As the telecommunications environment has to cope with new regulations, ever changing customer demands and heterogeneous network technologies, so-called 'middleware platforms' and 'open service architectures' have emerged. Software technologies are considered key for achieving the required programmability of these platforms and architectures. The Intelligent Network (IN) represents the first globally accepted framework for an open telecommunication service architecture. Whereas the traditional IN adopts a centralized architecture based on the Remote Procedure Call (RPC) paradigm and the availability of common channel signaling networks, newer IN architectures are distributed, enabled by the availability of distributed object technologies (DOT) and mobile agent technologies (MAT).

• Provides a thorough introduction to the application of object oriented (OO) technologies
• Focuses on the evolution of the Intelligent Network towards a distributed Intelligent Broadband Network
• Discusses the benefits of DOT and MAT technologies
• Describes how the concentrated Broadband Intelligent Network can become distributed
• Presents comprehensive accounts of OO design methodologies; distributed object technologies (CORBA); independent code (Java) and intelligent and mobile agent technologies

The wide scope of topics covered in this volume will prove invaluable to managers, network and service engineers and researchers as well as students of relevant fields.