tal management control of the cellular network from one central location. It is possible to control most of the elements, such as the BTS, BSC, MSC, TCSM, transmission system, etc., using most of the network management systems available from the equipment manufacturers. The more integrated the management system, the easier it is for the operator to control its network. Some of the advantages of the advanced management systems for operators are: better network availability; easy management of the cellular network; faster changes possible in the network with an integrated system; the number of visits required to the sites decrease considerably (although for hardware related problems, site visits will still need to be undertaken); core team of personnel located centrally can manage the entire network (which is a definite advantage over small teams managing various areas regions of the network); information flow is faster and hence the problems can be rectified quickly; software upgraded for new releases can be done easily; there is no extra payload required for the management data. A typical management system is able to perform the following functions: Alarm management. This provides the information of the current status of the network element. In the case of any faults, etc., it generates an alarm. Security management. This feature protects the cellular network by detecting security breaches in the network. It detects and prevents the network from cases such as misuse of the network resources and service by the user, recovery from theft of services, etc. Configuration management. This is used for the installation of the network element, their connection to other network elements, etc. This feature also allows the NMS to receive and deliver data to the identified network element and/or to the connection between the network elements. Fault management. This allows the NMS to detect the failures and follow-up such as the repair schedul- ing, return to service, etc. Element management. The element or node can be configu