: A network database that works with SS7 to store and serve information about special subscriber services such as caller ID or three-way calling. The Ultimate Guide to Building and Delivering OSS/BSS Line-of-sight, microwave antenna: A radio-frequency antenna, transmitting in the microwave band, that must be aimed directly at other antennae in order to send and receive traffic. Local loops: The twisted-pair, copper wires that connect end offices to customer locations, over which voice, DSL and other kinds of services are delivered. Local Number Portability [CONCEPT]: In the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and subsequent orders, the FCC required ILECs and mobile operators to allow customers to keep their telephone numbers when switching service providers within a local serving area or exchange. Local service requests (LSRs): The standardized forms and processes IICs use to order local voice services from ILECs. Generally this means the ILEC is transferring a customer or provisioning a loop in some way for the requesting Logical inventory: The record that shows how an IIC's network is configured and how services are delivered to customers. Loop pre-qualification databases: DSL providers often test the loops in their service footprint to determine their suitability for supporting DSL. This information is stored in a database, which the DSL provider's agents or wholesale customers can access to validate service. Managed OSS: A service concept in which an integrator builds an IIC's OSS platform and then hands it off to an outsource vendor to manage and maintain the platform for the long term. Media Access Control (MAC) addresses: A hard-coded, unique identifier assigned to different kinds of IP-based devices. The MAC address is often used to identify or verify the identity of a specific device. Mediation system: Most often an application that gathers, sorts and filters data from a network and disseminates it to other applications, such as usage data sent to a billing system. Technically, a mediation system can be any s