ilities may be included or sup- plied with equipment or part of systems. Application or configur- ation software may be required for the equipment or system to function properly or meet requirements. Applications software might be the product of a third party developer. The possibilities are many, but what is important is what the requirements are or what was included in the order or supply agreement that caused the equipment to be delivered. The digital television transmitter specification example in Chapter 7 contains detailed specifications and a general approach to test and acceptance. This gives the potential supplier an idea of expected performance and an outline of proving the equipment meets or exceeds the specifications. What is not included is a detailed test plan. A test plan can be written from scratch by the buyer or alterna- tively provided by the supplier as part of the deliverables, subject to approval by the buyer. Both require significant effort to prepare and validate. Chances are the supplier or the manufacturer already has a detailed test plan for each component or subsystem used in the manu- facturing process as well as a system test plan for a complete unit. Making a manufacturer's system test plan valid for use in accepting the equipment is dependent on emulating the intended use and environment. Essentially, this involves assembling the system as close as possible to the final operational configuration. In most cases this is not a big issue. However if the equipment or system will carry significant volumes of traffic, this may not be PRACTICAL IP AND TELECOM FOR BROADCAST ENGINEERING AND OPERATIONS possible, except through the use of traffic generators. Again, the main concern is to carry out any and all steps included in the supply agreement. Simply making measurements and validating functions and features outlined in the supplier's published specifications is prudent and helps to uncover and resolve any issues or concerns. Acceptance of Circuits, Facilities, and Services On the service 