1. A network element operable to communicate messages in a telecommunication system, the network element comprising: a message generator operable to generate messages; and a message transmitter operable to transmit the generated messages via an Ax interface; wherein at least one of the messages comprises a format for communicating generic information elements each defining a task to be performed by another network element, each generic information element comprising: a generic element identifier field that identifies the generic information element as a generic information element and also identifies one of a plurality of tasks to be performed by the other network element; data fields that comprise task data required for a task; a variable length indicator that indicates a quantity of the task data contained in the generic information element; and a multi-use data type identifier that identifies which of a plurality of types of task data populates the task data fields.