1ST STEP TOWARD CARRIER-COMMON COMPUTER PROCUREMENT SPECIFICATIONS - NM FORUM ANNOUNCES SPIRIT ISSUE-1.0

Since NTT Introduced Multivendor Integration Architecture (MIA) Versio n 1 in January 1991 as a step toward developing specifications providi ng a common basis for general-purpose computer procurement, vendors ha ve begun to come up with their own MIA product implementations. NTT ha ve also begun developing applications based on MIA-oriented equipment. Discussions among Japanese, American, and European carriers have led to the joint development of the carrier-common Service Providers' Inte grated Requirements for Information Technology (SPIRIT) specification under the sponsorship of the Network Management Forum (NMF)1. Develop ment is now being promoted by leading carriers, such as AT&T, Bellcore , British Telecom, ETIS, France Telecom, STET, and NTT, and major vend ors worldwide. SPIRIT Issue 1.0, introduced here, is the first milesto ne In this joint development.