Access Provisioning Expert (APEX): a knowledge-based approach to `no order provisioning´ in the interexchange carrier market

Pacific Bell´s Access Provisioning Expert (APEX) is an embedded, knowledge-based system for automating trunk servicing decisions typically made by interexchange carriers for the access trunks they order from local exchange carriers. In addition to streamlining the access trunk provisioning process by automating or eliminating much of the inter- and intra-company communication associated with service order negotiation, APEX uses knowledge-based systems technology in a way that allows the local exchange company to assume responsibilities for network capacity administration that have traditionally been borne by the interexchange carrier. After a one-year trial, APEX has enabled a shorter provisioning interval, reduced labor costs, and increased network utilization for trunk groups managed by the system