work problem management applications. It is also common to have a single module for managing the three views for problem resolution. The problem reported by the customer is mapped to service level impacts and assigned to the appropriate team for resolution using this application. These applications first collect the problem details, consolidate the prob- lem information, set appropriate priority, assign the problem to the appropri- ate department for resolutions, and manage the problem to closure. It also prepares a closure report that can be referred to in future for solving a similar or related problem. Interacting applications are informed on the status of the problem during change in status or when queried. 60. Service event monitoring: These applications monitor the service parameters in configuration and fault. It helps the operator to be aware of approaching problems or degradations to service. The impact analysis in event monitor- ing systems can be extended to predict the likely impact of service degrada- tions on specific customers and map the cause to and appropriate network resources. Event monitoring systems can also be programmed to perform specific actions when a service level event occurs. For example when an event on possible service failure is generated, the event monitoring system can be programmed to notify the appropriate operator to take corrective action. Management Applications Rule-based event handling is a popular method of service operation support automation. Service rating and discounting management: These applications calculate the customer specific charges and apply discounts in coming up with the final bill. It collects billings records, formats the information in the records, identi- fies usage, and applies the rate for the service consumed by the customer. Rating applications should be able to support different payment models and rate plans. Threshold setting and planning can also be performed using service rating and discounting applications. Predefined thresholds can be set on 