..) and his environment (characteristics of the users’ devices ‘screen types, size, supported resolution, ‘‘ and networks available network types to be used by the user, available bandwidth, ..’) as well as the context of the service itself (content type and description, available format ‘HD/SD’, available language, ..) in order to provide the adequate personalized content for each user. This advanced IPTV services allows services providers to promote new services and open new business opportunities and allows network operators to make better utilization of network resources through adapting the delivered content according to the available bandwidth and to better meet the QoE (Quality of Experience) of clients. This thesis focuses on enhanced personalization for IPTV services following a user-centric context-aware approach through providing solutions for: i) Users’ identification during IPTV service access through a unique and fine-grained manner (different from the identification of the subscription which is the usual current case) based on employing a personal identifier for each user which is a part of the user context information. ii) Context-Aware IPTV service through proposing a context-aware system on top of the IPTV architecture for gathering in a dynamic and real-time manner the different context information related to the user, devices, network and service. The context information is gathered throughout the whole IPTV delivery chain considering the user domain, network provider domain, and service/content provider domain. The proposed context-aware system allows monitoring user’s environment (devices and networks status), interpreting user’s requirements and making the user’s interaction with the TV system dynamic and transparent. iii) Personalized recommendation and selection of IPTV content based on the different context information gathered and the personalization decision taken by the context-aware system (different from the current recommendation approach mainly based on matching content to users’ preferences) which in turn highly improves the users’ Quality of Experience (QoE) and enriching the offers of IPTV services

Student Number : 9812990V - MSc project report - School of Electrical Engineering - Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment / The NGN is a multi-service network which inter-works with the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), the voice network and the data network provided by Internet. Through network independent APIs such as OSA-Parlay, the NGN slowly migrates and converges Telecoms and IT networks, voice and Internet, into a common packet infrastructure. The OSA/Parlay group defines a softswitch architecture which provides network independent APIs or SCFs that enable cross network application development The Parlay softswitch provides connectivity to underlying transport networks for application providers. The standard specifies the interaction between application providers and the softswitch. However, the standard does not specify an interface to regulate the interaction between service providers and the consumer/end user domain. This means that applications housed in the service provider domain have no defined interfaces to manage service delivery to the consumer domain. For most service providers, the lack of a non-standardized API set impedes efforts to decrease application creation and deployment time. This research investigates the design and implementation of a standard consumer interface which can be used by application providers within an OSA/Parlay system to deliver service content to end users. The main objectives with regard to the functionality provided by the interface include the integration of facilities which will assist application providers to manage end user access and authentication (to enable users to establish a secure context for service usage), subscription (to handle the subscription life cycle), and service usage management (to enable the initiation and termination of services). The TINA-Consortium (TINA-C) has developed a service architecture to support the creation and provisioning of services in the NGN. The TINA architecture offers a comprehensive set of concepts and principles that can be used in the design of NGN services. The architecture consists of a set of reusable and interoperable service components encapsulating a rich and well defined set of APIs aimed at supporting the interaction between application providers and consumers. TINA’s session concepts, information structures, interfaces and service components can be used to support the design of a consumer premises end user interface for OSA/Parlay. This research also aims to explore the feasibility of using the TINA API within an OSA/Parlay system to support consumer domain service delivery. In order to implement the consumer interface for Parlay applications, the ability of the TINA service architecture to provide Access and Authentication management; Subscription and Profile management; and Service Usage management was investigated. The report documents the design and implementation of an OSA/Parlay consumer interface utilizing TINA service components and interfaces.

Το αντικείμενο αυτής της διπλωματικής εργασίας είναι η μελέτη της δομής υπηρεσιών πάνω στα 0ίκτυα Επόμενης Γενιάς (Next Generation Networks, NGN). Συγκεκριμένα, περιγράφεται η αρχιτεκτονική IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) πάνω στην οποία βασίζεται η δομή των 0ικτύων Επόμενης Γενιάς. Στα πλαίσια της παρούσας διπλωματικής εργασίας γίνεται αρχικά μια σύντομη αναφορά στο ιστορικό δημιουργίας του IMS, ενώ στην συνέχεια γίνεται μια εκτεταμένη περιγραφή του μοντέλου και του τρόπου λειτουργίας του IMS. Συγκεκριμένα, αναλύονται οι οντότητες και τα σημεία αναφοράς από τα οποία αποτελείται το IMS καθώς και τα πρωτόκολλα που χρησιμοποιεί. Στη συνέχεια γίνεται μία αναφορά στην ασφάλεια του IMS, όπου αναφέρονται πιθανοί κίνδυνοι και απειλές για το IMS καθώς και τρόποι αντιμετώπισής τους. Έπειτα, παρουσιάζονται και περιγράφονται αναλυτικά οι υπηρεσίες που μπορεί να προσφέρει το IMS στα πλαίσια των 0ικτύων Επόμενης Γενιάς. Τέλος, γίνεται παρουσίαση ενός παραδείγματος εφαρμογής της υπηρεσίας VoIP πάνω από την IMS αρχιτεκτονική. Για την υλοποίηση αυτού του παραδείγματος χρησιμοποιήθηκε το πρόγραμμα προσομοίωσης OPNET 10.0, ενώ συλλέχθηκαν αποτελέσματα σχετικά με τη συμπεριφορά του πρωτοκόλλου SIP και της υπηρεσίας VoIP σε IMS περιβάλλον. / The objective of this diploma thesis is the study of the service structure of Next Generation Networks (NGN). Especially, the IMS architecture (IP Multimedia Subsystem) is being described, which the NGN structure is based on. Initially, there is a quick reference to the history of the development of IMS, and continually an extensive description is being made about the model and the functional mode of IMS. Next, security aspects of IMS are being described, and continually there is a presentation about the services that IMS offers. Finally, an example is being presented regarding the application of VoIP service using the IMS architecture. For the configuration of this example, the simulation program OPNET 10.0 was used, while results were collected regarding the behavior of SIP protocol and VoIP service in the IMS environment.

