In search of service engineering-The RACE experience

The RACE Programme, a major European effort to develop and implement advanced broadband communications called IBC (integrated broadband communications), is discussed. The concept of IBC denotes the integration of broadband data, audio, and image communications. It is suggested that the key problem is to master growing system complexity in order to deliver an integrated set of capabilities (services) for different types of users, regardless of the multitude of underlying network resources. The current RACE work in service engineering seeks to establish a sound technical basis for the support of future services. The nature and scope of RACE activities in service engineering are outlined