Implementing Context Aware Services in a Telecom SOA Infrastructure

As telecom carriers migrate their networks to a common IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) based infrastructure, they face a challenge of providing services to their customers based on the current need or situation of the customer. We have seen how Web 2.0 allows a user to build situational applications or mashups. We have used the concept of context to provide a framework to service providers for providing such services. Context can be defined with attributes such as presence and location. A SOA based services infrastructure would help Telecom service providers to use context in providing composite services to their customers. This paper focuses on how to use context in defining call flows within a telecom services infrastructure. We assume a next generation network (NGN) infrastructure for the telecom services provider, which would ensure a common IP backbone for all services. Based on our industry implementations, we will describe a generic call flow for one of the context attributes.