Aujourd'hui, le marché des services est devenu de plus en plus concurrentiel. Les exigences des clients pour des offres de service en adéquation avec leurs usages et leurs préférences conduisent les fournisseurs à proposer de nouveaux services qui répondent à ce nouveau besoin pour se démarquer des concurrents et attirer de nouveaux clients. Avec la convergence des réseaux et celle des services de nouvelle génération (NGN/NGS), de nouveaux services sont apparus. Les utilisateurs sont nomades et veulent utiliser leurs services de différentes manières n'importe où, n'importe quand et par n'importe quel type de terminal, et cela avec une continuité de service et une qualité de service de bout en bout. Ainsi, fournir des services personnalisés aux clients dans un environnement hétérogène et mobile devient un challenge pour les opérateurs et les fournisseurs de service pour améliorer le retour sur investissement (ROI) et le délai de mise sur le marché (TTM). Nos réflexions à propos de la fourniture des services personnalisés selon les besoins fonctionnels et non-fonctionnels (QoS) des usagers, nous ont conduits à identifier les besoins du nouveau contexte NGN/NGS défini par l'intersection de ces trois éléments "user-centric, mobilité et QoS". Comment piloter dynamiquement la QoS de bout en bout pour une session unique "user-centric"? Comment assurer le " service Delivery" dans un contexte de mobilité et d'ubiquité? Ces nouveaux besoins, nous ont motivé à proposer des solutions à travers trois contributions principales qui prennent en considération la vision utilisateur et opérateur. Notre première contribution porte sur le modèle organisationnel. Nous proposons une nouvelle organisation avec un maximum de flexibilité, d'adaptabilité et d'autogestion, qui permet de piloter la QoS à chaque niveau de l'architecture (équipement, réseau et service). Dans cette organisation nous avons défini des acteurs et le rôle que joue chacun d'eux par rapport à la prise de décision au cours de la session de l'utilisateur, et cela pour maintenir la QoS de bout en bout dans un environnement qui est totalement hétérogène et mobile.Notre deuxième contribution traite du composant de service autonomique. Avec la complexité de la personnalisation des services dans un contexte hétérogène et mobile et le besoin de satisfaire la QoS de bout en bout, les ressources services doivent être prises en compte au même titre que les ressources réseaux. Donc, un degré élevé d'autosuffisance, d'autogestion et d'automatisation est demandé dans la ressource service (composant de service) pour améliorer le service delivery. Pour cela, nous proposons un composant de service autonomique "ASC: Autonomic Service Component" basé sur un agent de QoS intégré qui s'autocontrôle et s'autogère pour adapter dynamiquement ses ressources en réponse à un changement de situations au cours de la session de l'utilisateur. Notre troisième proposition couvre le modèle protocolaire. La session de services personnalisés nécessite des interactions plus flexibles au niveau service pour avoir une session unique avec une continuité de service. Nous proposons un protocole de signalisation SIP+ qui permet la négociation de la QOS des services personnalisés dès la phase d'initialisation de la session et de la renégociation de la QoS pendant l'usage, pour maintenir le service avec la QoS requise à travers une session unique.De façon plus concrète, nous présentons nos expérimentations à travers un scenario et une plate-forme de démonstration qui nous permet de tester la faisabilité et la performance de nos contributions. Les apports et les perspectives de cette thèse sont consignés en conclusion.

