BT network traffic management system. A window on the network

Network traffic management involves supervising the telephone network and taking action to control the flow of traffic to maximise call success rates. The BT network traffic management system (NTMS) has been purpose-built for this role; it uses near real-time surveillance of network status and performance to enable prompt control of traffic flows as necessary. The development programme, started in 1982, has produced a world-class product, which is used for managing BT's inland network and has been sold successfully to Telefonica, the Spanish PTT, and Cellnet. This article describes the progress to date, and the functional characteristics of the NTMS, and explains why the NTMS is well placed to ensure improvement in network quality in the 1990s.