The present document is part a TS-family covering the 3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Services and System Aspects; Telecommunication management, as identified below: Subscription Management (SuM) is a feature which will develop over a number of 3GPP releases. It is intended to permit Service Providers, Value Added Service Providers and Mobile Operators to provision services for a specific subscriber. The feature is necessary to allow Service Providers and Operators to provision, control, monitor and bill the configuration of services that they offer to their subscribers. SuM focuses on the OAM processes to manage subscription information. These correspond to the 'Fulfilment' Process areas of the TeleManagement Forum Telecom Operations Map [3]. Within the current version of the present document this is limited to a single operator's network. SuM is an area of service operation management that sets a complex challenge for Service Providers and Operators in their support of new or existing subscribers during their every day network operation. In 2G solutions the main repository of the subscription information is in the Home Locations Register (HLR). However the management and administration interfaces for controlling this information is proprietary to each vendor. The use of proprietary interfaces is inconvenient for those Operators using multiple vendors' equipment since their provisioning systems have to accommodate multiple proprietary interfaces, which perform essentially identical functions. Moreover, it makes it more difficult to generate customer self care applications that allow subscribers to provision, and amend subscription data. The 3G environment requires more complex service delivery mechanisms than in 2G and SuM is no longer simply an internal matter for a single operator but a capability that is achieved by linking together features across multiple Service Providers and Operators Operations Support Systems (OSS). Historically, the services provided by Operators have been defined within standards groups such as ETSI or 3GPP. With the advent of Open Services Access (OSA) being adopted by 3GPP the User Service Definitions will be replaced by Service Capabilities traded amongst Service Providers and Network Operators. This will allow Operators and Service Providers to define customized service environments that roam with users as they move amongst networks - this is the Virtual Home Environment (VHE) TR 22.121. This customized service environment means that subscription information is held in a number of locations including the Home Network, the Visited Network, the User Equipment, Application VASP Equipment (e.g. servers accessed by the subscriber for content and information based services) and the Operations Systems of the Service Providers, and Operators supporting the subscriber's service subscription. Service delivery and support across multiple vendors' solutions and organizations is a feature of other industries, and the solutions adopted are secure supply chain solutions based upon mainstream e-commerce principles, methods and technologies. Integration Reference Points (IRPs) are specified in separate TSs.

The present document defines the service requirements and high-level architecture for SuM, including Converged Management of fixed and mobile networks. SuM is expected evolve in stages over several releases of 3GPP specifications. The present document provides additional supporting material, which whilst not within the scope of this release, provides an insight towards the future evolution. This is in order that initial work may be done with an appreciation of the wider context expected in future releases of 3GPP specifications. SuM for 3GPP is primarily concerned with the ability to define subscription profiles and associate the profile with subscribers, users and services that are authorized by agreements. The subscription profile may be used in the process of configuring various network resources (access and core) to make the service a reality for the user. The management capabilities extend to the creation, modification, synchronization, and re application of subscription profiles. The present document is oriented towards a standardized interface into the Home Subscriber Server (HSS) in order that services can be provisioned and maintained. The present document includes information applicable to Network Operators, content providers, and terminal and network manufacturers. The present document contains the core requirements for SuM, which are sufficient to provide management services. The method by which applications subscribe to OSA is not within the scope of the present document.

The following documents contain provisions, which through reference in this text, constitute provisions of the present document.

• References are either specific (identified by date of publication, edition number, version number, etc.) or non-specific.
• For a specific reference, subsequent revisions do not apply.
• For a non-specific reference, the latest version applies. In the case of a reference to a 3GPP document (including a GSM document), a non-specific reference implicitly refers to the latest version of that document in the same Release as the present document.