passing, supporting and enabling these trading communities is a complex supply chain - the components, role and automation of which is the subject of Chapter 3. Chapter 3 Automating the Internet Infrastructure Supply Chain Service delivery depends on the supply chain that supports it. IICs depend upon one another as buyers and suppliers of each other's products and services. How well IICs can deliver services to each other and to end users depends on how well integrated and automated are their OSS platforms. In this competitive/cooperative environment, an IICs ability to effectively manage relationships with its suppliers and deliver tailored service packages to its customers is a critical factor for success. Therefore, automating the IIC supply chain has become a critical goal for the IIC industry. Time to market factors, increasing price pressure and competition for customers all make an automated supply chain, and thus an integrated eOSS environment, a necessity. However, automating the IIC supply chain is no simple task. It requires cooperation among the players involved, as well as some consensus on the best way for IICs to integrate their systems and processes. This in an industry not known, at least in the United States, for conscientious collaboration. There currently are a number of key challenges that stand in the way, including a lack of OSS integration standards, contention over LEC interconnection, and a lack of integration within IIC operations. WHAT STANDS IN THE WAY? 1.1 Interconnection as a Choke Point Perhaps the most critical element of the IIC supply chain, particularly for businesses, is the last mile - the piece of the network that touches the customer. For most IICs, gaining access to the last mile network means S. Jain et al., Broadband Infrastructure BusinessEdge Solutions Inc. 2003 The Ultimate Guide to Building and Delivering OSS/BSS interconnecting with one or more ILECs, sometimes through interconnected partners. Thus, the first mountain to climb in supply chain automation is LEC inte