lure identification, veri- fication, and repair. Network configuration management in terms of keeping track of changes in the network derived from failures or from equipment substitution due to pre- ventive replacement of old or obsolete equipment. Telecommunication Networks Routine operations are influenced by ASON/GMPLS in two different ways. On one side, faster and more effective network reconfiguration allows the reduction of fail- ure-related service disruptions and consequently a more effective and less expensive process of intervention when a failure occurs. On the other hand, software management will become more complex and expensive due to the introduction of a much more complex control plane. Operational network planning: This is the set of actions that aim to maintain the net- work efficient and optimized. In a traditional transport network they are mainly manual operations carried out with the support of the TMN network manager and of off-line network optimization tools, often included into the TMN software. ASON/GMPLS is used, these actions are mainly constituted by traffic engineering that, as we have seen in Section 8.3, are needed not to allow the network to slide very far from an optimized GLSPs routing. Since the ASON/GMPLS network is more complex, it is probable that this activity will be more expensive, even if it will be supported by more powerful tools. Marketing: This is the traditional activity of customer base enlargement and cus- tomer maintenance through service promotions, new billing schemes introduc- tion and advertisement and SO on. In correspondence with the introduction of ASON/GMPLS, it is reasonable to assume that new service bundles will be intro- duced SO increasing the marketing expenses. On the other hand, even if this does not appear in our model, this will also bring new revenues. Service management: These are all the activities related to offering, delivery, and managing end user services. Since this is a category quite important both for its absolute impact on carrier OP