a question. The Internet's evolution is already to some extent being taken for granted, and most of its users don't care to worry about how this evolution will occur. They are more concerned with what the Internet, as it develops, will allow them to do. The companies that provide the Internet to the rest of the world do not have the luxury of setting high expectations and assuming they will be met. These Internet infrastructure companies (IICs) are not unlike novice musicians that have just been handed their first guitar. They know they hold something complex in their hands. It's made from an intricate collection of pieces that must be constructed and then tuned perfectly to function correctly. They anticipate long hours of study to master the instrument, but can't yet envision precisely what these studies will involve, or what results they will produce. Unlike the novice musician who won't be expected to perform without plenty of time to learn and practice, IICs have been handed the guitar and are expected to perform on a world-class level immediately. The audience expects nothing but the best, and they won't accept any excuses. So IICs are faced with a steep challenge - make the Internet, and networks like it, do what users expect them to do, and do not force those users to think about what is happening in the background. Using our musical metaphor, the audience does not care how the guitar is played, they just expect to love the music. S. Jain et al., Broadband Infrastructure BusinessEdge Solutions Inc. 2003 The Ultimate Guide to Building and Delivering OSS/BSS OSS' ROLE Inextricably tied to the IICs' challenge is a range of software components known as operations support systems (OSSs). These are the software systems in the background that IICs use to create, manage, maintain, manipulate and adapt their networks to serve customers reliably and rapidly. This category of software is sometimes divided between business support systems (BSSs) and OSSs, separating network and customer facing functions. Because the 