DEVELOPMENTS IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS: WITH A FOCUS ON SS7 NETWORK RELIABILITY

In this book we summarize important developments in telecommunications with a focus on Signalling System No. 7 (SS 7) network reliability. But why is SS 7 network security and reliability so important? According to the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model the term “network” refers to the Layer 3 network service, which is offered by the Message Transfer Part (MTP) and Signalling Connection Control Part (SCCP) to higher layers. An SS 7 network outage results in a breakdown of signalling between the individual nodes of the network, so that telecommunication network services are no longer available to customers. Apart from the tremendous nancial damage to the network operator, the social consequences of such a network breakdown cannot be underestimated. Since the MTP is the central part of the SS 7 network, it is of crucial importance for network security and reliability. The MTP is published in different versions and should now be what we call “stable”. Is it really stable? Does it work properly in real networks?