Teleaction services: standards and architectures

The article provides a review of the standards and architectures that can be used to implement teleaction services. Although they are already penetrating the market and are recognized as having substantial potential for growth, the work on standardization of these services is not complete. The article analyzes the variety of implementation architectures and standards that may be deployed; illustrates the cost benefits that can be achieved by deploying new technologies; and guides the standardization process by identifying the critical areas where standards will have maximum impact on business development. Drawing an architectural framework for the provision of teleaction services, the authors identify the generic capabilities for the support of teleaction services and analyze the main architectural implementations for teleaction services. Several types of networks based on existing technology are reviewed. ISDN-based implementations and their associated standards are described, and aspects such as protocols, interconnection of networks, and migration from current arrangements to ISDN implementations are analyzed. Quality of service (QOS) is of central importance. Requirements for QOS are reviewed mainly by reviewing some of the European standards. The significant progress in standardization of home systems is considered and a review of the major products and technical trends in home systems and their use as customer premises equipment for teleaction services is then presented. Finally, the authors review a system under development in Denmark and draw some conclusions.<>