Το αντικείμενο της παρούσας διπλωματικής εργασίας είναι η μελέτη της αρχιτεκτονικής των Δικτύων Νέας Γενιάς (Next Generation Networks-NGN) με εστίαση στους μηχανισμούς του Επιπέδου Μετάδοσης και τις Λειτουργίες Τελικού Χρήστη. Συγκεκριμένα, περιγράφεται η αρχιτεκτονική IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) με τις αντίστοιχες λειτουργικές συνιστώσες και διεπαφές, ενώ στη συνέχεια παρατίθενται τα βήματα μετάβασης προς δίκτυα και προσβάσεις νέας γενιάς επιλεγμένων μεγάλων τηλεπικοινωνιακών Οργανισμών. Ακολούθως, γίνεται μια συνοπτική αναφορά στις λειτουργίες του επιπέδου μετάδοσης, ελέγχου μεταφοράς και διαχείρισης δικτύου και στη συνέχεια περιγράφεται λεπτομερώς η λειτουργική αρχιτεκτονική των κύριων λειτουργικών οντοτήτων του επιπέδου μετάδοσης (λειτουργίες ελέγχου προσάρτησης δικτύου-NACF, λειτουργίες ελέγχου διαχείρισης φορητότητας-MMCF, λειτουργίες ελέγχου πόρων –RACF, λειτουργίες μετάδοσης κορμού) και τα μοντέλα πληροφόρησης (ένδειξη δέσμευσης, πληροφορία απόκρισης πόρων μετάδοσης κ.α.) των επιμέρους στοιχείων των προαναφερθέντων δομικών οντοτήτων. Σε κάθε δομικό μοντέλο πληροφόρησης υπάρχει αναλυτική παρουσίαση των σημείων αναφοράς και ροών πληροφορίας που εμπλέκονται στη διαχείριση και έλεγχο φορητότητας, προσάρτησης δικτύου, διεργασίας μετάδοσης κορμού και πρόσβασης, αντιστοίχως. Στη συνέχεια, αναλύονται οι λειτουργίες τελικού χρήστη με ειδικότερη αναφορά στις λειτουργίες πύλης δικτύου (CPN) με τα επιμέρους λειτουργικά στοιχεία της, και τα δίκτυα που θα αποτελέσουν τον κορμό πάνω στον οποίο θα στηριχθεί η υλοποίηση της πρόσβασης των δικτύων νέας γενιάς. Πιο συγκεκριμένα, περιγράφονται οι τεχνολογίες πρόσβασης DSL (ADSL, ADSL2 και VDSL2) με τους υποκείμενους περιορισμούς του ρυθμού μετάδοσης (διαφωνία, εξασθένηση), Ethernet (EPON, P2P πάνω από χαλκό και οπτική ίνα), και PON (διασύνδεση P2MP με οπτικό διαμεριστή οπτικής ισχύος, GPON). Τέλος, αναλύονται οι καλωδιακές υποδομές που απαιτούνται για την ανάπτυξη των προσβάσεων νέας γενιάς (εύρος, διάρθρωση, πυκνότητα οπτικών ινών). / The theme of this particular thesis is the study of the Next Generation Networks –NGN architecture focusing on the functionalities of the Transport Stratum and the End User Functions. Specifically, it is described the IMS architecture (IP Multimedia Subsystem) and the related functional components, and then, it is listed the transition steps towards the next generation networks and access of selected Telecommunications Providers. Following, it is briefly outlined the functionalities of transport level, transport control and network management, as well, and subsequently, the functional architecture of the main entities of transport level (network attachment control functions –NACF, Mobility Management and Control Functions- MMCF, Resource and Admission Control Functions- RACF, Transport processing entities) and the information models (event registration reply, resource selection information reply etc) of the aforementioned functional components are being described, in detail. Each structural component is analytically presented with its reference points and information flows that are involved in the management as well as the control of mobility, network admission, transport core and access processing, respectively. Additionally, the end user functions are described, giving weighted reference to the customer premises gateway functions (CGF) and their individual entities, and the networks that will compose the core upon which the implementation of next generation access will be established. That is, different access types are presented such as DSL network (ADSL, ADSL2, VDSL2) with its transfer rate restrictions (i.e. attenuation), Ethernet network (EPON, P2P over copper and optical fiber) and PON (P2MP interconnection using optical power splitter ,GPON). Finally, it is analyzed the cable infrastructure needed for the development of the new generation access (optical fiber rate, structure, density).

This research presents an analysis of the European Telecommunication strategic environment with particular focus on the three macro-changes which have been influencing the recent history of such industry. These are, first of all, the shift from a government-controlled market to a privatized market. Second, the introduction of price limitations - called Eurotariff - which are supposed to regulate the mobile traffic throughout Europe. Finally, the constant growth of data and internet traffic demand, compared to the voice traffic demand, mainly due to the success of OTTs (Over-the-Tops) and the introduction of NGN (Next-Generation Network) applications and software. Such changes have increased the competition in an industry which was organized in monopolies and are forcing the companies to change, following the different customers' needs. Throughout the essay, a case study about Telefónica has been developed: after a presentation of the company and of Telefónica's deregulation process, the consequences of the environment analysis will be defined and, finally, some strategic actions will be proposed in order to adapt to the new strategic environment. The methodology which has been followed consists in a research on the models existing in literature designed to analyze the strategic environment. The best ones have been used and applied to the real case, involving Telefónica: the findings obtained have then been considered the basis to define the strategic actions. The purpose of the paper is twofold: first of all to offer an understanding of the telecommunications business with a particular focus on the Eurotariff, OTTs and NGN phenomena; second to show how a strategic environment can be effectively studied, focusing on the changes that characterize the industry, and how the consequences can be deduced. The information coming from this type of studies is very important for a company to understand what to change in order to adapt to a new context and achieve better performances.