Personal communication services-the new POTS

Personal communication service (PCS) is a concept of telephone network services and operation which, in its full implementation, dissociates the service offered to the subscriber from the physical location of the service and access technology over which the service is delivered, and divests responsibility for service configuration and location from the telecommunications company to the subscriber. In PCS, the subscriber service consists of a personal subscriber number with, optionally, a personal service profile for advanced calling features such as call waiting, call forwarding, and calling number delivery. Service delivery is a software operation which consists of associating the subscriber service to a particular port in the network. Service configuration and location are controlled by the subscriber. PCS is presented, its technical requirements are discussed, and its implications for revenue generation and operation modernization are outlined